A web server is a program that uses HTTP to deliver files that, when requested by users and sent by their computer's HTTP clients, construct web pages for them.

A web server may be the source of an XML document that is sent from one device to another. To put it simply, a web server is an Internet server that provides services and content by replying to HTTP requests.

As an illustration, imagine that you are using your computer to browse the internet when a buddy tells you, "I just read a great article at the following URL: https://www.gohostshop.com/blog."

To use this URL, simply type it into your browser and hit Enter. That is all!

The page you have browsed appears instantly on your computer screen, so it doesn't matter where in the globe your website is hosted.

An internet connection is never lost for a web server. Every web server has an own address, which is made up of four digits ranging from 0 to 255. A period (.) is used to separate these numerals.

Hosting companies can manage numerous domains (users) on a single server by using the web server.

A web hosting company lets customers build websites and rents out space on a server or cluster of servers so they can establish an online presence.

Types of Web Servers

Web servers primarily come in four flavors: Apache, IIS, Nginx, and LiteSpeed.

Apache

One of the most well-known web servers created by the Apache Software Foundation is the Apache web server. Apache is open source software that runs on nearly every operating system, including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Unix FreeBSD, and more. About 60% of the computers are powered by the Apache Web Server.

Because of its modular design, the Apache web server is simple to customize. Since it's open source, you can add your own modules to the server and modify it to your specifications as needed.

Compared to other web servers, it is incredibly stable, and administrative problems are quickly fixed. It is feasible to successfully install Apache on several different platforms.

In comparison to its previous editions, the most recent versions of Apache give you the ability to manage more requests.

IIS

IIS is a server that is a Microsoft product that has all the characteristics like Apache. It gets a little challenging to alter and add custom modules because it isn't open source.

It works with every platform that uses the Windows OS. In addition, excellent customer service is provided in case of any problems.

Nginx

After Apache, Nginx is the next open source web server. It consists of a POP3 and IMAP proxy server. Nginx provides notable advantages including low resource consumption, simple configuration, great performance, and stability.

Nginx offers a highly scalable event-driven design that uses a limited and predictable amount of RAM under load to handle requests rather than using threads. It now hosts roughly 7.5% of all domains worldwide and has gained popularity recently. This server has been used by numerous web hosting businesses.

LiteSpeed

LiteSpeed (LSWS), a commercial web server, is the fourth most popular web server on the internet and a high-performance drop-in replacement for Apache.

Upgrade to LiteSpeed for your web server, and you'll see reduced running costs along with better performance.

The most widely used Apache features, including mod_rewrite, mod_security, and.htaccess, are compatible with this server.

It may be used as a drop-in replacement for Apache with nearly all hosting control panels and can load Apache configuration files directly. It can take the place of the Apache without any downtime in fifteen minutes.

To make the transfer from Apache seamless, LSWS substitutes all of the functions that Apache cannot perform, making it easier to use.

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Apache Tomcat

Apache Tomcat is a web server that is an open source Java servlet container. A Java servlet is a Java program that increases a server's functionality.  Although servlets may handle any kind of request, web servers are where they are most often used to implement applications. The Java counterpart of other dynamic web content technologies like PHP and ASP.NET are these web servlets. The Apache Software Foundation received the source base for Tomcat from Sun Microsystems in 1999, and in 2005, it was elevated to a top-level Apache project. It currently powers less than 1% of all webpages.

Java applications are usually executed using Apache Tomcat, which was released under the Apache License version 2. However, Coyote may be added to it to enable it to function as a standard web server that delivers local files as HTTP documents.

Apache Tomcat is frequently included in lists of open source Java application servers. Glassfish, JBoss, and wildfly are a few examples.

Node.js

Essentially, Node.js is a JavaScript environment that runs on the server side and is utilized for network applications like web servers. Ryan Dahl wrote it in the beginning in 2009. With 0.2% of all websites running on it, Node.js has a lesser market share. Collaborative Projects from the Linux Foundation support the Node.js project, which is run by the Node.js Foundation.

Unlike other well-known web servers, Node.js is primarily a cross-platform runtime environment for creating network applications. Node.js uses an event-driven architecture and supports asynchronous I/O. Because of these design decisions, online applications' throughput and scalability are optimized, facilitating the operation of browser games and real-time communication. Understanding the distinctions between various web development stacks is also made easier by Node.js, as it is evidently a component of the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript stack, in contrast to Apache or NGINX, which are components of many software stacks.

