Server

Any computer on a network that contains data or applications shared by users of the network on their client PCs.

A process that receives commands and sends responses to those commands. Since it is a server or service, and it receives commands, it must be listening on a port somewhere to receive the commands. Both FTP and GridFTP have IANA registered ports. For FTP it is port 21, for GridFTP it is port 2811. This is normally handled via inetd or xinetd on Unix variants. However, it is also possible to implement a daemon that listens on the specified port. This is described more fully in in the Architecture section of the GridFTP Developer's Guide.

A computer resource in a network that is shared by multiple users. The term can refer either to a specific piece of hardware or a software process, such as "database server" or "Web server."

Something that provides a service. A Web server delivers resources to its clients, for instance. When the server is an object, it is the recipient of messages from its object clients.

In networking, a "process" that either advertises a "service" or just hangs around at a known location and waits for clients who need service to get in touch with it.

A computer, program or process which responds to requests for information from a client. On the internet, all web pages are held on servers. This includes those parts of the search engines and directories which are accessible from the internet.

Computer used to host files and serve them to the WWW. Dedicated servers usually run from $100 to $500 a month. Virtual servers typically run from $5 to $50 per month.

A computer set up to provide information on request via a network.

A computer that provides services for other computers connected to it in a network.

A network device that provides service to the network users by managing shared resources. Note 1: The term is often used in the context of a client-server architecture for a local area network (LAN). Note 2: Examples are a printer server and a file server.