Surfing the net

The Server

The server is similar to the PC except that it is optimized for providing high performance services. Servers will usually run Linux, Unix or Windows. Storage is usually high speed and redundant. Servers can have one or more CPUs. Multi-CPU systems are typically referred to as "n-way". A 4-way server for example has 4 CPU's. HP SuperDomes go up to 128-way for high end performance.

Servers are designed for maximum uptime. The components are usually best in class, hot-swapable and more expensive that what you find on a PC. The ECC memory is error correcting. Often there are multiple high speed NICs that are teamed or used for a separate management LAN. The hard drives may be local, directly attached or out on the SAN (Storage Area Network). Hard drives are typically SCSI and configured in arrays (RAID) which allows faster access speeds and can prevent data loss if a drive fails. The SCSI drives are more expensive but last much significantly longer than the drives found on PCs under continuous use situations.