Home server
Encyclopedia
A home server is a server
located in a private residence providing services to other devices inside and/or outside the household
through a home network
and/or the Internet
. Such services may include file and/or printer serving
, media center
serving, web serving
, web caching, account authentication and backup
services. Because of the relatively low number of computers on a typical home network, a home server commonly does not require significant computing power. Often, users reuse older systems, and home servers with specifications as low as 1 GHz CPU and 256 MB of RAM
can be used. Large, preferably fast hard drives (ATA-100 or SATA
) and a network interface card are usually all the hardware required for home file serving. An uninterruptible power supply
is recommended in case of power outage
s that can possibly corrupt data.
form factor. Most of these are small ARM-based
devices running Linux
, these have an integrated AC-to-DC power converter and come pre-loaded with various server applications.
s. Enthusiasts who build their own home servers can use whatever OS is conveniently available or familiar to them, such as Microsoft Windows 7, Mac OS X
, GNU/Linux, Solaris or BSD
.
system such as RDP
, VNC
, Webmin
, or many others.
Some home server operating systems, such as Windows Home Server
include a consumer-focused graphical user interface
(GUI) for setup and configuration that is available on home computers on the home network (and remotely over the Internet
via remote access). Others simply enable users to use native operating system tools for configuration.
(NAS) providing the major benefit that all users' files can be centrally and securely stored, with flexible permissions applied to them. Such files can be easily accessed from any other system on the network, provided the correct credentials are supplied. This also applies to shared printers.
Such files can also be shared over the Internet to be accessible from anywhere in the world using remote access.
Servers running Unix
or Linux
with the free Samba suite
(or certain Windows Server products - Windows Home Server excluded) can provide domain control, custom logon scripts, and roaming profiles
to users of certain versions of Windows. This allows a user to log on from any machine in the domain and have access to his/her "My Documents" and personalized Windows and application preferences - multiple accounts on each computer in the home are not needed.
, Tonido
and Orb
). Using standard protocols such as DLNA
or proprietary systems such as iTunes
users can access their media stored on the home server from any room in the house. Windows XP Media Center Edition
, Windows Vista
, and Windows 7 can act as a home server, supporting a particular type of media serving that streams the interactive user experience to Media Center Extenders
including the Xbox 360
.
Windows Home Server
supports media streaming to Xbox 360
and other DLNA-based media receivers via the built-in Windows Media Connect
technology. Some Windows Home Server device manufacturers such as HP
extend this functionality with a full DLNA implementation such as PacketVideo
TwonkyMedia server.
On a Linux server, there are many free, open-source, fully functional, all-in-one software solutions for media serving available. One such program is LinuxMCE
, which allows other devices to boot off a hard drive image on the server, allowing them to become appliances such as set-top box
es. Amahi is a free Linux Home Server that provides shared storage, automated backups, secure VPN, and shared applications like calendar and wiki. Asterisk
, Xine, MythTV
(another media serving solution), VideoLAN
, SlimServer
, DLNA, and many other open-source projects are fully integrated for a seamless home theater/automation/telephony experience.
Because a server is typically always on, it is often a more logical choice to put a TV tuner or radio tuner for recording broadcasts into a server, than it is to use e.g. a desktop for recording, as it allows recording to be scheduled at any time.
On an Apple Macintosh
server, options include iTunes
, PS3 Media Server
, Twonky Media Server, Nullriver MediaLink, and Elgato
EyeConnect. Additionally, for Macs directly connected to TVs, the built-in FrontRow program or Boxee
can act as a full-featured media center interface.
Some home servers provide remote access to media and entertainment content.
A home server can be used to provide remote access into the home from devices on the Internet, using remote desktop software
and other remote administration
software. For example, Windows Home Server
provides remote access to files stored on the home server via a web interface as well as remote access to Remote Desktop
sessions on PCs in the house. Similarly, Tonido
provides direct access via a web browser from the internet without requiring any port forwarding or other setup. Some enthusiasts often use VPN
technologies as well.
