Difference Between App Server and Web Server: A Simple Guide

Technology engagement with businesses. Multiple owners are inculcating digital systems to improve the performance of their organizations. 

Thus, there is an increasing need for owners and employees to understand basic computer terms. App servers and Web servers are two basic terms that can help a business understand web hosting. A web server enables data sharing over the Internet, where users can access multiple forms.

However, an application server extends the abilities of a web server by integrating various resources and content generation. It uses business logic to provide users with a much more meaningful experience.

What is a Web Server?

A web server serves users static content, like web pages and media, based on HTTP/S requests. This is made possible by exchanging HTTP/S requests and responses between a user's browser and the desired server respectively. The reactions include anything from HTML, media, or links that redirect users to further URLs.

Web servers often serve static content but can also serve dynamic content when combined with server-side technologies. Static content is content that is the same every time we access it. It can deliver static content more efficiently, but performance depends on server configuration and hardware.

Thus, a web server is more often responsible for sharing information between static servers. This helps to manage the performance and respond rapidly to a user's request. Apache and Nginx are two such common web servers.

What is an Application Server?

An application server extends the functionality of a web server by handling business logic and providing dynamic content and services. It is more complex as it can handle web-based requests (HTTP/S) and deliver dynamic content over messages, remoting, and other protocols. The protocols utilized by an app server make it suitable for providing services and serving multiple business applications. The business logic makes an application server's content more meaningful.

The core purpose of an app server is to reduce the interface's complexity and improve the platform's functionality. It handles more complicated workloads and is designed to have more CPU, memory, and disk resources than a web server.

JBoss and WebSphere are two famous app servers. Such servers generally provide features such as messaging, security, connection pooling, transaction support, batch processing, and more.

Application servers use load balancing to distribute their requests across multiple servers. This helps these servers handle the workload and maximize service availability over time. Other techniques taught by app servers include fault-tolerance techniques, like share sessions, and various scalability strategies.

How Web Servers Work?

Web servers work by sharing information across various servers. This is because a web server hosts a website's code and data. Users can access this hosted data by entering a URL in their browser, which encapsulates the web server's address identifier.

The browser and web server communicate with each other to load a website over a user's browser. When a user inputs a URL in the browser, it tries to find the server's IP address. This is done by sending an HTTP request to the database of servers.

Upon finding the relevant data, the browser communicates with the server. Web servers host content like images or static web pages, and they can also serve dynamic content like blogs or articles when integrated with server-side technologies. This can be part of the information the browser provides when communicating with the web server.

The communication established between a browser and a web server involves verifying data. This verification, called a TLS/SSL handshake, involves sharing a data set. It requires verifying the TLS/SSL certificate of the website a user wants to access.

The verification of TLS/SSL certificates ensures the sharing of information over servers in an encrypted form that is encrypted by the user's browser. This is responsible for handling a website's security, as it protects the user's sensitive data from cyber-attacks and harmful malware.

How do Application Servers work?

An application server involves dynamic content generation, app logic, and data integration from multiple resources. It provides a runtime environment where users can run application codes and interact with other software components, such as message systems and databases.

The app server uses business logic to delegate the data more meaningfully than a web server. The back end of accessing the content is quite interesting. 

In this case, the browser also uses the URL to find the IP address of the desired website. An HTTP request is sent to the server, which interacts with the HTTP database. The server responds by transferring the request to the app server. The application fulfills the request, applying business logic and communicating with other servers and/or third-party systems. 

Moreover, the application creates an HTML page and gives it to the web server.

Lastly, the web server responds to the user's browser, and the user can see the page loaded on their browser.

Key Differences Between Web Server and Application Server:

• Load and scalability

The app server and web server handle different loads and perform accordingly. Web servers handle sending over 10k concurrent requests, which helps to maximize performance.

An app server handles the load by using load balancing. This process involves sharing data across multiple servers to serve various concurrent requests. The load is distributed, and so performance is maximized.

• Functional differences:

Various functional differences exist between app servers and web servers. A web server manages static content, whereas an app server uses dynamic content to provide an immersive experience to users.

