BRCM College Of Business Administration

CLIENT SERVER
ARCHITECTURE
Defination

The term ‘Client-Server’ refers to

the Network Architecture.
Where one or more computers
are connected a server.

That one computer (the Client) or more sends a

service request to another computer (the Server).
Client Functions
Is an arbitrary application program that becomes a client
temporarily when remote access is needed, but also
performs other computation locally.
Is invoked locally by a user, and executes only for one
session.
Runs locally on a user personal computer.
Actively initiates contact with a server
Can access multiple services as needed, but actively
contacts one remote server at a time.
Does not require special hardware or a sophisticated
operating system.
Server Functions
Is a special purpose, privileged program dedicated to providing
one service, but can handle multiple remote clients at the same
time.
Run on a shared computer(i.e. not a user’s personal computer).
Wait passively for contact from arbitrary remote clients.
Accepts contact from arbitrary clients, but offers a single
service.
Requires powerful hardware and a sophisticated operating
system
Types Of Servers

Mainframes
 One Tier
 Talks directly to the mainframe

File Server
 Thick Client
No hard-disk
Network dependant
One-tier architecture
Web Server
 Thin Client
Hard ware based
Network based
Two-tier architecture
Uses HTTP protocols

Application Server
 LAN (Local Access Network)
Backbone
 Cluster
Provides services within the webpage
Provides online documents
E.g. Hotmail, Google and Yahoo
  Blade
 Thinner client
 Super
Computer
 Accessed
virtually…
VmWare
software

 Remote
 Enables Network Administrators to
access the network without physically
being in the same location of the network.
• Remote Desktop Connections
Tiers
2-Tier Model

 The database is on the server.

 Distributed database logic
 The client does the presentation.
 Much simpler if all the database servers are the
same (homogenous).

Client
Server
Presentation Logic
Database
Business Logic Database
DBMS
Database Logic
3-Tier Model
The traditional client/server architecture involves two
levels, a client level and a server level.
A three level architecture is constituted by three types of
machines: a user machine, a middle-level server and a
back end server.
The user machine: (client) is typically a thin client.
The middle-level: server is the application server.
The back-end: server is the data server.
Working Of N-Tier Model

Unix Server

Database
Server
Client Middleway
Server
Advantages Of Client Sever Architecture

 Mainframe functionality can be made widely available.

Cost Benefits

 Processing and data are localized on the server.

Reduces network traffic, response time, bandwidth requirements

 Business logic can be distributed (in 3-tier model)

Reuse, Portability

 Encourages open systems.

Disadvantages Of Client Sever Architecture

 The server becomes a bottleneck.

Distributed applications are much more complex than

non-Distributed ones.
i.e. in development, runtime, maintenance, upgrades

 Requires a shift in business practices.

local, simple data --> distributed, open, complex data
Conlusion
 Combination of a front-end that interacts with the user, back-end that
interacts with the shared resource. The client process contains solution-
specific logic and provides the interface between the user and the rest of
the application system. The server process acts as a software
engine that manages shared resources such as databases, printers,
modems, or high powered processors.
 It has fundamentally different requirements for computing resources.
 The environment is typically heterogeneous and multivendor. The
hardware platform and operating system of client and server are not
usually the same.