What is a Web Server and How Does it Work

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What is a Web Server and How Does it Work? A web server is software,and delivering webpages to users. 1/8 Home > Topics > Consumer Tech > Internet technologies > web server DEFINITION web server ... A web server is software and hardware that uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and other protocols to respond to client requests made over the World Wide Web. The main job of a web server is to display website content through storing, processing and delivering webpages to users. Besides HTTP, web servers also support SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and FTP (File Transfer Protocol), used for email, file transfer and storage. Web server hardware is connected to the internet and allows data to be exchanged with other connected devices, while web server software controls how a user accesses hosted files. The web server process is an example of the client/server model. All computers that host websites must have web server software. Web servers are used in web hosting, or the hosting of data for websites and web-based applications -- or web applications. Web server software is accessed through the domain names of websites and ensures the delivery of the site's content to the requesting user. The software side is also comprised of several components, with at least an HTTP server. The HTTP server is able to understand HTTP and URLs. As hardware, a web server is a computer that stores web server software and other files related to a website, such as HTML documents, images and JavaScript files. When a web browser, like Google Chrome or Firefox, needs a file that's hosted on a web server, the browser will request the file by HTTP. When the request is received by the web server, the HTTP server will accept the request, [Show More]

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