Client-server architecture: interaction features

Computers, programs and peripherals are disparate components of an information network. Some people own a resource, so they are called servers, others access these resources and are called clients. Consider how they interact with each other and what is the client-server architecture.

The “Client-Server” architecture is an interaction of structural components in a network based on certain principles of organization of a given network, where the structural components are the server and nodes-providers of certain specialized functions (services), as well as clients who use this service. Specific functions are usually divided into three groups based on the solution of certain tasks:

• data input and presentation functions are intended for user interaction with the system;
• applied functions - for each subject area has its own set;
• resource management functions are designed to manage the file system, various databases and other components.

An autonomous system, such as a computer without a network connection, presents presentation, application, and control components at various levels. Such levels are considered the operating system, application and service software, various utilities. In the same way, all the above components are presented on the network. The main thing is to correctly provide network interaction between these components.

Client-server architecture is most often used to create corporate databases in which information is not only stored, but also periodically amenable to processing by various methods. It is the database that is the main element of any corporate information system, and the core of this database is located on the server. So, on the server, the most complex operations related to the input, storage, processing and modification of data occur. When the user (client) accesses the database (server), the request is processed: the database is accessed directly and the response (processing result) is returned. The processing result is a network message about the successful operation or error. Server computers can handle multiple clients accessing the same file at the same time. Such work and data transmission over the network accelerates the work of the applications used.

This architecture is used to access various resources using network technologies: Web servers, application servers, database servers , mail servers, firewalls, proxies. The development of client-server applications can improve the security, reliability and performance of used applications and the network as a whole. Most often, client-server applications are used to automate a business.