server : Computer Hardware Buyers’ Glossary

by Roedy Green ©1997-2009 Canadian Mind Products
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server

A server is what we used to call a minicomputer, a computer bigger than a desktop but not as big as a mainframe. You use them for hosting websites, not for home use. They have features to let them pump more transactions than a desktop. They also have features to make them more reliable. Sun, IBM, Unisys and HP are well-known server manufacturers.

The run variants of Unix-Linux, not Windows
The CPUs are faster and designed with more registers. The Intel Pentium class machines used in desktops are register-starved.
They have multi-core CPUs, perhaps 8 CPUs.
They have error-correcting RAM so that stray errors are automatically detected and corrected.
They have intelligent SCSI controllers that can handle most of the housekeeping without CPU intervention.
They have redundant power supplies.
Sometimes they are designed for hot swapping of components — the ability to replace a failed component without stopping the programs running.
They usually have 64-bit CPUs which lets them address more a 4 gigabytes of RAM.

software server

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