Definition of Server- Server meaning
A server is a computer that allows other computers to connect to the Internet. It may serve data to systems on a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) over the Internet, or it may also be directly connected to the Internet.
There are a lot of different types of servers—web, mail, and file servers. Each class runs
software specific to the purpose of the server. For example, a Web server may run Apache HTTP Server or Microsoft IIS; these programs provide access to websites over the Internet.
A mail server might run Exim or iMail; these programs provide SMTP services for sending and receiving emails. A file server might use Samba or another file-sharing program to share files over a network.
What are they used for?
Servers are computers that manage network resources, such as e-mail and websites. A user can set up a server to control access to a network, send/receive an e-mail, manage print jobs, or host a website. They are also capable of performing intense calculations.
Somededicated servers are committed to a specific task or one website; many today are shared servers that take on the responsibility of e-mail and other network services in addition to handling websites.