What is a web server, what is it for, how does it work and what are the types? - Definitive guide
Web servers are essential to be able to access the Internet, without them you could not enjoy browsing all the websites available on the Internet. Since web servers are so important, in this article we will explain what a web server is, what it is used for, how it works, and the types that exist.
What is a web server and what is it used for?
The first thing you should know before define what a web server is ; when we talk about a web server, we are not referring to a server (a computer intended to store a variety of programs, which are then used by other computers); there is a big difference between a web server and a server.
A web server or HTTP server is a software which uses HTTP protocol (Hipertext Transfer Protocol), responsible for storing information contained in websites, including videos, images, texts, among others. In addition, it provides this information securely and at all times to Internet users through the search browser in which I request the information.
A web server is essentially responsible for searching the Internet for the information requested by means of a browser; then sends the results of that search directly to the browser the user used. In other words, it generates the connection between users and websites using the browser.
If it's still not clear to you, we recommend that you do a little more research on what serves the HTTP protocol et how does it work . It will surely help you to understand better what a web server is.
How does a web server work and what types are there?
- Each user enters the information to look for in the browser of your choice (Opera, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari or other) .
- Your computer, tablet or smartphone consults a DNS server to locate the server containing the required information.
- When the location of the server is known, the HTTP protocol, which is different from HTTPS protocol , start to run ; which consists of the browser used requesting the desired information from the web server .
- The server immediately begins to process the requested information; To do this, it first determines the domain and then the type of information requested (static or dynamic).
- The web server send the search result to browser used by the user.
If a user requests to search for a website, but is not authorized to access that website, the server will not allow them to access that page.
This whole process may seem long and complicated, but it takes place in just a few seconds; hence, you can enjoy your search results in no time.
Types of web servers
There are a large number of web servers around the world, but for this article, we have rounded up the most popular web servers.
- Apache
It's the server le most popular and it is compatible with Windows, Linux, Unix and iOs operating systems. This server is free , secured, easy to configure and very robust; It also stands out for its open source. Although it is sometimes necessary to restart Apache web servers , this is also a simple process.
- niginx
It is a waiter open source free who has a design light, simple and very secured ; it is also Fast and very solid. It adapts to any technology, which is why it is compatible with platforms such as Windows, Unix, Linux, among others. Its great advantages have made it the number 1 competitor of Apache.
- Microsoft IIS
This server was created by Windows, so it is compatible with the technology available to the company. This server offers its users of the software solutions easy to use , safe et fast and ; but it's not free and it doesn't support many languages.
- lighttpd
It is a very lightweight open source server and it is available for operating systems like Mac Os / X, Windows, Linux. This server was designed to be fast and to consume little RAM and CPU.
Anyone with a website must be part of a web server. Therefore, they should choose a server that is suitable for their operating system, complies with security protocols, and offers good publishing and research tools. But if you can't find the right one for you, you can create your own web page server .
Thanks to web servers, we can access social networks, read news, play games, listen to music, watch movies and browse all the web pages we want quickly and safely; then thanks to web servers, we have a virtual world open before us.
