What Does a Server Do? An Easy Explanation

When it comes to hosting modern applications, running complex workloads, or delivering online services to users across the globe, servers play a central and indispensable role in the overall infrastructure of computing environments.

In this blog post, we will delve into a comprehensive understanding of what servers are, how they function within both traditional and modern ecosystems, and the critical differences between physical (on-premise) servers and cloud-based servers, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations.

Furthermore, we will walk through a practical, step-by-step demonstration of how to launch a virtual server using Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud), one of the most widely used services offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Finally, we’ll conclude by discussing the key reasons why cloud servers have become the preferred choice for businesses and developers alike—thanks to their scalability, cost-efficiency, high availability, and flexibility in today’s fast-paced, digitally-driven world.

🤔What is a Server?
A server is a powerful computer or software that provides services, data, or resources to other computers (called "clients") over a network. It operates on the client-server model, where the client sends requests and the server responds by sharing files, running applications, managing databases, hosting websites, or performing other tasks.

🖥️ Common Types of Servers:
→ Web Server – Delivers web pages (e.g., Apache, Nginx)
→ Database Server – Manages databases (e.g., MySQL)
→ File Server – Stores and serves files (e.g., FTP servers)
→ Mail Server – Sends/receives emails
→ Application Server – Runs specific software applications

“Servers can be either physical machines or virtual instances running specialized software to perform specific tasks or services.”

Physical servers: It is a dedicated hardware machine located in an on-premise data center or server room in your office. They are real, tangible machines you can touch. They have hardware components like processors, memory, storage, and network connections. Organizations own or rent these machines and are responsible for their maintenance, upgrades, and security. Physical servers can run a variety of applications and services and are dedicated resources you fully control.

✅ Pros:
→ Offers full control over hardware and software.
→ Better performance for specific workloads.
→ Entire hardware is dedicated to a single user or organization.

❌ Cons:
→ Higher upfront costs for hardware, power, cooling, and space.
→ Limited scalability.
→ Requires physical space and IT staff.
→ Requires manual maintenance, installation/upgrades and configuration.

Cloud Servers: It is a virtual server that runs on a cloud computing platform like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Instead of owning the physical hardware, users rent computing resources from cloud providers. Unlike physical servers, cloud servers are intangible, they are virtual, managed remotely, and accessed online. Cloud servers allow users to deploy, configure, and scale computing resources quickly and efficiently over the internet.

✅ Pros:
→ Offers flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency.
→ Accessible from anywhere with internet.
→ Quick deployment and automation.
→ Reduced need for physical infrastructure.

❌ Cons:
→ Ongoing subscription costs.
→ Less direct control over hardware.
→ Data security depends on provider and configuration.

🧠 Which One Should You Choose?
→ If you need full control and customization over hardware and software & if you have IT staff to manage and maintain the hardware, you can choose Physical servers.
→ If don’t want to manage physical hardware, if you prefer paying monthly or as-you-go, rather than a big upfront investment and if you want flexibility and scalability (easy to add or remove resources), you can choose Cloud servers.

“Cloud servers are generally the best choice for most use cases because they offer scalability, flexibility, cost-efficiency, fast deployment, and global accessibility—all without the need for managing physical hardware.”

Instead of using physical servers, AWS provides virtual servers through its service called Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud).

What is EC2?
The main virtual server service on AWS is called EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud). Instead of buying and managing physical servers, EC2 allows you to rent virtual machines configured with the CPU, memory, storage, and networking resources you need for your applications. You can launch, stop, and terminate these instances as required, paying only for the compute time you use. EC2 allows you to quickly launch and manage virtual machines with different operating systems, sizes, and configurations.

Key Features of EC2:
→ You can use EC2 to run websites, applications, databases, and more—without needing to buy or maintain physical hardware.
→ EC2 is highly flexible: Elastic scaling with autoscaling features to increase or decrease capacity based on demand.
→ Pre-configured templates called Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) to quickly deploy operating systems and software.
→ You pay only for the computing power and storage you use.
→ Persistent storage options via Elastic Block Store (EBS).
→ The ability to choose from many instance types optimized for different workloads.
→ Control over the geographical location of instances to optimize latency and redundancy.
→ Secure networking using virtual private clouds (VPC), subnets, and security groups (virtual firewalls).

🖥️ Common Use Cases for EC2:
1. Hosting websites or web applications
2. Batch processing and data analysis
3. Machine learning model training
4. Game server hosting
5. Running backend services or APIs
6. Software development and testing

🔚 Conclusion:
Understanding the basics of servers is essential in today’s digital world, whether you’re managing your own hardware or exploring cloud solutions. Physical servers offer control and stability, while cloud servers provide flexibility and scalability. Amazon EC2 takes cloud computing a step further by making it easy to launch, manage, and scale virtual servers on demand. By choosing the right server solution for your needs, you can ensure your projects run smoothly, efficiently, and securely—no matter the size or complexity.

Whether you're hosting a simple website, running complex machine learning models, or managing global-scale applications, EC2 gives you the freedom to choose your configuration, scale on demand, and pay only for what you use. It’s a powerful tool that turns cloud computing from a buzzword into a practical, everyday solution.

Cloud computing is no longer the future—it's the standard. And EC2 is one of the best places to start. Whether you're a startup, developer, or large enterprise, EC2 makes it easier to build, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud—without the burden of physical infrastructure.

"Coming up next: a step-by-step guide to launching your first EC2 instance—don’t miss it🎯!"

😀Happy exploring…