Who's serving?

[Duane Murphy]

--- At Wed, 18 Dec 2002 19:51:18 +0000, Roy Preston wrote:

>This might seem a silly question to those who know but: What's a 
>'server'? As in IU, Mac OSX server.

My favorite way of describing a server is a machine that no one uses but
everyone uses. A server is a computer that sits on a network. Everyone on
the network can connect to it to use its services (hence a server).

Services can be lots of things. The most common that you have most likely
used  include:

o HTTP Server. A web server serves the protocol called HTTP. This is what
you use with a web browser. A web browser is the client to the server.

o Mail Server. There are actually two services involved here. One is POP
or Post Office Protocol which is where you retrieve your mail (your post
office box). The other is SMTP or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol which is
a server where you send your mail (the post office).

o File Server. You may or may not have used a file server. A file server
mounts on your desktop as a volume. You can use it just like the hard
drive in your computer except its on another computer. The advantage is
that other people on the network can see and share the same files.

Mac OS X Server specifically is a specialized version of Mac OS X that
has been optimized to be used as a server. Its networking capabilities
have been enhanced (maybe a little) and some things probably related to
UI have been removed to conserve the power of the machine. Typically no
one sits in front of a server so the UI is not necessary and just uses
cycles that could be used else where.

Furthermore, Mac OS X Server has been pre-setup with the servers
described here plus a bunch of others. It also has additional protocols
in place to allow it to be managed remotely; making it more practical to
remove the UI processes from the computer.

I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, ask away.

 ...Duane