On a Linux server, two popular tools are (among many) VNC
and Webmin
. VNC allows clients to remotely view a server GUI
desktop as if the user was physically sitting in front of the server. A GUI need not be running on the server console for this to occur; there can be multiple 'virtual' desktop environments open at the same time. Webmin allows users to control many aspects of server configuration and maintenance all from a simple web interface. Both can be configured to be accessed from anywhere on the Internet
.
Servers can also be accessed remotely using the command line-based Telnet
and SSH
protocols.
in order to share files easily and publicly (or privately, on the home network). Others set up web pages and serve them straight from their home, although this may be in violation of some ISP
s terms of service. Sometimes these web servers are run on a nonstandard port in order to avoid the ISP's port blocking. Example web servers used on home servers include Apache
and IIS
.
Many other web servers are available; see Comparison of web servers
.
Some proxies can be configured to block websites on the local network if it is set up as a transparent proxy.
E-mail
Many home servers also run e-mail servers that handle e-mail for the owner's domain name. The advantages are having much bigger mailboxes and maximum message size than most commercial e-mail services. Access to the server, since it is on the local network is much faster than using an external service. This also increases security as e-mails do not reside on an off-site server.
and web-based ones such as TorrentFlux
and Tonido
available for this purpose. BitTorrent also makes it easier for those with limited bandwidth to distribute large files over the internet.
, a hypertext document retrieval protocol which pre-dated the World Wide Web
and was popular in the early 1990s. Many of the remaining gopher servers are run off home servers utilizing PyGopherd
and the Bucktooth
gopher server.
requires a device in the home that is available 24/7. Often such home automation controllers are run on a home server.
DVR
solutions are available that allow recording of video cameras to a home server for security purposes. The video can then be viewed on PCs or other devices in the house.
A series of cheap USB
-based webcam
s can be connected to a home server as a makeshift CCTV system. Optionally these images and video streams can be made available over the Internet using standard protocols.
and tmsnc
can be detached using GNU Screen
for example, and graphical clients such as Pidgin
can be detached using xmove
. Quassel provides a specific version for this kind of use. Home servers can also be used to run personal XMPP
servers and IRC servers as these protocols can support a large number of users on very little bandwidth
have server software available which users may download and use to run their own private game server
. Some of these servers are password
protected, so only a selected group of people such as clan
members can gain access to the server. Others are open for public use and may move to colocation
or other forms of paid hosting if they gain a large number of players.
provides a Software Development Kit and over 60 third-party products are available for it. Similarly, Tonido
provides an application platform that can be extended by writing new applications using their SDK.
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
located in a private residence providing services to other devices inside and/or outside the household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
through a home network
Home network
A home network or home area network is a residential local area network . It is used for communication between digital devices typically deployed in the home, usually a small number of personal computers and accessories, such as printers and mobile computing devices...
and/or the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Such services may include file and/or printer serving
Shared resource
In computing, a shared resource or network share is a device or piece of information on a computer that can be remotely accessed from another computer, typically via a local area network or an enterprise Intranet, transparently as if it were a resource in the local machine.Examples are shared file...
, media center
Home theater PC
A Home Theater PC or Media Center appliance is a convergence device that combines some or all the capabilities of a personal computer with a software application that supports video, photo, music playback, and sometimes video recording functionality...
serving, web serving
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
, web caching, account authentication and backup
Backup
In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....
services. Because of the relatively low number of computers on a typical home network, a home server commonly does not require significant computing power. Often, users reuse older systems, and home servers with specifications as low as 1 GHz CPU and 256 MB of RAM
Random-access memory
Random access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in...
can be used. Large, preferably fast hard drives (ATA-100 or SATA
Serial ATA
Serial ATA is a computer bus interface for connecting host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives...
) and a network interface card are usually all the hardware required for home file serving. An uninterruptible power supply
Uninterruptible power supply
An uninterruptible power supply, also uninterruptible power source, UPS or battery/flywheel backup, is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source, typically mains power, fails...
is recommended in case of power outage
Power outage
A power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
s that can possibly corrupt data.
