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In most common use, a server is a physical computer (a computer hardware system) dedicated to run one or more services (as a host), to serve the needs of the users of other computers on the network. Depending on the computing service that it offers it could be a database server, file server, mail server, print server, web server, gaming server, or some other kind of server. In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients". The clients either run on the same computer or connect through the network. In the context of Internet Protocol (IP) networking, a server is a program that operates as a socket listener. Servers often provide essential services across a network, either to private users inside a large organization or to public users via the Internet.

The term server is used quite broadly in information technology. Despite the many server-branded products available (such as server versions of hardware, software or operating systems), in theory any computerised process that shares a resource to one or more client processes is a server. To illustrate this, take the common example of file sharing. While the existence of files on a machine does not classify it as a server, the mechanism which shares these files to clients by the operating system is the server. Similarly, consider a web server application (such as the multiplatform "Apache HTTP Server"). This web server software can be run on any capable computer. For example, while a laptop or personal computer is not typically known as a server, they can in these situations fulfill the role of one, and hence be labelled as one. It is, in this case, the machine's role that places it in the category of server. In the hardware sense, the word server typically designates computer models intended for hosting software applications under the heavy demand of a network environment. In this client-server configuration one or more machines, either a computer or a computer appliance, share information with each other with one acting as a host for the other[s]. While nearly any personal computer is capable of acting as a network server, a dedicated server will contain features making it more suitable for production environments. These features may include a faster CPU, increased high-performance RAM, and increased storage capacity in the form of a larger or multiple hard drives. Servers also typically have reliability, availability and serviceability (RAS) and fault tolerance features, such as redundancy in power supplies, storage (as in RAID), and network connections. Servers became common in the early 1990s as businesses increasingly began using personal computers to provide services formerly hosted on larger mainframes or minicomputers. Early file servers housed multiple CD-ROM drives, which were used to host large database applications.[citation needed] Between the 1990s and 2000s an increase in the use of dedicated hardware saw the advent of self-contained server appliances. One well-known product is the Google Search Appliance, a unit that combines hardware and software in an out-of-the-box packaging. Simpler examples of such appliances include switches, routers, gateways, and print server, all of which are available in a near plug-and-play configuration. Modern operating systems such as Microsoft Windows or Linux distributions rightfully seem to be designed with a client-server architecture in mind. These operating systems attempt to abstract hardware, allowing a wide variety of software to work with components of the computer. In a sense, the operating system can be seen as serving hardware to the software, which in all but low-level programming languages must interact using an API. These operating systems may be able to run programs in the background called either services or daemons. Such programs, such as the aforementioned Apache HTTP Server software, may wait in a sleep state for their necessity to become apparent. Since any software that provides services can be called a server, modern personal computers can be seen as a forest of servers and clients operating in parallel. The Internet itself is also a forest of servers and clients. Merely requesting a web page from a few kilometers away involves satisfying a stack of protocols that involve many examples of hardware and software servers. The least of these are the routers, modems, domain name servers, and various other servers necessary to provide us the world wide web.

In a general network environment the following types of servers may be found. Application server, a server dedicated to running certain software applications Catalog server, a central search point for information across a distributed network Communications server, carrier-grade computing platform for communications networks Database server, provides database services to other computer programs or computers Fax server, provides fax services for clients File server, provides remote access to files Game server, a server that video game clients connect to in order to play online together Home server, a server for the home Name server or DNS Print server, provides printer services Proxy server, acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers Sound server, provides multimedia broadcasting, streaming. Standalone server, an emulator for client-server (web-based) programs Web server, a server that HTTP clients connect to in order to send commands and receive responses along with data contents