What is Web Server and its working

The term web server can refer to either the hardware (the computer) or the software (the computer application) that helps to deliver web content that can be accessed through the Internet.

A Web server is a program that, using the client/server model and the World Wide Web's Hypertext Transfer Protocol ( HTTP ), serves the files that form Web pages to Web users (whose computers contain HTTP clients that forward their requests). Every computer on the Internet that contains a Web site must have a Web server program. Two leading Web servers are Apache , the most widely-installed Web server, and Microsoft's Internet Information Server ( IIS ). Other Web servers include Novell's Web Server for users of itsNetWare operating system and IBM's family of Lotus Domino servers, primarily for IBM'sOS/390 and AS/400 customers.

Web servers often come as part of a larger package of Internet- and intranet-related programs for serving e-mail, downloading requests for File Transfer Protocol ( FTP ) files, and building and publishing Web pages. Considerations in choosing a Web server include how well it works with the operating system and other servers, its ability to handle server-side programming, security characteristics, and publishing, search engine, and site building tools that may come with it.

A Web server is a computer system that hosts websites. It runs Web server software, such as Apache or Microsoft IIS, which provides access to hostedwebpages over the Internet. Most Web servers are connected to the Internet via a high-speed connection, offering OC-3 or faster data transmission rates. A fast Internet connection allows Web servers to support multiple connections at one time without slowing down.

How Web Servers Work

Whenever you view a web page on the internet, you are requesting that page from a web server. When you type a URL into your browser (for example, "http://w3cscircle.blogspot.in/"), your browser requests the page from the web server and the web server sends the page back:

The above diagram is a simplistic version of what occurs. Here's a more detailed version:

1. Your web browser first needs to know which IP address the website "www.w3cscircle.blogspot.in" resolves to. If it doesn't already have this information stored in it's cache, it requests the information from one or more DNS servers (via the internet). The DNS server tells the browser which IP address the website is located at. Note that the IP address was assigned when the website was first created on the web server.
2. Now that the web browser knows which IP address the website is located at, it can request the full URL from the web server.
3. The web server responds by sending back the requested page. If the page doesn't exist (or another error occurs), it will send back the appropriate error message.
4. Your web browser receives the page and renders it as required.
   
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