A network server might not differ from a workstation in hardware, but the functionality it performs clearly differentiates it from other workstations. Network servers help in simplifying the different tasks for system administrators including those centering around management.

Any configuration or security updates can be applied to a network server instead of individually passing to different computers connected to the network.

Network servers are powerful computers or devices used as a central repository to provide various shared resources like disk space, hardware access, printer access, email service, etc, to other computers in the network. Compared with client computers, network servers require higher stability, security, and performance, so they are usually built with more powerful components, including CPUs, chipsets, memory, disk systems, and so on. These components have greater processing, memory, and storage capability to handle more exhausting jobs. Moreover, servers typically use more robust operating systems, running 24/7.

Types of Network Servers in Networking

By Server Form Factor

Rack Server: A rack server is a server designed to be situated in a server rack. This server accommodates all of the hardware devices and can be run as a stand-alone system. And it takes up little space, making it easier to manage connections and maintain the system. They are better suited to medium-sized businesses or enterprises with high demand for servers.

Tower Server: This server is built in a stand-alone chassis configuration and resembles the common desktop PC, but it contains server components. Tower servers come in several different shapes, offering plenty of processing power and don’t require additional mounting hardware. But they take up more space and are not easy to manage. Therefore, they’re commonly found in small business environments and other commercial environments.

Blade Server: Blade servers are servers with high availability and high density, designed for large data centers and high-density computing. They are slim and compact, with only CPUs, network controllers, memory, and some internal storage drives. Blade servers can provide greater processing power, take up less space and use less energy than other forms of servers. But, the initial capital, deployment, and configuration costs of blade servers can be high.

Cabinet Server: Cabinet Servers integrate computing, networking, and storage. Targeting different applications, they can deploy different software to provide a total solution. Cabinet servers are easy to maintain, thus easy to achieve unified centralized management and automatic business deployment.

By Instruction Set

CISC Server: CISC stands for Complex Instruction Set Computer. In the CISC server, also called X86 server, the instructions of a program are executed sequentially and serially. The sequential execution makes control simple, but the utilization of each part of the computer is not high and the execution speed is slow.

RISC Server: RISC stands for Reduced Instruction Set Computing. Its instruction system is relatively simple, making common tasks efficient and low power consumption, but low efficiency for complex tasks.

VLIW Server: VLIW stands for Very Long Instruction Word. This architecture adopts an advanced EPIC (Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing), which simplifies the processor architecture and reduces manufacturing costs, resulting in low price, less power consumption, and higher performance than servers with other instruction sets.

By the Number of Processors

According to the number of CPUs, network servers can be divided into single-processor servers, dual-processor servers, four-processor servers, and eight-processor servers. At present, dual-processor servers are the most widely used.

By Applications

The functional requirements for servers vary in different application scenarios. For different applications, servers can be classified as file servers, database servers, and application servers.

File servers are computers responsible for the storage and management of data files so that other computers on the same network can access the files.

Database servers are used to store and manage databases that are stored on the server and to provide data access for authorized users.

Application servers provide access to a wide variety of data on the network and deliver the business logic for an application program.

Functions and Uses of Network Servers

1. Serving Network Requests

The main and important function of a network server is to listen to all requests from client machines over the network connections. And a good demonstration is the interaction between the network server and browser. When a user clicks on a link, the request for the Web page is sent to the corresponding network server, which fetches and assembles the Web page and retransmits it using a protocol like HTTP, and then the user’s browser receives the data, transforms it, and displays the Web page.

2. Data Storage and Processing

Another main function of the server is to access, hold and transfer all files and data from other computer machines over the computer network. To be able to accommodate large amounts of data, servers generally have a large capacity and can even provide a database for data storage and processing. Clients can process and access the data stored in the database together, which facilitates the growth of the business.

3. Safeguard from Evil Attack

Network servers can also protect a computer or website from hacker attacks, as they can manage the communication and transmission of information to and from clients. Every time a client requests data, the server checks the client information like IP address. If there is anything suspicious, such as a malware threat, the server can block access to that IP address. This way, data stored on the computer or website can be safe.

