What is the Difference Between Server and Host / Hosting?

By Arshath | January 9, 2023

“What is the difference between server and host/hosting?” Most of the vivid readers who read this. We want to clear the air about everything you have on this topic and understand why all computer nerds like us shudder at confusion.

Let us first get on first thing about the meaning of both.

A host is a device that will let you connect to a computer, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone.

A server is a hardware or software service to other devices. It also provides service to another computer/user (aka) client. In the data center, it stores send, and receive data from the server data to the requesting user’s computer.

To simplify both roles, a host will share and use the storage from the network while the server provides the services that the host request through the network and will also share the resources. In both their roles, they need a network to function effectively and properly.

We will still discuss deep into this subject about the difference between server and host/hosting and understand the functionality behind the words.

What is a host?

Think host as a machine that connects with a device within the network. A network is an IP where each device has its own address to connect with online and specific software allows your device to have those communications between the network and host understand the request received and sent between them.

A host with a hostname is displayed where the DNS – Domain Name System that converts the hostname to an IP address to keep the translation not stop and understanding in the network language.

Any device in any form which not have its own IP will not be considered a host that includes our regular connections like switches, routers, or Wi-Fi boosters.

So now you can able to tell what host and network. Let’s see the hosting side.

Localhost is the local computer that you normally use where you can point your websites with IP to load the website without taking the cache.

Hosting

Meanwhile, the difference between server and hosting tells that web hosting will have your website’s data store all your pages, images, content, etc, and make them available to your visitor who visits your website on any pages where the request will send to the server and receive that particular content with the cache stored on the server to load faster. You need web hosting in order to live the website all over the internet.

The Webhosting service providers like us will provide part of server purchased resources to you with access to manage it and charge for it to allocate the resources to store the website data. Without hosting the domain you have in the server, your websites will not be live and simply having only the domain won’t do any benefit. It’s like leasing the house for a certain period agreed upon between the hosting company and the client.

When you are a company that provides server space and people buy those spaces to store their websites to appear on the internet, that’s an example of web hosting. There are many hosting providers that do these works as how SeekaHost India does.

Another example, is you have a computer that has dedicated RAM, and ROM to store files same wise others all have their own computer like it. In this case, you will be seen differently. But both your computer’s storage data will be stored online i.e. The server with each be given separate access to manage those data to live the data content for all. Both your sites won’t conflict with each other and still be treated as two different domain hosts.

ALSO READ: How to Buy Domain and Hosting – Easy Guide

What is Server?

In telling you the difference between server and host, a server is typically a software and hardware device where other devices in the network will use their service or resources. A client is a software and hardware which utilized those services. A server will help the client to connect with the server in a single server with other clients or multiple servers.

This is a little big topic which takes the article more length. So let us just understand how the server is differentiated technologically so that you won’t confuse the server we are talking about here. Overall on all the types, it provides storage and manages data, resource share, etc to all clients hosted in the server.

Different types of Servers

You wonder why there are so many servers when the purpose is to provide the same. Well, that’s a good one but each one of the types mentioned below will have its own specialization and purpose to provide you with those services which you can understand from our explanations under it.

1. Web Server

Web servers simply mean that they accept the request from the client (web browser) and transfer the files to the user to display that content who viewing the website through any search engine. In computer technology terms, a web server is a computer system that stores the website’s content files like HTML doc., images, CSS, JavaScript, etc. It interchanges the website data stored in the server with other devices that view the website by connecting through the internet and supporting it.

ALSO SEE: Dedicated Server Hosting – Buy Servers at ₹3,750

2. Database server

It is where the particular website database which stores all the website data and provides access to authorized users. In other way, the Database server is a server that manages and stores the website’s databases that are stored on the server

3. Mail Server

In simple term, it helps to send and receives the email for the domain. A mail server is an application that helps to receive and send mail for incoming and outgoing messages for delivery. Every domain has its own default mail account where the account is hosted. If you want to use other mail servers like Gmail, yahoo, outlook, AOL, etc. You have to host there and config with your domain separately. This communication is open to local users and remote senders using the mail server.

4. File server

How do you store the files on your phone that can connect with other computers to transfer and store the files by having the access to them? You have done these for making backups. A file server is the same as it is. A File server as a computer stores and manage data files of a website that is connected to the internet so that they can share the information over the network without having to transfer manually. Examples, google drive, DropBox, FileZilla, etc.

Hope you will able to differentiate and understand the concept with the meaning behind it.