File Servers

• As the name implies, a file server is used for the storage of files. It provides extra storage space and lets people handle files from their own computer or from other computers on the network. The primary requirement for a file server is that it has ample hard-drive space.
  
  

Web Servers

• Web servers often run the Unix/Linux program Apache to allow a user to access stored web pages. (Windows versions of Apache are available, and Apache is not the only web serving program.) Web servers must have enough storage space to handle the stored pages, but they must also be have the programs necessary to interpret scripting languages such as PHP and Javascript.
  
  

FTP Servers

• FTP servers are a specialized type of file server that allow the user to access files over the Internet. Anonymous FTP servers do not require passwords. Internet tradition requires that an anonymous FTP user types in his email address as the password for an anonymous FTP site.
  
  

Application Servers

• Application servers are used to run or share a specific application. They can cut down on the software licensing costs of a business or allow space to be saved on workstations on the network by not having the hard drives filled with the software. Sometimes, application servers are connected to "dumb terminals," and all of the processing takes place on the server itself. Dumb terminals are workstations that simply connect to a central computer and have little or no processing power of their own.
  
  

Audio/Video Servers

• Application servers are used to run or share a specific application. They can cut down on the software-licensing costs of a business or allow space to be saved on workstations on the network by not having the hard drives filled with the software. Sometimes, application servers are connected to "dumb terminals" and all of the processing takes place on the server itself. Dumb terminals are workstations that simply connect to a central computer and have little or no processing power of their own.
  
  

Other Dedicated Server Types

• Other dedicated server types exist, especially for the Internet. These include news servers that handle email newsgroups and IRC (Internet Relay Chat) servers that handle the popular chat client.
  
  

An Interesting Fact

• The original Xbox can be converted to a Linux file server, if the user re-formats the hard drive that comes with the unit.