Web Technology - Old Questions
4. Describe client server architecture with its types.
Client server architecture consists of two kinds of computers: clients and servers. Clients are the computers that that do not share any of its resources but requests data and other services from the server computers and server computers provide services to the client computers by responding to client computers requests.
Client/Sever architecture can be of different model based on the number of layers it holds. Some of them are;
1. 2-Tier Architecture
2-tier architecture is used to describe client/server systems where the client requests resources and the server responds directly to the request, using its own resources. This means that the server does not call on another application in order to provide part of the service. It runs the client processes separately from the server processes, usually on a different computer.
2. 3-Tier Architecture
In 3-tier architecture, there is an intermediary level, meaning the architecture is generally split up between:
– A client, i.e. the computer, which requests the resources, equipped with a user interface (usually a web browser) for presentation purposes
– The application server (also called middleware), whose task it is to provide the requested resources, but by calling on another server
– The data server, which provides the application server with the data it requires.
3. N-Tier Architecture (multi-tier)
N-tier architecture (with N more than 3) is really 3 tier architectures in which the middle tier is split up into new tiers. The application tier is broken down into separate parts. These parts are differs from system to system.
