What's a server??

[VenalWinfrey]

really stupid question I know!!  But just want to know what it does.  Does it basically run all the programmes/pcs in a network?  People at work say that the reason our machines are slow is because the server is rubbish, but I haven't a clue what it is!  What does it look like, how much does it cost etc.

Any help on this I'd be grateful!!

[OBonio]

A server is a lot of things.  A web server, a data server, a database server, a DNS server to name but a few.  A server wouldn't make a client machine run slow though (ie, the PC you use is called a client.. clients get served by servers).  If a program you use (like a customer services application) accesses a database on a server and that server isn't set up properly, then that could make the program seem to run slow when in actual fact it's the database server that is the bottleneck.

 

Have a look here for more info :

http://www.sei.cmu.edu/str/descriptions/clientserver_bod y.html

[tomd]

Quite often the applications themselves are kept on remote hard disk space on a server as well, so a poor speed one can reduce the speed that information is available to your computer at. A basic server could be likened to a computer that has lots of shared drive space, for when lots of people need to access the same information at once.