Even tech-savvy business owners blanch at the thought of installing a computer server. They have nightmarish visions of impenetrable computer languages and exorbitantly priced hardware. But what they often do not consider are the long-term advantages of running their network on a server: reduced hardware spending, better network security, and increased productivity, just to name a few. But what are servers, what do they do, and how do they do it?

In a peer-to-peer network, the most basic type of network, each computer is connected directly to every other computer. But in a client-server network, all computers are connected to the server and the server manages the network. Its only goal is to manage a computer network and fulfill requests from computers on its network. (For more on networking basics, Why You Need a Computer Network is required reading.)

Rather than depending on each client computer to manage its own tasks, such as connecting to the Internet, file sharing, or sending and receiving e-mail, in a client-server network, the client computers "outsource" these tasks to the server. This allows the client computers to run leaner and faster, as well as providing a single point of convergence for your entire network.