When surfing your favorite websites, enjoying content from your favorite streaming service, or even working on your own website, no one ever considers the unsung heroes of the internet. Web servers are the backbone of the entire internet body, upholding it, retaining its shape and keeping it moving. The internet would not exist without many types of servers.
A computer designated and specially designed to process the request from internet protocol and deliver the data to other computers over a local network or the internet is called a Sever.
For the most part, when we speak of servers most think of web servers which house websites and web pages and allows them to be accessible on the internet through web browsers. While there are many types of servers that help to keep the internet thriving. We’re going to discuss web servers, especially in this article.
While any computer running the necessary software can run and function as a server, the typical use of the word refers to the massive, high-powered machines that function as the thrusts pushing and pulling data from the internet.
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Common Types of Web Servers
Web servers show web pages and run apps through a client called web browsers. Right now your browser is connected to a web server that is serving this page and the images you see on it. Your preferred web browser is the client or medium allowing this to happen.
Web servers carry out many functions in addition to delivering simple text and images on websites, such as uploading and backing up files online through a cloud storage service or online backup service.
When we discuss web servers and their types we enter the realm of internet hosting. Every website on the internet is hosted by a hosting provider on a web server. A website owner rents a server or space on a server that is owned by the hosting company and they build their website and host it on the server. There are 3 web server types that can host a website.
Shared Server:
With a shared web server, all of the resources including CPU usage, bandwidth, RAM and disk space are shared with multiple websites. This option is usually recommended for smaller websites just starting out with little to moderate traffic flow.
VPS Server:
This is a virtual private server. With VPS there is one massive server with virtual compartments with their own resources available to one website.
While the server is a shared environment, each compartment has its own disk space, RAM, bandwidth etc. This is a solution that is the bridge between a shared server and a dedicated server.
Dedicated Server:
With a dedicated web server the entire server and all of its features and resources are owned by one website. These servers are highly versatile and can be used for hosting large websites, Gaming, data storage and much more. They are fully customizable and powerful in terms of speed and software configurations. This server type is usually used by large corporations, companies, and websites with heavy daily traffic flows.
Other types of Servers
There are other common servers used online that facilitate a specific function.
Email server:
This facilitates the sending and receiving of email messages. If you use an email client on your computer, the application is connecting through an IMAP or POP email server in order to download your messages to your computer, and an SMTP server which sends messages back through the email server. A similar process happens when you connect to your email server through your web browser.
An FTP server:
These servers support the moving of files through a File Transfer Protocol tool. FTP servers are accessible remotely via FTP client programs or within web browsers for simple uploading and downloading of files.
Identity Server:
These servers support logins and security roles for authorized users on a platform.
Shared versus VPS Hosting Servers
The difference between the two lies in the nature of the servers. With a shared server as we said earlier the entirety of the server’s resources is distributed between all of the websites hosted on the server. Sometimes this distribution isn’t exactly equal. Though with upgrades to shared hosting servers, a good hosting provider offers scalable plans to when your website begins to grow and expand calling for more resources.
With VPS hosting your website is hosted within the shared server but with a private virtual compartment where all of the resources belong solely to your website.
Consider this a cubicle in a large office space where you’re given your own computer, phone line, printer and other resources to help you carry out your job. VPS is equally scalable and is the best choice for businesses that are growing exponentially. VPS gives you the best of the bargain buy of a shared server and the versatility and power of a dedicated server.
Advantages of VPS Hosting
1. Exponential Speed
Websites need to load fast. Users have very short attention spans and you need to be able to match or outmatch your competitor’s loading time. With VPS hosting you are guaranteed to have a fast loading website because your website is hosted on a server bogged down with other websites eating up the bandwidth.
All of the resources are allocated in your virtual private server to ensure that your website is performing at optimum speeds at all time.
2. Baseline Security
This is one of the best benefits of using a VPS server simply because the nature of the server allows for a foundation of security. Why? Because your website is in a virtual compartment and kept away from other websites that could pose potential security risks. For example, on a shared server, a website hosted on the server may have experienced a security breach. This breach could potentially spread to the server and affect your website and others. With VPS there are no other websites with shoddy security that could impact your website in a negative way.
For more on website, security check out our security checklist.
3. Absolute Flow Control
VPS behaves like a dedicated server within a shared environment as we’ve said before. It enables you to have flow control. You have a better grasp on how your server and hosting settings are configured, you can also use specialized software which by extension helps you to adapt your website to customer needs.
4. The Best Price Point for what you get
The most striking feature of VPS Hosting has to be its viable and affordable price. Because it operates as the median between shared and dedicated hosting the price is driven all the way down. While the resources remain solely for each virtual compartment, the price is pointedly lower than dedicated hosting because it is still a shared server. You surely get your money’s worth with VPS hosting.
The Internet Revolves around Web Servers
The take away here is that without web servers powering the internet like a well-oiled machine there would be no internet. You wouldn’t be able to have an online business. You wouldn’t be able to watch your favorite video content on streaming sites. Nor would you be able to shop online or use Social Media.
Web servers drive the internet. It is for this reason, your own website needs the best web servers the Internet has to offer. This will help you to keep up with your competition, enhance user experience and grow your business.
That’s why a VPS server is the best hosting solution for your website. It will keep it running like a high powered machine.