Commercial home server products
A common type of home server is the plug computerPlug computer
A plug computer is a small form factor server for use in the home or office. Compared to their PC-based counterparts, plug computers are lower cost, consume less power, often do not have a video card, and are intended to be powered up at all times...
form factor. Most of these are small ARM-based
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
devices running Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, these have an integrated AC-to-DC power converter and come pre-loaded with various server applications.
Operating systems
Home servers run many different operating systemOperating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s. Enthusiasts who build their own home servers can use whatever OS is conveniently available or familiar to them, such as Microsoft Windows 7, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, GNU/Linux, Solaris or BSD
Berkeley Software Distribution
Berkeley Software Distribution is a Unix operating system derivative developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1977 to 1995...
.
Administration and configuration
Home servers often run headless, and can be administered remotely through a command shell, or graphically through a remote desktopRemote Desktop
Remote Desktop may refer to:* Remote desktop software** Apple Remote Desktop** Remote Desktop Services** Remote Desktop Protocol* Desktop sharing...
system such as RDP
Remote Desktop Protocol
Remote Desktop Protocol is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft, which provides a user with a graphical interface to another computer. The protocol is an extension of the ITU-T T.128 application sharing protocol. Clients exist for most versions of Microsoft Windows , Linux, Unix, Mac OS...
, VNC
Virtual Network Computing
In computing, Virtual Network Computing is a graphical desktop sharing system that uses the RFB protocol to remotely control another computer...
, Webmin
Webmin
Webmin is a web-based system configuration tool for Unix-like systems, although recent versions can also be installed and run on Windows. With it, it is possible to configure operating system internals, such as users, disk quotas, services or configuration files, as well as modify and control open...
, or many others.
Some home server operating systems, such as Windows Home Server
Windows Home Server
Windows Home Server, code-named Quattro, is a home server operating system from Microsoft. Announced on 7 January 2007, at the Consumer Electronics Show by Bill Gates, Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups,...
include a consumer-focused graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
(GUI) for setup and configuration that is available on home computers on the home network (and remotely over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
via remote access). Others simply enable users to use native operating system tools for configuration.
Centralized storage
Home servers often act as network-attached storageNetwork-attached storage
Network-attached storage is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements...
(NAS) providing the major benefit that all users' files can be centrally and securely stored, with flexible permissions applied to them. Such files can be easily accessed from any other system on the network, provided the correct credentials are supplied. This also applies to shared printers.
Such files can also be shared over the Internet to be accessible from anywhere in the world using remote access.
Servers running Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
or Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
with the free Samba suite
Samba (software)
Samba is a free software re-implementation, originally developed by Andrew Tridgell, of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol. As of version 3, Samba provides file and print services for various Microsoft Windows clients and can integrate with a Windows Server domain, either as a Primary Domain...
(or certain Windows Server products - Windows Home Server excluded) can provide domain control, custom logon scripts, and roaming profiles
Roaming user profile
A roaming user profile is a concept in the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems that allows a user with a computer joined to a Windows Server domain to log on to any computer on the same network and access their documents and have a consistent desktop experience, such as applications...
to users of certain versions of Windows. This allows a user to log on from any machine in the domain and have access to his/her "My Documents" and personalized Windows and application preferences - multiple accounts on each computer in the home are not needed.
Media serving
Home servers are often used to serve multi-media content, including photos, music, and video to other devices in the household (and even to the Internet; see Space shiftingSpace shifting
Space shifting , also known as place shifting , allows media, such as music or films, which is stored on one device to be accessed from another place through another device. Space shifting is frequently done through computer networks, for example by viewing a television broadcast from a WiFi...
, Tonido
Tonido
Tonido is a home server NAS software. Once installed on a computer, Tonido software makes that computer's files available remotely through the browser from the WAN. No port forwarding is required, as data is transmitted through Tonido's servers. Users can switch to not using Tonido's servers by...
and Orb
Orb (software)
Orb is freeware streaming software that enables users to remotely access all their personal digital media files including pictures, music, videos, webcams and television...
