Servers / Workstations

The Server and Workstation serve the completely different purpose, a server is dedicated hardware and software which attend clients requests and generates a proper response. On the other hand, a workstation can be a client-side computer which requests access to the LAN and switch services and responds to the requests from the switch. In other words, a server provides services to the clients while workstations are moderately powerful computer popular among business, scientific and engineering applications.

Definition of Server

In the networking, a device is used to handle network resources which is known as a Server. Such as a file server, is simply a computer intended to store the files, to where the users on the network can store files. The dedicated servers are used to perform only those tasks that are previously defined for the server. Unlike the general computer, the dedicated server cannot execute several programs at once.

In simpler terms, we can define a server as a connected network providing data to more than one clients simultaneously. The World Wide Web employs the client/server model which permits numerous users to access websites all over the world. There are various types of servers: application servers, web servers, mail servers, proxy servers, FTP servers, etcetera.

For example, a web server is a kind of server used to establish communication with clients with the help of the HTTP protocol.

Definition of Workstation

The workstation is a computer works as a stand-alone system. Previously, these were meant for the individual users similar to a personal computer but are more capable and faster than it. It was developed for the same set of the audience as UNIX Operating system. Furthermore, the UNIX operating system is also known as the workstation operating system. The main application of workstation is in the business and professional field instead of personal or home use. Initially, Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems, IBM and DEC are the companies developed the workstations.

The concept of workstations is mainly implemented in small engineering, graphics designing and architecture companies and organization where the faster microprocessor, huge RAM, moderate computing power, high-speed graphics are necessarily required.

In recent technology, the corporate environment involves the attachment of the workstations to the local area network to share the resources to other connected computers.