Hey guys, Everybody talks about servers and this and that, but what is the actual definition of a server. Is it a physical object or is it a virtual object? And, when do you know if you need a bigger server or a dedicated server? I run a couple of forums and I am just curious to when I either need a dedicated server, or more servers to carry the soon to be large load on my forums . Thanks!
A server is a machine where your website is located (thats if it's being used as a website, however a server can be used for a lot more). When viewing a webpage, you computer connects to the server (which is basically a computer) and retrieves the requested data to display the webpage. It is a physical object and is usually located in datacenters. Some people do have servers running in their own homes. - Infact i did a couple years back but i prefer renting a server from a hosting company. You will know when you require a larger server because you will start running out of resources such as bandwidth/storage. Your server may even start using too much cpu/mem and cause it to crash. That's when you will probably need to switch over to a dedicated host. If your forums are running fine without any recourses issue, then your fine for now. Once you start having issues or you start reaching the fine line of your storage/bandwidth it might be time for a upgrade. I hope that helps clear up things! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Regards
there are also virtualized servers / virtual servers, where you can have more than one server environment on a single physical server using shared resources.
A virtual dedicated server offers many of the capabilities and features of dedicated servers, including administrator (root) access and dedicated IP addresses, but at a lower cost. Users share a server, but because each virtual dedicated server is effectively isolated from other accounts, you have full control over the server space. A dedicated server customer has rights to the server's bandwidth, memory and storage space; flexibility typically not available on shared hosting accounts. Best of luck with your forum!
Whoa...a GoDaddy rep on DP? Interesting Anyways, in addition to being a physical piece of hardware, a server can also be a piece of software. This is especially true when referring to client/server interactions. For example, a web browser such as FireFox is a client connecting to a web server such as Apache. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Client-server