). Using standard protocols such as DLNA
Digital Living Network Alliance
The Digital Living Network Alliance is a non-profit collaborative trade organization established by Sony in June 2003, and has more than 250 member companies in the mobile, consumer electronics, PC, and service provider industries...
or proprietary systems such as iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
users can access their media stored on the home server from any room in the house. Windows XP Media Center Edition
Windows XP Media Center Edition
Windows XP Media Center Edition is a version of the Windows XP operating system designed to serve as a home-entertainment hub. The last version, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, was released in October 2004.-Versions:...
, Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, and Windows 7 can act as a home server, supporting a particular type of media serving that streams the interactive user experience to Media Center Extenders
Windows Media Center Extender
Windows Media Center Extenders are devices that are configured to connect via a Network link to a computer running Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium/Ultimate or Windows 7 Home Premium or higher to stream the computer's media center functions to the Extender device...
including the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
Windows Home Server
Windows Home Server
Windows Home Server, code-named Quattro, is a home server operating system from Microsoft. Announced on 7 January 2007, at the Consumer Electronics Show by Bill Gates, Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups,...
supports media streaming to Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and other DLNA-based media receivers via the built-in Windows Media Connect
Windows Media Connect
Windows Media Connect is a UPnP AV server from Microsoft for Windows XP and later Windows operating systems, to share and stream media on a Windows computer to WMC clients. The first two releases of WMC were made available as stand-alone software, and included a client as well...
technology. Some Windows Home Server device manufacturers such as HP
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
extend this functionality with a full DLNA implementation such as PacketVideo
PacketVideo
PacketVideo Corporation or PV is a San Diego-based company that produces software for wireless multimedia, including the display of video on mobile handsets.-History:...
TwonkyMedia server.
On a Linux server, there are many free, open-source, fully functional, all-in-one software solutions for media serving available. One such program is LinuxMCE
LinuxMCE
LinuxMCE is a free and open source software platform with a 10-foot user interface designed to allow a computer to act as a home theater PC for the living-room TV, personal video recorder, and home automation system. It allows control of everything in the home, from lighting and climate to...
, which allows other devices to boot off a hard drive image on the server, allowing them to become appliances such as set-top box
Set-top box
A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...
es. Amahi is a free Linux Home Server that provides shared storage, automated backups, secure VPN, and shared applications like calendar and wiki. Asterisk
Asterisk (PBX)
Asterisk is a software implementation of a telephone private branch exchange ; it was created in 1999 by Mark Spencer of Digium. Like any PBX, it allows attached telephones to make calls to one another, and to connect to other telephone services including the public switched telephone network and...
, Xine, MythTV
MythTV
MythTV is a free and open source home entertainment application with a simplified "10-foot user interface" design for the living-room TV, and turns a computer with the necessary hardware into a network streaming digital video recorder, a digital multimedia home entertainment system, or home theater...
(another media serving solution), VideoLAN
VideoLAN
VideoLAN is a project that develops software for playing video and other media formats across a local area network . It originally developed two programs for media streaming, VideoLAN Client and VideoLAN Server , but most of the features of VLS have been incorporated into VLC, with the result...
, SlimServer
SlimServer
Logitech Media Server is a streaming audio server supported by Logitech , developed in particular to support their Squeezebox range of digital audio receivers....
, DLNA, and many other open-source projects are fully integrated for a seamless home theater/automation/telephony experience.
Because a server is typically always on, it is often a more logical choice to put a TV tuner or radio tuner for recording broadcasts into a server, than it is to use e.g. a desktop for recording, as it allows recording to be scheduled at any time.
On an Apple Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
server, options include iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, PS3 Media Server
PS3 Media Server
PS3 Media Server is a DLNA compliant UPnP Media Server. Originally written to support the PlayStation 3, it has been expanded to support a range of other media renderers, including Xbox 360 and various Samsung and Sony televisions. Written in Java, it streams or transcodes many different media...
, Twonky Media Server, Nullriver MediaLink, and Elgato
Elgato
ElgatoSystems is a hardware and software manufacturer that makes television viewing and recording products specifically for the Macintosh family of personal computers, including EyeTV software...
