A network which consist of clients and servers. A network architecture in which each computer or process on the network is either a client or a server.
Server
Provides services for clients
Also known as host computer
Controls access hardware and software on the network
Provide storage area for programs, data and information
User authentication and registration
Provide access to stored data
Client
Also known as users or customer
Request the resources from the server
Independent from other clients
Gets the files from server
Sends file to the server
Delete, Copy, Rename the files on the server
Types of Servers
Application Server
Message Servers
Proxy Server
Database Server
Web Server
Other Types of Servers
File Transfer Protocol Server (FTP)
Mail Server
Virtual Server
Telnet Server
News Server
List Server
Application Server
Dedicated to run different applications
Message Servers
Include chat rooms, group wares, provide instant and real time communication between users
Proxy Server
Used to filter request made by user over the server
Improves performance
Database Server
Manages database used to over the network
Web Server
Provides access to internet via HTTP
Receives request from browser and sends to main server
Online Banking Networks
User wants to access his account from the web browser. As his data is stored in database, web server run a program to access database. This database server may, in turn, fetch financial transaction record from another database server. An application server interprets the returned data by following the bank's business logic, and provides the output to the web server. Finally, the web server sends the result to the web browser, which interprets the data.
