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| A
server is nothing
more than a computer.
It has a hard drive,
a cpu, memory and
all of the things
you will generally
find in a home computer.
Your home computer
can be a server if
you want it to be.
A server by definition
is just a computer
which serves other
computers. A web hosting
server is nothing
more than a computer
which serves web pages
to the computers requesting
them; i.e., to the
person running the
internet browser.
So while in the generalist
sense every computer
can be a server; correspondingly
what makes a computer
a good server? |
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| A
web hosting server
is a server set up
to perform web hosting
tasks quickly and
efficiently. A web
hosting server does
not need pretty graphics
because typically
it runs by itself
without input from
a person. It is essentially
(after you set it
up) fully automated.
And unless it is necessary,
it doesn't have a
monitor. (Of course
like all things it
needs maintenance
from a qualified professional
from time to time
to ensure it is running
efficiently). |
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| A
good web hosting server
does have a few characteristics
that make it different
from a normal home
computer. One of the
characteristics is
redundancy. Typically,
a server has multiple
hard drives which
store the data. With
a multiple hard drive
system data is saved
on more than one hard
drive so in the event
of a hard drive failure
the redundant drive
takes over exactly
where the first hard
drive failed. This
process is known as
RAID. Another redundancy
you will find is that
some servers will
also have multiple
network access cards
(for faster input
and output) and two
power sources. The
name of the game with
servers is *reliability*. |
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| Aiming
for reliability with
a server typically
means that the latest
and greatest is not
necessary the best
for a web hosting
server. Web hosting
servers typically
wait until *all* the
bugs are out of the
hardware and software
because they want
their clients' websites
up at all times. (Of
course servers should
always have the latest
and greatest security
patches.) With these
characteristics in
mind sometimes it
shocks the average
person that most servers
run lower end cpus.
At the time of this
writing the 3.0 Ghz
chips are entering
the market but you
will find a lot of
web sites hosted on
Pentium III cpus.
And quite frequently
Celeron chips are
used which range from
1.0 Ghz to 1.7 Ghz.
The reason for this
is two-fold: these
chips generate less
heat which is important
to keep heat down
in a server and web
hosting does not generally
demand much cpu processing.
RAM (the computer's
main memory) is actually
more important at
times than the cpu.
Typically a server
should have 512 MB
to 2 GB of memory,
with 1 GB being a
sweet spot for processing.
But the question always
arises-if a Pentium
III does a very good
job at web processing
won't a Xeon cpu or
dual AMDs do better?
Maybe-it really depends
on what is on the
server. If you have
just web sites and
they don't use much
scripting programs
(PHP or Perl or CGI)
or don't have huge
shopping sites like
Amazon.com on them,
a lower end cpu is
going to perform pretty
good. Of course the
dual AMDs and Xeon
are going to outperform
the Pentium III but
not as much as you
are going to pay for
the premium in pricing
for the cpus and the
additional requirements
brought on by the
increased heat (more
fans, bigger cases,
etc). |
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