Uses of Servers in Computer Science Engineering ?

Uses of Servers in Computer Science Engineering Computer science engineering, or CSE, is an advanced field of study that combines both computer science and computer hardware engineering. The union of these two fields is required to develop software and hardware systems. CSE involves designing and developing software applications and algorithms as well as supporting hardware to run them. The hardware includes microprocessors, PCBs, and other components. CSE is a vast field and requires a lot of things to work. However, today, we are going to focus on one particular component: servers. Servers are versatile pieces of either hardware or software (or both) that can do a variety of tasks. Let’s check out the myriad ways in which they are employed in CSE. Uses of Servers in Computer Science Engineering Before we can begin, let’s go over what a server is. A server is typically a powerful computer that is connected to a network. It can do plenty of processing tasks way faster than personal computers due to its high processing power. Just like other computers, it has an operating system. Operating systems for servers differ from those of normal computers. To differentiate them, they are known as server software. Now, let’s see how servers are used in CSE. 1. Data Storage One of the most common uses of servers in any kind of scenario is data storage. A server computer has many hard drives attached with 100s of terabytes of data storage capacity. In CSE, any software developed for working in a network must store and access data on the server. That’s why having a server setup to work with software is necessary. Data storage on servers means you can backup data from your device onto them and recover it on any new device. This aids in running your setup on different devices easily. 2. Hosting Web Apps and Sites Modern CSE is all about web apps, websites, and online resources. Because the internet has become a necessity, most software services now work online rather than locally. Online apps are called web apps. Their front end is operating locally, but all processing is done on the back end. What is on the back end? A bunch of servers, of course. The servers are responsible for taking requests from client computers and doing the necessary processing quickly. Then, they send the results back in a jiffy, and the clients can move on to their next request. The principle is essentially the same as that of websites, except the front end is not provided by the server. So, in modern CSE, being able to set up a server to interface and work with web apps is a critical skill to have. 3. Providing Cloud Computing Infrastructure In modern CSE, cloud computing is an essential part of online services. So, if you are a CSE expert and your team is tasked with creating an online app to provide a service, you will most likely use some form of cloud computing. Many modern apps utilize popular cloud infrastructure such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform. And what is cloud computing? It is just a server farm that allocates resources to clients according to their needs. All the processing is done on the servers, and only the results are shared with the clients. 4. Allows Sharing Resources in Networks Remember how we talked about data storage on servers in networks? Well, that data can be shared with the network as well. The server is a centralized resource that anybody in the network can access and make requests to. So, in distributed systems, CSE experts can use servers for efficient sharing of data and other resources that you can store on a server. 5. Enabling Online Communication The entire internet as we know it runs on a few core infrastructure technologies. These include servers, routers, switches, modems, as well as all the wiring and signal transfer technology. Then, there is the whole Domain Name System (DNS) with its own set of servers. In simpler terms, we can classify the internet as a bunch of servers connected to each other and edge computers supported by the DNS. Web apps like Skype, Discord, Slack, etc., use the servers they are hosted on to enable communication between people. The DNS works in tandem with these servers by assigning them IP addresses and mapping them to domain names. Client devices do DNS lookups to find the right IP address and connect to the relevant server to access their desired resources (for the communication app). That’s why if you are going to include any group communication facility in your software, you will require servers. CSE experts also need to set up the relevant DNS records if they are using their own servers for communication. Proper implementation of the records is necessary. Otherwise, communications can fail. So, a good tip is to use a DNS record checker to ensure that the records have been published correctly. 6. Essential Part of Security Infrastructure Security is a huge concern in any modern software and hardware system. Due to the alarming amount of personal data available on our devices, they are a prime target for hackers. Such data can be used to steal the identity of a victim and take out loans or credit cards in their name. Because such data is no longer just available on personal devices due to companies collecting it for various reasons, it can be stolen from more places. This is why security measures have evolved to safeguard the servers where such data is stored. Since servers have really high processing power, they can run computationally expensive security algorithms to protect sensitive data. As such, they are a core component of security infrastructure. CSE experts need to design systems around this capability. 7. Load Balancing and Scalability Since cloud computing and web services are so popular now, a lot of companies use them. Naturally, increased usage means that there are fewer resources available for different consumers. After all, the server farms are not infinite. The problem can be mitigated by using load-balancing servers. These servers entertain requests to access the cloud resources. They assign priority to different clients and allow them to access the system for a limited amount of time. This helps manage load and prevent DDOS attacks. Load balancing is also handled by DNS servers. However, that is a complicated topic for another time. Of course, servers can also be used to literally increase the size of the server farm when businesses are trying to increase the scale of their operations. Conclusion So, there you have it: Servers and their various uses in CSE. As you may have noticed, in the modern SAAS-based business model, servers are a necessity. So, CSE experts need to be well-versed in server setup and programming to create distributed applications and software.