- A server refers to a piece of computer software that manages resources and provides services to users, more commonly referred to as a device used or dedicated to run one or more server programs.
- The first servers were physical, a piece of hardware, and typically deployed with a single function. It’s a recognisable machine with the motherboard, CPU, memory, and the like.
- A virtual server is an abstraction of a physical server and emulates those server functions. Virtual servers are masters of scale and are suitable for organisations that need the flexibility to scale up and down their resources.
When we picture a server or data centre, we may imagine a warehouse with row upon row of black boxes with blinking lights. However, not all servers are physical. Today, many organisations rely primarily or exclusively on virtual servers. What are these and what are the advantages of virtual server infrastructure?
Server infrastructure
A server refers to a piece of computer software that manages resources and provides services to users, more commonly referred to as a device used or dedicated to run one or more server programs. This device is also referred to as Host and the other clients enjoying the information service are called users, and this architecture is known as the client-server model.
Sometimes the two definitions can confuse, as in the case of a web server. It may refer to the computer used for a Web site, or it may refer to the software, like Apache, that runs on such a computer to manage Web components and respond to requests from Web browsers.
The use of the word server in computing comes from queueing theory, which dates to the mid-20th century, being notably used in “Kendall” in 1953, the paper that introduced Kendall’s notation.
Also read: What is computer network infrastructure?
The composition of a server, including processor, hard disk, memory, system bus, etc., is similar to that of a general-purpose computer architecture, but because of the need to provide high-reliability services, it has higher requirements in terms of processing power, stability, reliability, security, scalability, manageability, and so on.
In a network environment, servers are categorised into file servers (which enable users to access files on other computers), database servers, application servers, WEB servers, and so on, depending on the type of service they provide.
The first servers were physical and typically deployed with a single function. A physical server refers to a piece of hardware. It’s a recognisable machine with the motherboard, CPU, memory, and the like. Often referred to as “bare metal servers,” physical servers have no gap between the physical hardware and the operating system. A physical server might run Linux, Windows, or some exotic O/S but it will run only one O/S in one instance.
From physical to virtual
As computing power increased per server, we learned that we could virtualise server hardware and perform the same function with fractional hardware resources.
A virtual server is an abstraction of a physical server and emulates those server functions. Multiple virtual servers can be deployed on a single physical server, and these virtual servers operate like independent servers. Each server runs its own O/S and uses its designated allocation of computing resources, memory, storage and even network components.
Also read: What are the benefits of integrating cloud computing into networking?
If you’re thinking about which is better, a physical server or a virtual server, there’s probably no clear answer to that question. This is because as far as technology is concerned, the question is about choosing the best option for a particular use case.
The sheer performance of physical servers, i.e., processing speed and capacity, makes them the preferred choice for demanding workloads. While purchasing a physical server and creating software for a virtual server may seem like the more difficult and expensive option initially, upgrading a virtual server at a later stage is less expensive and easier to accomplish.
Virtual servers, on the other hand, are low-cost, space-efficient and scalable on demand, but lack stability. They are masters of scale and are suitable for organisations that need the flexibility to scale up and down their resources. A single server running at high utilisation consumes less power than 10 idle servers and is also particularly good for startups and small and medium-sized businesses on tight budgets.