EyeConnect. Additionally, for Macs directly connected to TVs, the built-in FrontRow program or Boxee
BOXEE
Boxee is a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV...
can act as a full-featured media center interface.
Some home servers provide remote access to media and entertainment content.
Remote access
Remote desktop software
In computing, the term remote desktop refers to a software or an OS feature allowing applications, either command line programs or graphical applications, to be run remotely on a server, while being displayed locally. Remote desktop applications have varying features...
and other remote administration
Remote administration
Remote administration refers to any method of controlling a computer from a remote location.Software that allows remote administration is becoming increasingly common and is often used when it is difficult or impractical to be physically near a system in order to use it, or in order to access web...
software. For example, Windows Home Server
Windows Home Server
Windows Home Server, code-named Quattro, is a home server operating system from Microsoft. Announced on 7 January 2007, at the Consumer Electronics Show by Bill Gates, Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups,...
provides remote access to files stored on the home server via a web interface as well as remote access to Remote Desktop
Terminal Services
Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2008 R2, formerly known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and previous versions, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allows a user to access applications and data on a remote computer over a network, using the Remote Desktop...
sessions on PCs in the house. Similarly, Tonido
Tonido
Tonido is a home server NAS software. Once installed on a computer, Tonido software makes that computer's files available remotely through the browser from the WAN. No port forwarding is required, as data is transmitted through Tonido's servers. Users can switch to not using Tonido's servers by...
provides direct access via a web browser from the internet without requiring any port forwarding or other setup. Some enthusiasts often use VPN
Virtual private network
A virtual private network is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network....
technologies as well.
On a Linux server, two popular tools are (among many) VNC
Virtual Network Computing
In computing, Virtual Network Computing is a graphical desktop sharing system that uses the RFB protocol to remotely control another computer...
and Webmin
Webmin
Webmin is a web-based system configuration tool for Unix-like systems, although recent versions can also be installed and run on Windows. With it, it is possible to configure operating system internals, such as users, disk quotas, services or configuration files, as well as modify and control open...
. VNC allows clients to remotely view a server GUI
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
desktop as if the user was physically sitting in front of the server. A GUI need not be running on the server console for this to occur; there can be multiple 'virtual' desktop environments open at the same time. Webmin allows users to control many aspects of server configuration and maintenance all from a simple web interface. Both can be configured to be accessed from anywhere on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
Servers can also be accessed remotely using the command line-based Telnet
TELNET
Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal connection...
and SSH
Secure Shell
Secure Shell is a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client...
protocols.
Web serving
Some users choose to run a web serverWeb server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
in order to share files easily and publicly (or privately, on the home network). Others set up web pages and serve them straight from their home, although this may be in violation of some ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s terms of service. Sometimes these web servers are run on a nonstandard port in order to avoid the ISP's port blocking. Example web servers used on home servers include Apache
Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...
and IIS
Internet Information Services
Internet Information Services – formerly called Internet Information Server – is a web server application and set of feature extension modules created by Microsoft for use with Microsoft Windows. It is the most used web server after Apache HTTP Server. IIS 7.5 supports HTTP, HTTPS,...
.
Many other web servers are available; see Comparison of web servers
Comparison of web servers
-Overview:-Features:- Operating system support :...
.
Web proxy
Some networks have an HTTP proxy which can be used to speed up web access when multiple users visit the same websites, and to get past blocking software while the owner is using the network of some institution that might block certain sites. Public proxies are often slow and unreliable and so it is worth the trouble of setting up one's own private proxy.Some proxies can be configured to block websites on the local network if it is set up as a transparent proxy.
BitTorrent
Home servers are ideal for utilizing the BitTorrent protocol for downloading and seeding files as some torrents can take days, or even weeks to complete and perform better on an uninterrupted connection. There are many command-line based clients such as rTorrentRTorrent
rTorrent is a text-based ncurses BitTorrent client written in C++, based on the libTorrent libraries for Unix, whose author's goal is “a focus on high performance and good code”...
and web-based ones such as TorrentFlux
TorrentFlux
TorrentFlux is a free and open source multi-user GUI for BitTornado. Unlike most BitTorrent clients, its main user interface is a web interface...
and Tonido
Tonido
Tonido is a home server NAS software. Once installed on a computer, Tonido software makes that computer's files available remotely through the browser from the WAN. No port forwarding is required, as data is transmitted through Tonido's servers. Users can switch to not using Tonido's servers by...
available for this purpose. BitTorrent also makes it easier for those with limited bandwidth to distribute large files over the internet.
