The web server is a computer that is constantly connected to the internet, it forms the basis for all websites. The software on the web server is also called the web server. Find out all about it here.
What does a web server do?
A web server can be thought of as a computer like the one you are using now, but web servers are specially built to take up little space and have a good connection to the internet. If you surf the web you will be getting data from the internet, this is downloading and if you are sending an email you will be putting data on the net, it can be considered as uploading. It follows that a web server has to upload a lot to surfers and also sometimes receives some data from users.
What does he look like?
Because web servers are optimally built to feed the internet with information, all they need is a hard drive, a motherboard, and a cooler.
Hard Drive
The most important. First, of course, you have the amount of data, e.g. 500 GB. Secondly, it must be a fast hard disk to guarantee an optimal connection to the internet. Third, if the hard drive can’t handle running and being used day and night, it will obviously fail.
Motherboard
The heart of the computer and so also of the web server. When someone goes to the website, the motherboard makes all the logical decisions so that the data is sent to the surfer. The connection to the internet comes in through the motherboard.
cooler
More important with a web server than with a personal computer, a PC. Because nowadays the web server must have the greatest possible uptime. (uptime: time the web server is OK at the time the web server cannot be reached, e.g. 99.9%) For example, those servers are continuously on and would succumb to the heat without a proper cooling system. It sometimes happens that hard disks melt and all data also disappears…
Since a web server needs no screen, no printer, no sound boxes, no card reader, no DVD reader, no keyboard, no mouse and so much less, a modern model looks like a flat (3-5 cm) rectangle (30-40cm by 40-50cm). They can be stacked on top of each other or standing upright next to each other. The data can be put on it via the internet.
How Does It Work?
A web server needs web server software which is also called a web server. When a surfer comes to a website, the web server (the software) will decide which file to open. Namely, a * Root folder has been set and the file called “index” will be opened, eg index.html or index.php. That “index” can also be set by the web server.
*If you imagine a website as an inverted tree, the root(s) are on top and the branches are below. If all water kegs carry information, there is one special one called “index” by default.
How Is It Controlled?
It is controlled by a web host, who then sets limits for a user who wants to create their own site.