Servers
Server computers are the lifeblood of any network. Servers provide the shared resources that network users crave, such as file storage, databases, e-mail, Web services, and so on. Choosing the equipment you use for your network's servers is one of the key decisions you'll make when you set up a network. In this section, I describe some of the various ways you can equip your network's servers.
Tip Only the smallest networks can do without at least one dedicated server computer. For a home network or a small office network with only a few computers, you can get away with true peer-to-peer networking. That's where each client computer shares its resources such as file storage or printers, and a dedicated server computer is not needed.
In this tutorial:
- Network Hardware
- Servers
- What's important in a server
- Components of a server computer
- Server form factors
- Saving space with a KVM switch
- Network Interface Cards
- Network Cable
- Coaxial cable
- Twisted-pair cable
- Hubs and Switches
- Hubs and switches demystified
- Repeaters
- Bridges
- Routers
- Network Attached Storage
- SAN is NAS spelled backwards
- Network Printers
