The difference between a workstation and server computer

Many people have asked to know what exactly a Workstation is. Awhile ago, I got an Email from a woman in Seattle who wanted to know the difference between a workstation and a server. Well, below is a concise explanation of how a Workstation differs from a Server.

Workstations

A workstation is a type of personal computer that is intended for professional use and has higher performance than other types of personal computers. A workstation has higher performance and speed compared to other PCs. They have higher graphics, CPU, memory capacity, and multitasking capability. They help connect local area networks and they support multi-user operation systems. In fact, workstations are designed for more powerful scientific and technical applications.

A workstation offers technical users a cost-effective way to better utilize desktop visualization. Workstations use a keyboard and mouse just like a personal computer. They are used intensively in the corporate world and they help organizations to increase productivity and reduce cost. For example, instead of spending money on different desktops, you can simply do all the tasks on one piece of hardware -- the workstation.

To be more elaborate, workstations come handy in applications such as video editing, graphic design, AutoCad, and other RAM and CPU intensive programs. In one word, if you like, they are used for special editing work. Workstations have higher-grade video, audio, and processing cards that are probably different from what you have in "ordinary" personal computer.

Workstations are the precious machines used by professionals for high-powered Design work, multi-media production, engineering stimulation and for business use. Workstations usually run on UNIX, Windows, Mac OS X and Solaris 9 operation systems. There are various types of workstations. We have the video workstations, sound workstations and so on. A video workstation, for example, is used for digital editing of videos. One very good reason workstations are use for audio and video editing is because of their high quality user interface.

Servers

Servers are machines, devices, or applications that perform the service for connecting clients as part of the client server architecture. They are used in hosting and for intranet purposes. Put simply, a server stores files, videos, images and other applications that are available online for other computers or users to access. They allow computers to share internet connections or applications. Servers are specifically for networking purposes. Servers usually run on Solaris, Linux, Windows Server, or FreeBSD operating systems.

There are different types of servers; we have the web servers, application servers, database servers and more. Application servers, as the name implies is a type of server that allows users to share applications. A web server hosts a website and is the primary way for users around the world to access a website's content. As an example, this article you are reading right now about servers was served from a web server.

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-By Dominic

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