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Understanding the World of Web Hosting Platforms

A server is a device or computer connected to a network to provide specific resources and services to users. For example, a Windows 2000 server or a Solaris server could be dedicated to storing files, to managing printers, to directing network traffic, to publishing websites to the Internet or to processing information requests to databases. Obviously then servers can perform function within corporate networks or broader functions related to the largest network of them all, the Internet. Given the complexity of the operations performed, operating systems well suited to desktops may not be ideal for servers, and vice-versa.

Web servers, in particular, use special software and operating systems to broadcast websites to the Internet. The server stores all the files necessary to display the website. Over an Internet connection a user's browser makes a connection to the server through a protocol called HTTP by resolving a numerical IP (Internet protocol) address to a registered domain name. The server delivers the website information and content to the browser, which in turn formats the data into a graphical and textual format.

There are various types of web servers and web server OS platforms. While you have a choice in servers, such as Windows 2000, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD and MacOSX, what they have in common is providing stronger security to your network, better interaction with your network hardware, more flexible and advanced networking capabilities, and the ability to reconfigure hardware and software without stopping systems. In general, this level of operating system does not have a graphical user interface.

Servers Usually Dedicated

Servers are usually dedicated, meaning they perform their assigned tasks and no others. While a server is a computer on a network configured to share its resources or run applications for the other computers on the same network, the word "server" can refer to both hardware and software, causing confusion. Any computer can be used as a web server with either public domain software from Apache or NCSA or commercial software from Microsoft, Netscape and others.

Windows 2000 A Top Choice

Windows 2000 servers are popular due to the powerful end-to-end management, scalability and reliability they offer. You can install these servers in-house or contract with a remote provider. Accounts on remote servers normally guarantee 99.99 percent uptime and include specified amounts of disk space as well as e-mail accounts, full tech support and reporting packages.

Continue to: The Best Types of Web Servers Available in the Market

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