A web server is a computer that runs your website. If you build a website, you’ll need a web server to run it and keep it online.
A web server stores all of your website’s files and makes them accessible to users upon request.
These website files can be of any type like HTML documents, images, JavaScript files, CSS style sheets etc.
A web server software is installed on a web server that handles user requests.
This web server is always connected to the internet and exchanges your website files with other users connected to the internet.
Web server software uses HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol, to exchange these files.
In addition to HTTP, a web server also uses SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
SMTP is used to send email while FTP is used to transfer files.
Simply put, the job of a web server is to store your website files, make them accessible to people and keep your website always online.
If we do not make a web server available to the public and use it internally within an organization, then the server is not called a web server but is called an intranet server.
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What is the difference between a website and a web server? Difference Between Website and Web Server
A website is a collection of web pages, while a web server is a computer that serves your website to Internet users upon request.
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How does a web server work? How does a web server work?
Whenever a user enters the URL of your website into the address bar of their web browser, their web browser makes a request to the Internet to access your website.
Now the URL that the user enters into their web browser is converted by the Domain Name Server (DNS) into an IP address pointing to the address of your web server.
Note: Friends, to help you, let me tell you that every device connected to the internet has an IP address so that we can find it.
Now that your web server is found, the user’s request is forwarded to your web server. In response, your web server transfers your website files to the user’s web browser, which looks like your website.
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Basic information about web server software:
Friends, nowadays most of the websites use Apache web server software which is a free and open source cross-platform web server software.
Apache HTTP Server is developed and maintained by an open community of developers under the Apache Software Foundation.
Apart from Apache, there are some other web server software which are quite popular like Nginx, Microsoft IIS etc.
Types of Web Servers Types of Web Servers:
Friends, there are many types of web servers, some of which are listed below.
Apache web server:
Web servers that use Apache web server software are called Apache web servers.
As I told you above, this is a very popular and most used web server. Today, more than 40% of websites available on the Internet use the Apache web server.
The official name of Apache web server is Apache HTTP Server.
This web server uses a modular structure, which makes it very easy to customize. Since it is an open source software, you can also add your own modules as per your needs.
Apache HTTP Server supports almost all popular operating systems like Linux, Windows, Mac OSX, Unix, FreeBSD etc.
The latest version of Apache HTTP Server can handle more requests than ever before.
Nginx web server:
It is the second most popular web server today after Apache. Like Apache, it is also an open source software.
We pronounce Nginx as Engine-ex. Nginx was launched as a web server that could provide maximum performance and good stability. However, Nginx can do much more than just act as an HTTP web server.
This web server can act as a proxy server for email (IMAP, POP3, and SMTP). In addition, it can also act as a reverse proxy and load balancer for HTTP, TCP, and UDP servers.
More than 7.5% of the websites available on the internet today are using this web server. Considering its popularity and good performance, many web hosting companies have started using it nowadays.
Microsoft IIS Web Server:
As its name suggests, this web server is a product of the Microsoft company. Like the two web servers above, it’s not open source software, so you can’t easily add your own modules to it.
However, this web server also provides you with all the same features as Apache. Along with this you also get support from Microsoft if needed.
LiteSpeed Web Server:
LiteSpeed Web Server is also a very popular web server software, used by more than 6.4% of websites available on the Internet.
Like the Microsoft IIS web server, it is not open source software. Although his company has also released an open source version of it which we call OpenLiteSpeed.
This software uses the same configuration format as the Apache web server and is compatible with most Apache features.
Friends, apart from these four, there are some other popular web servers like Apache Tomcat, Node.js, Lighttpd etc.
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