Hardware and software

Hardware is every physical part of a computer. For example, monitor, CPU, RAM, SSD, … are all hardware components of computer. Software is every non-physical part of the computer. For example, CMS, Operating system, music, video, image, programs are all software. The clear difference between hardware and software is that hardware is always physically tangible, but no one can touch software. Hardware and software components together define the computer. 

Server

A server is a computer, constructed to serve data at high speed and be online 24 hours a day. Websites must be physically on the server to be connected with visitors. Servers usually define its quality on its own resources. High CPU and huge RAM with necessary SSD, matter good performance server. Also, servers must be equipped with security programs and hardware devices.

CPU and RAM

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) or processor is the brain of a computer. It can be with more cores and higher frequency, what is better. Random Access Memory or RAM is working memory which purpose is to access many data, so more RAM is better. Working together defines the resource of the server. In illustration, if you want to pump high amounts of water quickly to some distant place, you need a high-pressure water pump and pipe. So, CPU is “high-pressure water pump”, RAM is “pipe profile”, when they work together “pumping data” is fast, and it will be delivered to distant places. If a high-pressure water pump is not strong enough or the pipe profile is small, just a little amount of water will be delivered. That we can apply to delivering data via CPU and RAM.

SSD and HDD

Solid State Drive and Hard Disk Drive are data storage units. SSD is modern and much faster system of storage and reading than HDD which works like old vinyl record what needs to rotate for reading data. Contrary to HDD, SSD instantly reads data and there is no need to rotate disk to find part of data. Most of new web hosting companies have servers with SSD and HDD is just for backup.

Backup

Backup is a copy of software data stored in some location. This is a useful tool when a problem occurs, then backup can be restored. After that, all data from the time point when backup was formed, will be restored and functioning. In short, backup is recovery from disaster.

Operating system

OS or operating system is a complex program which allows communication to hardware and allows other software programs to run. Most popular OS are Windows, macOS for desktop computers and Android and iOS for mobile devices. Also, there are server based operating systems for websites like Linux, Ubuntu, Solaris, Windows Server, ...

Web Database

It is a cyber place where data (like username, password, texts, paths to images, …) from website are stored. Databases are organized to be easily accessed, created, modified and controlled. Most used types of databases are SQL and Oracle. Drupal by default uses SQL, but it can use Oracle too.

Firewall

It can be software or hardware type and its purpose is to protect the network by filtering traffic and unauthorized access. Good hosting providers have combined software and hardware firewalls for better protection. A good firewall identifies attacks and blocks it before it harms. CDN providers also offer firewalls.