Gopher
An unusual service is the Gopher protocolGopher protocol
The Gopher protocol is a TCP/IP application layer protocol designed for distributing, searching, and retrieving documents over the Internet. Strongly oriented towards a menu-document design, the Gopher protocol was a predecessor of the World Wide Web.The protocol offers some features not natively...
, a hypertext document retrieval protocol which pre-dated the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
and was popular in the early 1990s. Many of the remaining gopher servers are run off home servers utilizing PyGopherd
PyGopherd
PyGopherd is a modern Internet Gopher server written in Python and is maintained by John Goerzen. In addition to support for RFC 1436 Gopher and Gopher+, PyGopherd also supports HTTP and WAP.-External links:...
and the Bucktooth
Bucktooth
Bucktooth is one of the modern servers for Internet Gopher written by Cameron Kaiser. Instead of using the .link and .cap files found in the University of Minnesota gopherd, bucktooth uses the gophermap format....
gopher server.
Home automation
Home automationHome automation
Home automation is the residential extension of "building automation". It is automation of the home, housework or household activity. Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC , appliances, and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and...
requires a device in the home that is available 24/7. Often such home automation controllers are run on a home server.
Security monitoring
Relatively low cost CCTVClosed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
DVR
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
solutions are available that allow recording of video cameras to a home server for security purposes. The video can then be viewed on PCs or other devices in the house.
A series of cheap USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
-based webcam
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
s can be connected to a home server as a makeshift CCTV system. Optionally these images and video streams can be made available over the Internet using standard protocols.
Family applications
Home servers can act as a host to family-oriented applications such as a family calendar, to-do lists, and message boards.IRC and instant messaging
Because a server is always on, an IRC client or IM client running on it will be highly available to the Internet. This way, the chat client will be able to record activity that occurs even while the user is not at the computer, e.g. asleep or at work or school. Textual clients such as IrssiIrssi
Irssi is an IRC client program for Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X. It was originally written by Timo Sirainen, and released under the terms of the GNU General Public License in January 1999.-Features:...
and tmsnc
Tmsnc
tmsnc is a text-based instant messaging client, designed for use with the Microsoft Network. It is written in the C programming language. Through Ncurses, tmsnc can run on a wide variety of Unix-like operating systems, including Linux and Mac OS X.The project was discontinued following the release...
can be detached using GNU Screen
GNU Screen
GNU Screen is a software application that can be used to multiplex several virtual consoles, allowing a user to access multiple separate terminal sessions inside a single terminal window or remote terminal session...
for example, and graphical clients such as Pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
can be detached using xmove
Xmove
xmove is a computer program that allows the movement of X Window System applications between different displays and the persistence of X applications across X server restarts. It solves a problem in the design of X, where an X client is tied to the X server it was started on for its lifetime...
. Quassel provides a specific version for this kind of use. Home servers can also be used to run personal XMPP
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...
servers and IRC servers as these protocols can support a large number of users on very little bandwidth
Online gaming
Some multiplayer games such as Continuum, and TremulousTremulous
Tremulous is a free and open source team-based first-person shooter with real-time strategy elements.The game features two opposing teams: humans and aliens. Each team must attack the enemy's base and team members, while defending their own base...
have server software available which users may download and use to run their own private game server
Game server
A game server is a remotely or locally run server used by game clients to play multiplayer video games. Most video games played over the Internet operate via a connection to a game server...
