Server Overview
Crystal Panek · 2019
This chapter provides an overview on Windows Server. A server is a computer that is a meant to be a dedicated service provider, and a client is a computer that requests services. A network that is made up of dedicated servers and clients is known as a client/server network. A server based network is the best network for sharing resources and data, while providing centralized network security for those resources and data. Networks with Windows Server 2016 are usually client/server networks. When you access a web page over the Internet, access your email, access a data file on another computer, or access a printer that is connected to the network, you are requesting services. While Windows servers are designed to provide a wide range of network services, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows 10 can provide printer and file sharing and web pages (although you are limited by the number of concurrent connections especially when compared to Windows servers and are not optimized for multi-user access). Therefore, while these versions of Windows are designed as clients, they can also provide services. While computers with Windows Server 2016 are designed to provide services, they can also request services from other computers. For example, they can access a web server locally or over the Internet, access a software repository, or print to a network printer.