| Client/Server is a network application architecture which separates the client (usually the graphical
user interface) from the server. Each instance of the client software connects to a server or application server.
Client/Server is a scalable architecture whereby each computer or process on the network is either a client or a server.
Server software generally but not always runs on powerful computers dedicated for exclusive use to running the business
application. Client software on the other hand generally runs on common PCs or workstations. Clients get all or most of their
information and rely on the application server for things such as configuration files, stock quotes, business application
programs or to offload compute intensive application tasks back the server to keep the client computer (and client computer user)
free to perform other tasks.
A popular client in widespread use today is the web browser which communicates with web servers over the internet to fetch and
display web page content.
Another type of client in the Client/Server architecture is known as a thin
client, which is a minimal client. Thin clients utilize as few resources on the host PC as possible. A thin client's job is
generally just to graphically display information from the application server. This allows a company the ease of managing their business logic for all applications at a central location.
Application servers usually store data on a third machine, known as the database server. This is called a three-tier architecture whereas a generic client/server architecture is two-tier.
In general, an n-tier or Multi-tier architecture
may deploy any number of distinct services, including transitive relations between application servers implementing different
functions of business logic, each of which may or may not employ a distinct or shared database system.
Another type of network architecture is known as a peer-to-peer
architecture because each node or instance of the program is both a client and a server and each has equivalent responsibilities.
Both client/server and peer-to-peer architectures are in wide use. Each has advantages and disadvantages.
The X Window System is a client-server architecture with an
unusual property. The server is always local (near the user) and the client can be local or remote. This can be less confusing if
you think of the server (the X display) as making some resource available (a windowing display system) and the client as making
use of that resource.
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Other Network Architectures
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