4. Data Backups

Data-sensitive applications also require network servers to provide data backup. Companies can configure a backup server that can automatically replicate and store the data processed and stored in the master server. The backed-up data is often compressed, reducing the data footprint and minimizing the impact on the network. If the master server fails, enterprises can restore data from backup servers, which effectively ensures their business data or customer business data remains safe and available.

Network servers – as the closest to being a general-purpose server – continue to evolve in their availability and appearance. Today’s network servers are frequently seen in the following forms:

• Physical on-premises appliance
• Virtualized network server
• Network-attached storage (NAS)
• Cloud-based hosting

Network-attached storage (NAS) is dedicated file storage that enables multiple users and heterogeneous client devices to retrieve data from centralized disk capacity. Users on a local area network (LAN) access the shared storage via a standard Ethernet connection.

NAS stands out for its ease of access, high capacity and low cost. The devices consolidate storage in one place and support a cloud tier and tasks, such as archiving and backup.

Network-attached storage and storage area networks (SANs) are the two main types of networked storage. NAS handles unstructured data, such as audio, video, websites, text files and Microsoft Office documents. SANs are designed primarily for block storage inside databases, also known as structured data, as well as block storage for enterprise applications.

Top considerations for choosing NAS

Although the storage goals of NAS might seem straightforward, selecting a NAS device can be deceptively complex. Price considerations aside, enterprise NAS users should consider an array of factors in product selection, including the following:

• Capacity. How much storage can the NAS provide? There are two major issues: the number of disks and the logical organization of those disks. As one simple example, if the NAS can hold two 4 TB disks, the capacity of the NAS can be 8 TB. But if those disks are configured as RAID 1 — mirroring — those two disks simply copy each other; so, the total usable capacity would only be 4 TB, but the storage would be redundant.
• Form factor. Where will the NAS be installed? The two principal form factors are rackmount and tower (standalone). An enterprise NAS can use a 2U or 4U rackmount form factor for installation into an existing data center rack. A tower or self-contained NAS can be a good choice for deployment in smaller department data closets or even on desktops.
• Performance. How many users will the NAS support? It takes a finite amount of network and internal computing power to handle a storage request from the network and then translate that request into actual read/write storage tasks within the NAS. A busy NAS will demand higher levels of performance and internal caching to provide greater storage I/O and efficiently support more simultaneous users. Otherwise, users will need to wait longer (lag) for the NAS to service their storage request.
• Connectivity. How will the NAS connect to users and applications? Most NAS equipment includes one or more traditional Ethernet ports for cabled network connectivity. High-capacity network connectivity is essential for busy NAS devices in enterprise data centers. NAS designed for smaller, less-demanding environments can get by with Wi-Fi connectivity, while small NAS devices for end-users might supply a USB port for direct PC connectivity.
• Reliability. How can the NAS handle problems? Reliability has three major layers: the reliability of the NAS itself, the reliability of the disks installed within the NAS and the reliability of the data stored on the disks. At the NAS level, the equipment itself should be designed to provide long, continuous service at the peak expected performance level. Disk reliability depends on the disks installed in the NAS; high-quality SAS disks can offer excellent error-correction and enormous mean time between failure figures, but all disk choices should include a replacement plan. Finally, the NAS handles RAID, replication and other means of maintaining data integrity within the device, but those features must be enabled and configured.
• Security. How is data protected on the NAS? Look for NAS equipment that provides native data encryption and strong network access controls to ensure that only authorized users and applications can access storage.

Usability and features. How easily can the NAS be set up and deployed? Look for NAS equipment that is easy to deploy and configure, and consider the features and functionality included with the NAS OS/software, such as data snapshots, data backups, data replication, automatic data tiering and RAID.

Reference:
https://community.fs.com/blog/understand-network-server-from-scratch.html

https://www.serverwatch.com/servers/network-server/