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Network Applications
Application services enable applications to leverage the computing power and specialized capabilities of other computers on a network.

For example, business applications often must perform complex statistical calculations beyond the scope of most desktop PCs. Statistical software with the required capabilities might need to run on a mainframe computer or on a minicomputer. The statistical package, however, can make its capabilities available to applications on users’ PCs by providing an application service.

The client PC sends the request for a calculation to the statistics server. After the results become available, they are returned to the client. This way, only one computer in an organization requires the expensive software license and processing power required to produce the statistics, but all client PCs can benefit.

Application services enable organizations to install servers that are specialized for specific functions. Currently, the most common application servers are database servers, which are discussed in the next section. Other application services, however, are beginning to emerge, such as fax and e-mail messaging services.

Application servers are an effective strategy for making a network more scaleable. Additional application servers can be added as new types of application needs emerge. If more power is needed for the application, only the application server needs to be upgraded. A database server, for example, might grow from a PC to a multiprocessor RISC system running Unix or Windows NT without requiring many (or even any) changes to the client PCs.

If demand for a server-based application begins to affect a server’s performance, it’s easy to move the application to a different server or even to dedicate a server specifically to that application. This isolates the application and enables it and applications remaining on the other server to run more efficiently This scalability is one of the advantages of a LAN architecture.

Some common forms of network applications are as follows:
Each of these applications is discussed in the following sections.

Further Information