Web Servers

Hello guys in this post we are learn about Web servers and different types of Web servers so read carefully

Web server :-

Web Server is a computer where store the all content. Web server is mostly used to host the web sites but there exists other web servers used for storage, FTP(File Transfer Protocol), email etc.
Website is collection of web pages while web server is software that responds to the request for web resources.

The basic process

Servers install software like Apache, IIS and hence called Web server which handles primarily Hypertext Transfer Protocol requests through Universal Resource Locator address requests.
URLs are simply the name of a website that users enter into Web browsers in order to locate a Web page.
When the user enters a URL, the browser sends an HTTP request to the server computer running Apache, usually on port 80.
The HTTP protocol is the Internet standard data transfer protocol for Web pages, so when a user makes a URL request to an Apache server, the Apache server will handle the HTTP request and return the requested Web pages.

The Internet exists as a collection of Web servers that host Web pages that users can access from their computers.
These servers must run server software to handle user requests.

Features of Apache web server are,

1) Multitasking/Multi-threading

An Apache server will handle numerous HTTP requests at a simple time. In order to do this, the server has to run on multiple "threads" execution.
A thread is a part of a program that branches off from the main program and runs at the same time in order to accomplish a specific task.
The Apache server was create a new thread for each HTTP requests that will handle fetching and returning the requested Web page. Apache server serve multiple Web pages at same time to thee user.

2) Program and file server

Along this web, the Apache server can allow users to download files to their computers, which Apache will also handle via HTTP.
These program file server include audio files, movie files and certain documents such as Word documents or PDFs. If the user requests a program file for a scripting language, such as PHP, Python or Perl, then the Apache server executes the program and sends the output of the program to the user through HTTP.

IIS (Internet Information Server) is a group of Internet servers ( including Web or Hypertext Transfer Protocol server and a File Transfer Protocol server) with additional capabilities for Microsoft's windows NT and windows 2000 Server operating system.
IIS is Microsoft's entry to compete in the Internet server market that in also addressed by Apache, Sun Micro-systems and others.
With use of IIS, Microsoft includes a set of programs to building and administering Web sites, a search engine, and support for writing Web- based applications that access database.
A typical.company that buys IIS can create pages for Web sites using Microsoft Frontpage product (with its WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) user interface).
Web developers can use Microsoft Active Server Page (ASP) technology, which means that applications including ActiveX controls - can be embedded in Web pages that modify the content sent back to users,
Microsoft includes special capabilities for server administration designed to appeal to Internet service providers (ISPs).

A proxy server is a dedicated computer or a software system running on a computer that acts as an intermediary between an endpoint device, such as a computer, and another server from which a user or client is requesting a service. The proxy server may exist in the same machine as a firewall server or it may be on a separate server, which forward requests through the Firewall
Cache can serve all users this is an advantage of proxy server. If one or more Internet sites are frequently requested, these are likely to be in the proxy cache, which will improve user response time. A proxy can also log its interactions, which can be helpful for troubleshooting

Here's a simple example of how proxy servers work,

When a proxy server receives a request for an Internet resource (such as a Web page), it looks in its local cache of previously pages. If it finds the page, it return it to the user without needing to forward the request to the Internet.
If the page is not in the cache, the proxy server, acting as a client on behalf of the user, uses one of its own IP addresses to request the page from the server out on the Internet. When the page is returned, the proxy server relate it to the original request and forward it on to the user.
Proxy servers are used for both legal and illegal purposes. In the enterprise, a proxy server is used to facilitate security, administrative control or caching services, among other purposes.
In a personal computing context, proxy servers are used to enable user privacy and anonymous surfing. Proxy servers can also be used for the opposite purpose: To monitor traffic and undermine user privacy.
To the user, the proxy server is invisible; all Internet requests and returned responses appear to be directly with the addressed Internet server. The proxy is not actually invisible; its IP address has to be specified as configuration option to the browser or other protocol program.)

HTTP is short for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web
Web and this protocol defines how mesons are formatted and transmitted, and what actions web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands
For example, when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested web page.
The other main standard that controls how the World Wide Web works is HTML, which covers how Web pages are formatted and displayed.

HTTP is a Stateless Protocol

HTTP is called a stateless protocol because each command is executed independently, without any knowledge of the commands that came before it.
This is the main reason that it is difficult to implement web site that react intelligently to user input.
This shortcoming of HTTP is being addressed in a number of new technologies, including ActiveX, Java, JavaScript and cookies.

HTTP Status Codes are Error Messages

Errors on the Internet can be quite frustrating - especially if you do not know the difference between a 404 error and a 502 error.
These error messages, also called HTTP status codes are response codes given by Web servers and help identify the cause of the problem.
For example, "404 File Not Found" is a common HTTP status code. means the Web server cannot find the file you requested.
This means the web page or other document you tried to load in your Web browser has either been moved or deleted, or you entered the wrong URL or document name.

Thank you for reading my post, if you like my post then share it to your friends.