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Technology Notes
--Greg Bodin, Technology Coordinator
Server Technology
Computer servers abound in hospital and library settings. We use them for
file management, email, web resources, databases, etc. But do you know how
they work? What makes them different from an ordinary computer workstation?
How do you learn more about them to better understand their function in your
institution?
A server can be defined as a computer on a network that is dedicated to a
particular purpose or service and which performs the critical functions
necessary for that service. There really is no significant hardware
difference between a personal computer workstation and a computer server,
except for the capacity and configuration of the machine. While a personal
computer is designed for one user or a small number of users, a server is
typically designed to handle a larger amount of traffic. Because of this,
servers usually have larger microprocessors, larger random access memory
(RAM) capacities and more storage memory.
Servers are typically classified by their application or function. For
example, an application server might be dedicated to running a particular
software application, such as an Oracle database. A web server is dedicated
to serving html files to a computer on the Internet that requests these
documents. An email server handles the sending and receiving of email for an
organization.
Several resources are available to learn more about how servers work,
current hardware recommendations, and potential applications.
Servers - Buyers Guide. BusinessWeek Online.
http://businessweek.buyerzone.com/computers/servers/buyers_guide1.html
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