Designing an Application Server

Designing an Application Server

Ulkema M. Scott

ITT-Tech Institute

An application server is a type of server designed to install, operate and host applications and associated services for end users, IT services and organizations. It facilitates the hosting and delivery of high-end consumer or business applications, which are used by multiple and simultaneously connected local or remote users.

Key required features of an application server include data redundancy, high availability, load balancing, user management, data/application security and a centralized management interface. Furthermore, an application server may be connected by enterprise systems, networks or intranet and remotely accessed via the Internet.

An application server may be classified in a variety of ways, including as a Web server, database application server, or general purpose application server. Whether to use Apache or IIS is the question we have to ask. Apache, though recognized as the most popular web server was designed to work with UNIX systems. IIS is the best choice for the application server. The Web Server (IIS) role provides a number of technologies that enable organizations to develop and deploy their own custom applications, using IIS to handle incoming requests from clients.

IIS 7.0 enhances administration by replacing the metabase with distributed XML-based configuration files allowing users to port their Web server settings simply by copying the configuration file to another server. Users can even put the configuration file on a network share and then point all the servers in their Web farm at it, to ensure identical configuration and a centralized location for changes. The IIS 7.0 hierarchical configuration model allows the administrator to delegate which settings can be changed by site owners.

By default, the HTTP port used for client to site system communication is port 80, and the default HTTPS port is 443, and for FTP port 21. The Windows Media server uses the...