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What’s
a web server? 

Web server is
the computer system that deploys HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) along with
other protocols to respond to client requests and convey the web pages or
files. 

It displays
website content through saving, processing and conveying web pages to
users. 

FTP (File
Transfer Protocol) and SMTP are other protocols deployed over web servers for
email, file exchange and storage. 

Web server is
both hardware and software. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and Web server
hardware are connected to the internet, and it facilitates data exchange with
other connected devices, while web server software control how a user accesses
hosted files. 

If you are
looking forward to hosting websites in your computer system, you must have web
server software. Web servers are used for various web-based applications. 

Working
of the web server

The web
server responds to the requests made by the user in the following two ways:

• Delivering the file to the user related to the requested URL

• Developing response citing a script and communicating with the
  database

When a user
sends a request for any web page, the web server searches the requested page.
If the requested page is found, the web server will generate an HTTP response
and send it to the user. 

The web
server will generate an HTTP response that reads- ‘Error 404 Not found’ when
the requested web page is not found. 

If a user has
requested some other resources, the web server will connect to the application
server and data store to create the HTTP response. 

Types
of various servers

• Application
  servers

They are
designed to run applications. It comprises both the software and hardware,
which offer an environment for running programmes. 

They are used
to run various web applications, host a hypervisor and manage virtual machines,
track software updates, and process data. It also offers the processing power
and memory to run these applications in real-time. It processes the data and
returns the result to the web server. 

While the web
server delivers static data, an application server delivers dynamic data.
Moreover, the application server can serve both web-based and enterprise-based
applications. 

Open-source
application servers, mobile application servers, .Net framework, java
application servers are some of the types of application servers. 

• File
  servers

File servers
provide the management and security of stored files. It facilitates the
connection between file systems and clients. Moreover, it offers a key storage
place for internal media files, which is accessible to all authorized
clients. 

Based on how
files are accessed on the server, file servers are categorized into the
following two types: 

1. Internet file servers:  HTPP
(HyperText Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

2. LAN file servers: NFS protocol,
SMB/CIFS protocol

• Message
  servers

It offers
real-time communication between users. It includes chat servers, IRC servers
and groupware. 

• Proxy
  servers

They act as a
mediator between users and the internet and facilitates the management of
shared connections. It offers security to your systems by protecting them
against internet threats like malware. 

• Database
  servers 

These servers
can manage a database saved in the server. They use an SQL database management
system to provide requested information back to the user. 

• Mail
  servers 

These servers
are used to manage and control email. It sends, receives and saves your email.
IMAP and POB3 are two types of mail servers in which IMAP enables you to read
mail on multiple devices. 

Types
of web servers

There are
four types of primary web servers. They are: 

• Apache
  (by Apache) 

It is an
open-source web server. It is one of the oldest and most popular web server
used by IBM, Adobe, Facebook, VMware and LinkedIn. It operates for Mac OS X,
Windows, Linux, Unix and other operating systems.  

• IIS
  (by Microsoft) 

It is a
general-purpose server that offers website content to an end-user. It is not
open-sourced like Apache. 

• Nginx
  (by NGINX)

This
open-source web server is also used as a proxy server and load balancer. It’s
famous for its light resource utilization and scalability. Its mechanism allows
it to handle multiple concurrent sessions. 

• GWS
  (by Google) 

Google web
server is used exclusively inside Google’s domain for website hosting. 

Now
you have a brief idea on the various web servers that are existent and which
will serve your purpose the best. You always need to ensure that you do your
research before zeroing in on the right server for you your business based on
the functionality you wish to offer.

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