Understanding web servers

Web servers play a pivotal role in the digital world, where everything is going online. But what exactly are web servers? They are software or hardware that work an a specific rules, known as protocols, to ensure secure and swift data communication. These servers handle client's requests made over the World Wide Web. These servers also help in storing, processing, and displaying data to end-users upon request.

How Do Web Servers Work?

For instance, let's consider a website using a web server named "Donut." Inside this server, all the website's data is stored. Imagine I'm a user wanting to access this website. I'll make a request on a browser—Google, Safari, Brave, etc. These browsers will send an HTTP request to the HTTP server (Donut in our case), which will then search for and deliver the requested data to me through HTTP. This is how a web sever work. This HTTP is a type of protocol which is explained below.

Different Protocols Used by Servers

In the above example, the request and response occur through the HTTP protocol. Protocols are sets of rules designed for secure internet communication. HTTP is just one type among many, including HTTPS, FTP, SMTP, DNS, and SSH.

• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol):
  HTTP serves as the foundation for data communication on the web, dictating how web servers and browsers communicate when a user sends a request.

• HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure):
  HTTPS is a more secure version of HTTP, adding an extra layer of encryption (SSL/TLS) to transmitted data.

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol):
  FTP facilitates file transfers between users and servers over a network, commonly used in web development for uploading website files to hosting servers.

These are some protocols along with brief information about each.

Various Uses of Web Servers

• Hosting Websites:

  The primary use of web servers is to store web pages, multimedia content, databases, and other resources, making them accessible to users. This is the most common use case of web servers.

• API Handling:
  Web servers manage requests and responses for APIs, enabling communication and interaction between different software systems.

• Load Balancing:
  In cases of heavy traffic, web servers employ load balancing methods to optimize performance and prevent website crashes.

These are common use cases for web servers.

Diverse Web Servers Available in the Market

Let's explore some commonly used web servers available:

• Apache HTTP Server:
  Apache is the most widely used open-source web server globally, known for stability, flexibility, and extensive module support across operating systems and programming languages.

• Nginx (pronounced "engine x"):
  Renowned for its performance, Nginx efficiently handles static content and serves as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and HTTP cache, apart from its web server functionality.

• Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS):
  Developed by Microsoft, IIS is commonly used for hosting websites on Windows servers.

• LiteSpeed Web Server:
  LiteSpeed boasts high performance and low resource consumption, often utilized as a replacement for Apache due to its compatibility.

There are many other servers like Cherokee, Caddy, Tomcat, and Gunicorn (Green Unicorn), each with its own features and benefits.