Client server network – it is another way of combining computers in the network is using the central server or servers. Unlike the peer-to-peer network, files are being stored in one location – at the server. Although, users can store files on their machines too, these files could not be accessed anywhere from the network.
In terms of security, this architecture is much more secure, since it is necessary to secure just one place storing files. This means, that if two client machines need to share files, they should use the server as the intermediary.
Every server should have special version of operating system, server OS that is specially design for this purpose. It is able to manage data and provide access to it for multiple users, ensuring that the users have permission to access specific file. Server machine can manage and modify list of files accessible by client machines and dictate the rules for client machines.
Server – is a machine with higher performance, memory and storage capacity compared to clients. Some servers are using hardware that is specially designed for the servers, this kind of hardware could not be found in normal computers. Server – client network architecture is providing some advantages over the peer-to-peer network. Server might require the login/password authentication for each user to access files.It is much simpler to monitor, manage, modify and repair compared to P2P network. Unlike client machines, servers are optimised for handling heavy processing access by multiple users at the same time, with fast response. Servers make network more scalable, since it is easy to add new clients and servers to the network.
