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What Is a Server?

Published on July 30, 2021 · Updated on July 30, 2021
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By Jeanelle Horcasitas

Technical Writer

What Is a Server?

A server is a computer program or device that provides services or resources requested by other programs or devices, known as clients. This pattern of connecting a server to a client over a network or a device is known as the client-server model.

A server may have many clients at once, or a single client can use multiple servers. Servers also offer a variety of functions, ranging from website and web application hosting, to providing shared disk access, printer connections, and database services.

The word “server” can refer to either a physical machine (such as an Ubuntu server) or to a service provided to clients (such as an OpenVPN server or an Apache web server) being provided to clients.

To learn more about server setups and processes, check out the following tutorials:

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About the authors
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Technical Writer

Educator and writer committed to empowering our community by providing access to the knowledge and tools for making creative ideas into a reality

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