In computing, a file server (or fileserver) is a computer attached to a network that provides a location for shared disk access, i.e.

Hardware and software that together provide file-handling and storage functions for multiple users on a {local area network}. The most common choices for file server software are Sun Microsystems' Network File System for Unix and Novell Netware for IBM PC compatibles. There is also a version of NFS for PCs called PC-NFS. Storing files on a file server saves having multiple copies stored on individual computers, thus economising on disk space and also makes administrating and updating the files easier.

In computing, a server is a piece of computer hardware or software (computer program) that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called "clients". This architecture is called the client–server model.

<printer> A server device that is set up on a network to route print requests and status information between computers and printers connected by a network. A typical print server routes print requests for multiple computers and printers on a network. For example, a networked workstation user submits a print command that includes a print file and information about the printer to be used, usually a nearby printer for convenience. The print server sends the print file to the requested printer. The printer spools the print file and provides job status. The print server relays the status of the printer back to the workstation and makes this status information available to other devices on the network. (1999-02-18)

In computer networking, a print server, or printer server, is a type of server that connects printers to client computers over a network. It accepts print jobs from the computers and sends the jobs to the appropriate printers, queuing the jobs locally to accommodate the fact that work may arrive more quickly than the printer can actually handle.

client-server

The Apple Network Server (ANS) was a line of PowerPC-based server computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from February 1996 to April 1997.

A Minecraft server is a player-owned or business-owned multiplayer game server for the 2009 Mojang Studios video game Minecraft. In this context, the term "server" often colloquially refers to a network of connected servers, rather than a single machine.

<programming> A common form of distributed system in which software is split between server tasks and client tasks. A client sends requests to a server, according to some protocol, asking for information or action, and the server responds. This is analogous to a customer (client) who sends an order (request) on an order form to a supplier (server) who despatches the goods and an invoice (response). The order form and invoice are part of the "protocol" used to communicate in this case. There may be either one centralised server or several distributed ones. This model allows clients and servers to be placed independently on nodes in a network, possibly on different hardware and operating systems appropriate to their function, e.g. fast server/cheap client. Examples are the name-server/name-resolver relationship in DNS, the file-server/file-client relationship in NFS and the screen server/client application split in the {X Window System}. Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.client-server. ["The Essential Client/Server Survival Guide", 2nd edition, 1996]. (1998-01-25)

Client-server model is a distributed application structure that partitions tasks or workloads between the providers of a resource or service, called servers, and service requesters, called clients. Often clients and servers communicate over a computer network on separate hardware, but both client and server may reside in the same system.