What is an application server?
Application server software allows users to install and host applications such as web browsers, image editors, development and testing applications, etc. Application servers grew in popularity when the demand for numerous applications across industries grew. The complexity and additional functionality required by users became tedious to maintain, pushing the demand for application servers.
Application servers can have different users based on their respective requirements. A user might need an application for scalability or to improve managing all their web applications. An application server acts as a middleware platform or the second layer since it exists between the first layer, the client end, which can be a browser or a web server, and the third layer, the database server itself.
Types of application servers
There are three types of application servers:
- Active application server: This application server supports business logic in the form of rules or objects.
- Web information server: This type of application server focuses on processing web applications.
- Component server: This type of application server helps connect different software components.
Benefits of using application servers
A few benefits of application servers include:
- Instant access to apps: Every application being used is pulled from an application server and delivered by a web server. Web clients make HTTP requests to access a particular app pulled from the application server.
- Traffic optimization: Application servers are designed in such a way that they can handle high incoming traffic for the apps. Application servers are built to handle multiple requests from web clients. In addition, the performance of heavy applications increases by using an application server.
- License management: Installing an application every time on a system is difficult. This is where the application server comes in. Computers can run applications without the need to be run locally. This helps in managing licenses for various applications since only the allowed number of users can use the application at a given time.
- Data integrity: Application servers follow a centralized approach. Any security updates, patches, etc., can be done via the application server. Different users do not need to access the same application and make changes that could cause potential errors.
Application server best practices
In order to make an application server work, there are a few best practices that should be followed:
- Identifying and prioritization: As a best practice when choosing application servers, it's essential to identify and prioritize based on the wants and needs of the organization/user. Some of the important factors to consider include scalability, reliability, development, performance, and cost-effectiveness, among others.
- Identification of a use case: If the organization is large to very large, then an application server might be necessary. However, if a smaller organization is looking to purchase an application server, the cost might be their main factor.
Preethica Furtado
Preethica is a Market Research Manager and Senior Market Research Analyst at G2 focused on the data and cloud management space. Prior to joining G2, Preethica spent three years in market research for enterprise systems, cloud forecasting, and workstations. She has written research reports for both the semiconductor and telecommunication industries. Her interest in technology led her to combine that with building a challenging career. She enjoys reading, writing blogs and poems, and traveling in her free time.