An app server utilizes more resources than a web server due to its handling of business logic and dynamic content. Protocols used also differ, as the web server utilizes HTTP and HTTPS protocols. In addition to the HTTP/S requests, the app server uses RPC, RMI, remote, messaging, and other proprietary wireline protocols.

Application servers are typically better suited for complex tasks like business logic and data integration, although web servers can access databases with server-side scripts. App server's storage requirements are higher. Last but not least, app servers execute business logic but require a web server to scale their products and pages.

• Scenario:

Despite the above differences, there are a few scenarios where web servers are more beneficial than app servers. If an organization requires simple content and does not want to invest much money in its pursuit, then a web server can be more suitable as it is cheaper and can handle static content.

However, an app server is more suitable for providing dynamic and engaging content. It requires more disk space and resource monitoring.

Choosing Between a Web Server and an Application Server:

Since readers already know the difference between an app server and a web server, understanding their applications will be beneficial.

While considering choosing between the app server and the web server, one should realize that a web server is more suitable for hosting static web pages. This means a web server is sufficient for a business showcasing its products or a blogging website.

As discussed above, app servers encapsulate many more functionalities than web servers. Thus, they may be suitable for businesses offering online transactions, managing client accounts, and providing multiple services. An application can rely on its internal administrative or marketing systems for its functioning.

An out-of-the-box application for app servers and web servers can be a hybrid system. A hybrid system includes integrating both web and app servers for a business and using them on the same system. This helps to benefit from both systems simultaneously.

A hybrid server can mitigate server demands and efficiently utilize app and web servers by deciding their use. This can help a business utilize resources to the utmost capacity because the flexibility of services is maximized in this case.

For example, a business can use an app server for transactions and then use a web server to offer instructional content or showcase a blog.

Users can access similar services by visiting Vodien's hosting solutions. Vodien supports both web and application servers tailored to different business demands.

Conclusion:

Both app and web servers are important aspects of internet servers; they are responsible for handling multiple users' demands and responding to them accordingly. A web server is more suitable for static content, such as that in a blog or instructional page for a business product.

However, app servers offer a more engaging and dynamic form of content. Because they are more complex, they require much more disk space and CPU to run. The maintenance requirements of an app server can also be higher than those of a web server.

It is important to choose the correct server for your business requirements. This is because the utilization of resources and their requirements vary from app servers to web servers.

One can choose between an app server for dynamic and engaging content and a web server for more static content. Moreover, a user can also choose a hybrid system that integrates both the app and web servers. This improves flexibility and optimizes the resources from both servers to their utmost capacity.

FAQs on the Difference Between App Server and Web Server:

What is the primary function of a web server?

The primary function of a web server is to exchange information between a user's browser and the server they are trying to visit. This is done by exchanging information through HTTP or HTTPS.

What types of content does a web server handle?

A web server handles static content, which means that it does not change over time. This type of content is simple compared to the type offered by an app server.

Can an application server also serve static content?

Yes, an application server can also serve static content. However, using an app server to serve static content might not be the optimal use of its resources.

What are some common web servers?

Apache and Nginx are two common web servers. Apache is famous for configuring files to virtual servers and paths. Meanwhile, Nginx is famous for load balancing, reverse proxy, and much more.

How does an application server differ from a web server?

The main difference between an app server and a web server is that of functionalities. A web server offers simple or static content. However, the app server offers dynamic and engaging content for a website, adding to the functionalities of a web server.

Which server is better for dynamic content?

The app server is better for dynamic content. It can handle more complex requirements because it uses load balancing and more servers/third-party systems to maximize its performance.

What is middleware in application servers?

Middleware is a type of application server. This is because middleware is something that is not a part of an operating system or software application.

Can a single server function as both web and application servers?

Yes, a single server can function as both web and application servers. It handles HTTP requests, server web pages, and process application logic. This setup is common in small to medium-sized applications for simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

How do web servers handle SSL/TLS?

SSL/TLS certificates are installed within a website's server. A user's browser uses these certificates to verify the website's security when establishing a connection with it for the first time.

What factors should I consider when choosing between a web server and an application server?

The most important aspects of choosing between a web server and an application server include the content type required from the website, functionalities, and the type of resources one's business can dedicate to the server's maintenance.