A server is a computer that is continuously working offering services to other machines that we call clients. These will normally be PCs. It must, therefore, be permanently on and never lose data. They are usually reserved for the business environment. There are many types of servers that are capable of providing multiple services such as mail, web, DHCP, or DNS, although the normal ones are what we call file servers.
How do they look alike?
Some servers are the same as normal computers but in larger boxes. Outwardly, in this case, they are similar. Nothing prevents you from using a server operating system on a normal PC.
Simply install your Windows or Linux server and start adding features. What is the difference between them? Their components are named the same but this is where the resemblance ends. We are talking about equipment that easily costs ten or twenty times more than a normal desktop PC.
We therefore have: Redundant supplies—The power supply or power supply is usually replicated with at least two of them running at the same time. In case of failure of one of them the other continues to work. It is very common to add a separate UPS or UPS with batteries to the server so that the equipment does not suffer an unexpected shutdown due to a power outage. Raid disks. We continue with the replication of elements but in this case in a special way.
RAID hard drive configurations allow additional drives to be used for both higher speed and more resiliency to failure. There is even the possibility of using configurations that allow hot-swapping disks or that one of them is stopped waiting for another to fail. Dual processor—Or triple or quad, of course, this implies a special motherboard. In this case, the micros usually have separate memory in such a way that if one fails, the server can continue to work. Tape drives—Backups are done to tape because it’s easy to store multiple drives away from the server. ECC RAM—RAM is not like what you have in your PC. In this case, ECC RAM is used.
This means that instead of using eight bits for each byte, as would be natural, another one is used that acts as error control. In this way, it is very easy to detect if any module has problems and even solve them in real-time. SAS Disks—Apart from the fact that the disks can be configured in RAID, the reality is that these are not the same as the ones you have on your PC.
Server disks are usually SAS and PC disks are SATA
This means, among other things, higher speed and a longer half-life. Hot-swappable hardware. As with hard drives, it is also possible to swap other components without shutting down the computer, such as fans. Rackable servers exist—which makes it very easy to add to cabinets. Does a server in a home or small business make sense? If you have the money to pay it and you are going to take advantage of it, yes, otherwise no. If you only have files, it is much easier to set up another type of configuration with a NAS with cloud backup to avoid ever losing any files.
