What is an application server and what purpose does it serve? As the years go by, technology becomes more and more complex. Applications are certainly no exception to this phenomenon. As a result, as time passes, the evolution of applications could make it difficult for them to be written and maintained by the organizations that use them. This is where application servers come into play. These servers are located at the midpoint of the data-processing network. The network operating system, external systems, and whatever third party is using the application all connect to this server.
An application server is a specialized type of server that runs the software necessary to both build and maintain applications. At the same time, it hosts the applications that organizations build for their users. Instead of having to have separate dedicated servers for building apps, maintaining them, and hosting them, companies can now do all of that with a single piece of technology.
After polling PeerSpot users on some of the more essential aspects of an application server, we were able to narrow down the list to these main features: Application servers must be scalable and completely stable in order to get the job done, and should adequately fit the non-functional quality attribute requirements of the receiving system. PeerSpot users recommend that one should see how lightweight a server is before purchasing to ensure that it has sufficient load elasticity to support the various instances being launched.
Application servers function by dividing applications into three parts: a web- browser based interface such as a computer, an application or server which runs “business logic,” and a database of some kind. The server receives computer outputs, such as web page requests from third-party users. Once it has received these requests, it applies to them what is known as “business logic.” What this means is that it takes what it has received and transforms it using a specialized set of protocols, including security protocols. This transformation turns the data that it has taken in into content that can perform whatever function it is meant to fulfill. The server then sends it on to its next destination.
Companies can enjoy many different types of benefits if they choose to employ application servers:
As shown by the above-mentioned benefits, application servers are versatile. By using hardware that can do so many jobs with a high level of efficiency, companies can cut costs. Instead of spending money on many devices to do each of the things that application servers can, organizations now have an all-in-one solution.
There are a number of features which every application server should possess:
Although they are often used in tandem, application servers differ from web servers in a number of ways. In order to avoid confusing the two of them, some very significant distinctions should be pointed out.
Web servers can only deliver static content to the people using it. This means that the content that is delivered by web servers is unchanging. They are limited to delivering a single content type, which limits their usefulness. Application servers lack this limitation. They can deliver both static content as well as what is known as dynamic content. The flexibility that comes with being able to handle content that changes based on specific parameters makes the difference of capability between application servers and web servers rather stark.
Web servers can only run web-based applications. While this is valuable, it is also very limiting. Companies that wish to run proprietary software cannot use a web server to do so. Therefore, it can at best fulfill one role within a company. Application servers are able to deliver not only web-based content, but also enterprise applications. This enables it to fulfill multiple corporate functions.
