server farm (Web farm, Web server farm)
A server farm is a group of computers acting as
servers and housed together in a single location. A server farm is
sometimes called a server
cluster. A Web server farm can be either (1) a Web site that has more than one server, or (2) an Internet service provider (
ISP) that provides Web hosting services using multiple servers.
In a
business network, a server farm or cluster might perform such services as providing centralized access control, file access, printer sharing, and backup for workstation users. The servers may have individual operating systems or a shared operating system and may also be set up to provide load balancing when there are many server requests. In a server farm, if one server fails, another can act as backup.
On the Internet, a Web server farm, or simply Web farm, may refer to a Web site that uses two or more
servers to handle user requests. Typically, serving user requests for the files (pages) of a Web site can be handled by a single server. However, larger Web sites may require multiple servers.
Web farm is a term that is also simply used to mean a business that performs Web site hosting on multiple servers. Some Web farms allow you to put your own server on their site, a service known as colocation.
This was last updated in July 2000
Dig Deeper
-
Backing up to local disk or tape can protect against the accidental destruction of a file but will do nothing to protect you when your facility suffers fire or flooding. Remote backup provides a better solution. This tip looks at two possibilities for remote backup: Choosing an outsourced remote backup service, or using software to do your own backups to an offsite facility.
-
Learn how attackers are using the widespread deployment of low-cost VoIP to leverage phishing attacks.
-
Is the government listening to your VoIP traffic? Can other companies spy on your WAN? It may sound like a paranoid conspiracy theory, but it's not that far out, technologically speaking. In this tip, Tom Lancaster looks at just how exposed your WAN traffic may be.
-
People who read this also read...
-
Resources from around the Web