Lighttpd

 Lighttpd Server Originally released in March 2003, Lighttpd is pronounced "lightly." Licensed under a BSD license, it powers about 0.1% of all websites currently in use.

Lighttpd is distinct because of its reduced memory footprint, speed enhancements, and low CPU burden. It uses an event-driven design that supports various features like as URL rewriting, FastCGI, Auth, output compression, SCGI, and many more. It is also optimized for a large number of simultaneous connections. It is a widely used web server for web frameworks like Ruby on Rails and Catalyst.

OpenLiteSpeed

a lightweight, highly efficient server that speeds up the loading of your website. It is essentially LiteSpeed Web Server Enterprise's Open Source version. You benefit from simplicity because it's easy to use, share, and download for free.

Next, OpenLiteSpeed integrates all industry benchmarks—including performance, security, scalability, and optimization—into a single open-source package. Additionally, it is built on Event Driven Architecture, which reduces overhead and offers remarkable scalability.  

According to the most recent statistics, 12.2% of all websites utilize it. The figure is just remarkable!

The fact that OpenLiteSpeed works with mod_rewrite eliminates the need for you to acquire new syntax. Additionally, it supports QUIC and HTTP/3, hundreds of concurrent connections without experiencing load spikes, and other applications like PHP, Ruby, Python, Perl, and Java.

Jigsaw Server

Jigsaw is a popular web server platform that is object-oriented. Along with a number of premium features over its sophisticated Java-based design, it provides an example of an HTTP 1.1 implementation. World Wide Web Consortium is responsible for developing Jigsaw Server (W3C). Roughly 0.1 percent of all websites are operated by it.

It's an open-source, totally free platform! You can operate on a number of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Free BSD, etc.

Additionally, this Jigsaw server provides a platform for developers to experiment with new features and apply them in accordance with evolving web standards.

Sun Java System Web Server

Sun Microsystems developed the multi-threaded, secure Sun Java System Web Server, which was formerly known as Sun One Web Server and iPlanet Web Server. Later, Oracle took control of it.

At the moment, 0.1% of all websites use it. This web server is perfect for hosting medium-sized and large websites because it is dependable and extremely scalable. It is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Unix. The platform isn't open-source, though. 

You're covered by the Sun Java System Web Server's array of capabilities and functionalities, which include SSL/TLS encryption and load balancing. Additionally, it supports a wide range of scripts and languages, including Perl, Python, Ruby, JSP, PHP, and Java Servlets.

Other server types include the following ones as well:

Mail Server: A mail server is a centrally hosted pool of disk space that allows network users to store and exchange various documents via emails. Administrators just need to backup files from one machine because all the data is kept in one place.

Application Server: It functions as a collection of parts that programmers can access using an API that the platform itself defines. These elements are typically carried out in a setting akin to the web application's web server or servers. Their primary responsibility is to assist in the creation of dynamic pages.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server: The FTP server and client employ different control and data connections. FTP users have the option to authenticate themselves by providing a username and password.

If the server isn't set up to support them, they can still join with anonymous names. The login and password must be encrypted using FTP and SSL in order to ensure transmission security.

Database Server: A database server is a computer software that uses client-server capabilities to provide database services to other computers or programs. For database access, certain DBMSs (like MySQL, for instance) rely on the client-server architecture. This kind of server can be accessed through the "back end," which handles data analysis and storage, or the "front end," which runs on the user's computer and receives the request.

Domain Name System (DNS) Server: A name server is a computer server that runs a network service to provide answers to requests. It maps a numeric identity or an addressing component. The server responds to a request for network services protocol in this way.

The major function of these DNS servers is to convert host names and domain names that are easy for people to remember into their associated IP addresses. DNS aids in identifying the Internet namespace, which is used to identify and find resources and computer systems on the network.

Conclusion

The web hosting businesses mostly choose the web servers according to the needs of their clients, the quantity of clients on a single server, the software/applications that clients use, and the volume of traffic that clients can generate on a web server. Therefore, consider each of these factors before choosing a web server, and then make your choice.