web server

Web server can refer to either a hardware or software component that can assist in the storage and delivery of content via the internet. Hardware refers to a computer unit, while software refers to a computer application. Most servers are used for web hosting, and their function is to deliver web pages upon client request. They do this by delivering HTML documents as well as additional content, like images and scripts.

To access information through a server, a client, such as a web browser or crawler, is used to make a request for a specific resource by way of a networking protocol, such as HTTP (which enables data communication over the Internet), and the server responds either by delivering the requested content (in the form of a web page) or by sending a message that it is unable to retrieve this data.

HTTP implementation also allows for communication between client and server to work both ways. This means that the server can receive data from the browser, and this feature is usually used in form submissions and file uploads.

While web servers are mainly used to assist widespread internet communication, they can also serve local networks and run enterprise software. Servers can also help run or administer various devices, and are consequently embedded in webcams or printers, eliminating the need for additional software installation.

Most web servers now share several characteristics, such as the ability to host multiple domain names by using only one IP address, and large file support. The majority of servers now support server-side scripting (a technology by which a user request enables a script to be run directly on the server), and thus generate dynamic web pages.

Web servers also have several limitations, one of them being that they can only handle a certain number of simultaneous client connections per IP address (which can range from 2 to 80000), and it can only process a limited number of requests per second, depending on the server settings, the type of content requested, and additional hardware and software limitations.

The world's first server was designed by CERN employee Tim Berners-Lee, to respond to the need for fast information exchange between scientists. In 1990, on Christmas day, the web server software known as "CERN httpd", went live. Between 1991 and 1994, web server technology spread rapidly among different organizations, initially scientific communities and later, universities.

You'll find bloggers talking about web servers at sites like casitweb.uoregon.edu and techtalk.seattle.gov.

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