Best Application Servers

Application servers function by dividing applications into three parts: a web- browser based interface such as a computer, an application or server which runs “business logic,” and a database of some kind. The server receives computer outputs, such as web page requests from third-party users. Once it has received these requests, it applies to them what is known as “business logic.” What this means is that it takes what it has received and transforms it using a specialized set of protocols, including security protocols. This transformation turns the data that it has taken in into content that can perform whatever function it is meant to fulfill. The server then sends it on to its next destination.

Companies can enjoy many different types of benefits if they choose to employ application servers:

• It can save time and resources by providing a single, centralized location from which an organization’s applications can be managed. Any necessary installations, updates, or configuration changes can now be taken care of in a single location.
• The server applies security protocols to the applications that it hosts. This creates peace of mind for the companies that use these servers.
• It can also provide transactional support. This means that instead of requiring a team to code updates into the system, the servers will perform the coding functions itself.
• The promise of data integrity and consistency is yet another benefit that application servers can offer. The centralized nature of the application management means that any changes made on this server will impact the application wherever in the system it happens to be. This means that instead of having multiple copies of a single application, there will only be a single, standardized version.
• Application servers can also save organizations if there is ever a malfunction or failure in their system. These servers have the ability to recover data by moving it to an offsite location where it can be safely recovered.
• Using application servers for system management can also improve the performance of the network that runs the application in question. The way that it can do this is by placing limits on how much network traffic the network sees. This increases the speed and overall efficiency of the application.
• Load balancing is another feature that can translate into a benefit that can be gained by using application servers. This feature prevents system overload from taking place by carefully distributing requests made to the system. The server will receive requests and then it will have to make a decision as to how it will respond. Load balancing tells the server to distribute requests to given servers based on how available their resources are.
• Another benefit that these servers can offer is asynchronous parallel processing. There are systems that cannot handle many tasks at once. They will only be able to start a new task once they have completed the task that they are currently working on. If a system is using an application server, this will not be the case. Asynchronous parallel processing allows application servers to start and run multiple parallel functions without waiting for other functions to finish what they were doing.
• They are also extremely versatile in that they can integrate with not only web servers, but with enterprise servers as well. This means that they can be scaled to serve the needs of virtually any organization that might need them.
• Resource conservation by way of multithreading is another beneficial aspect of application servers. Not only can application servers run multiple functions at the same time via asynchronous parallel processing, but they can also open multiple related task threads within a single process. Instead of having many processes running at the same time, a single process can be divided. When this occurs, the resources that were assigned to that particular function are divided among parallel running mini-tasks.
• Businesses can use application servers to run long-running and resource-expensive tasks. Limits that might be present in other types of hardware as far as the load that they can manage are not issues for application servers.
• A final benefit of using application servers is the money that can be saved.

As shown by the above-mentioned benefits, application servers are versatile. By using hardware that can do so many jobs with a high level of efficiency, companies can cut costs. Instead of spending money on many devices to do each of the things that application servers can, organizations now have an all-in-one solution.

There are a number of features which every application server should possess:

1. Application component manager
2. Fault tolerance
3. Load balancing
4. Transaction management
5. Management console
6. Security protocols
7. Data redundancy

Although they are often used in tandem, application servers differ from web servers in a number of ways. In order to avoid confusing the two of them, some very significant distinctions should be pointed out.

Web servers can only deliver static content to the people using it. This means that the content that is delivered by web servers is unchanging. They are limited to delivering a single content type, which limits their usefulness. Application servers lack this limitation. They can deliver both static content as well as what is known as dynamic content. The flexibility that comes with being able to handle content that changes based on specific parameters makes the difference of capability between application servers and web servers rather stark.

Web servers can only run web-based applications. While this is valuable, it is also very limiting. Companies that wish to run proprietary software cannot use a web server to do so. Therefore, it can at best fulfill one role within a company. Application servers are able to deliver not only web-based content, but also enterprise applications. This enables it to fulfill multiple corporate functions.