Clients and Servers

They're hundreds of millions of computers on the Internet, but 0:00 they don't all do exactly the same thing. 0:03 Typically the computers on the net are either requesting information or 0:06 responding to those requests. 0:10 These two actions, requesting and responding, 0:13 divide computers on the net into two main categories, clients and servers. 0:16 While computers can be both the clients and servers even on the same machine, 0:21 let's take a look at a simple client-server relationship to find 0:26 out what makes a computer client and what makes a computer a server. 0:31 A server is both a piece of hardware, the computer itself and 0:35 a piece of software that responds to requests. 0:39 While the term server is used to describe this type of computer, 0:43 not all servers do all things. 0:46 Within the server umbrella, 0:49 there are several different types of servers including database servers, 0:51 file servers, mail servers, web servers, and gaming servers among others. 0:55 A server is typically made for production and speed, meaning they often have 1:01 faster CPUs, high performance RAM, and more storage capacity. 1:06 In addition, servers are typically more resilient than your personal devices, 1:11 meaning they have backup power supplies and storage in case anything goes amiss. 1:16 A client is a computer that makes requests to a server. 1:21 Clients come in many shapes and sizes. 1:25 The most common ones are desktops, laptops, tablets, and smart phones. 1:27 The typical client request and server response cycle 1:33 begins once you pop on the web and try pulling up your favorite web page. 1:36 At this point your computer is the client requesting a webpage and 1:41 the computer sending back the webpage is the server responding to your request. 1:45 This is a classic client-server relationship. 1:51 Now that you're familiar with the terminology, client and server, 1:54 let's dig into the main protocols these computers use to perform their duties and 1:57 share information over the Internet. 2:02