Web Servers

Summary

A web server is often a physical device that contains files and software to run a website, like HTML and CSS files. It stores all your information and connects to the internet to exchange the data with other devices/services, like a website.


What are Web Servers and What Do They Do?

When a site needs information, like an HTML or CSS file, it will request it from the server storing the information. It will usually do this through HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), or FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

Web servers can act as hosts for your Linux website. Hosting is simply a software that connects the server to the client. Some common examples of this are WordPress, Wix, and Weebly. However, these aren’t what you’d likely be looking for when creating a website from Linux. When you set up a website on Linux, you’ll be asked to set up a web server in the process - you’ll need its host name and whatever port name you want to connect to, or the server’s IP address. Some common examples are Apache, Lighttpd, and NGINX.


Uses


Examples