. Some of these servers are password
Password
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
protected, so only a selected group of people such as clan
Clan (computer gaming)
In computer and video gaming, a clan or guild is an organised group of players that regularly play together in a particular multiplayer games. These games range from groups of a few friends to 1000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. The lifespan of a clan...
members can gain access to the server. Others are open for public use and may move to colocation
Colocation
Colocation is the act of placing multiple entities within a single location.Colocation is often used in the data sourcing industry to mean off-site data storage, usually in a data center. This is very important for businesses since the loss of data can be crucial for companies of any size...
or other forms of paid hosting if they gain a large number of players.
Third-party platform
Home servers often are platforms that enable third-party products to be built and added over time. For example, Windows Home ServerWindows Home Server
Windows Home Server, code-named Quattro, is a home server operating system from Microsoft. Announced on 7 January 2007, at the Consumer Electronics Show by Bill Gates, Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups,...
provides a Software Development Kit and over 60 third-party products are available for it. Similarly, Tonido
Tonido
Tonido is a home server NAS software. Once installed on a computer, Tonido software makes that computer's files available remotely through the browser from the WAN. No port forwarding is required, as data is transmitted through Tonido's servers. Users can switch to not using Tonido's servers by...
provides an application platform that can be extended by writing new applications using their SDK.
Server definitions
- Server (computing)Server (computing)In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
- NAS (Network-Attached Storage)Network-attached storageNetwork-attached storage is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements...
- File serverFile serverIn computing, a file server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the computer network...
- Print serverPrint serverA print server, or printer server, is a device that connects printers to client computers over a network. It can accept print jobs from the computers and send the jobs to the appropriate printers....
- Media serverMedia ServerA media server refers either to a dedicated computer appliance or to a specialized application software, ranging from an enterprise class machine providing video on demand, to, more commonly, a small personal computer or NAS for the home, dedicated for storing various digital media .-Purpose:By...
- NAS (Network-Attached Storage)
Operating systems
- BSD UNIX
- Various GNU/Linux distributions - some are specifically made for home servers
- Mac OS X ServerMac OS X ServerMac OS X Server is a Unix server operating system from Apple Inc. The server edition of Mac OS X is architecturally identical to its desktop counterpart, except that it includes work group management and administration software tools...
- Solaris
- Windows Home ServerWindows Home ServerWindows Home Server, code-named Quattro, is a home server operating system from Microsoft. Announced on 7 January 2007, at the Consumer Electronics Show by Bill Gates, Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs to offer file sharing, automated backups,...
and other variants of Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
Technologies
- Client–server model
- Dynamic DNSDynamic DNSDynamic DNS or DDNS is a term used for the updating in real time of Internet Domain Name System name servers to keep up to date the active DNS configuration of their configured hostnames, addresses and other information....
- File serverFile serverIn computing, a file server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the computer network...
- Home networkHome networkA home network or home area network is a residential local area network . It is used for communication between digital devices typically deployed in the home, usually a small number of personal computers and accessories, such as printers and mobile computing devices...
- Network-attached storageNetwork-attached storageNetwork-attached storage is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements...
(NAS) - Residential gatewayResidential gatewayA residential gateway is a home networking device, used as a gateway to connect devices in the home to the Internet or other WAN.It is an umbrella term, used to cover multi-function networking computer appliances used in homes, which may combine a DSL or cable modem, a firewall, a consumer-grade...
Server software
- Comparison of web serversComparison of web servers-Overview:-Features:- Operating system support :...
- List of mail servers
- List of FTP server software
- Samba (software)Samba (software)Samba is a free software re-implementation, originally developed by Andrew Tridgell, of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol. As of version 3, Samba provides file and print services for various Microsoft Windows clients and can integrate with a Windows Server domain, either as a Primary Domain...
- RealVNCRealVNCRealVNC is a company that provides remote access software. The software consists of a server and client application for the Virtual Network Computing protocol to control another computer's screen remotely.-History:...
- TonidoTonidoTonido is a home server NAS software. Once installed on a computer, Tonido software makes that computer's files available remotely through the browser from the WAN. No port forwarding is required, as data is transmitted through Tonido's servers. Users can switch to not using Tonido's servers by...
Home networking
- DOCSISDOCSISData Over Cable Service Interface Specification is an international telecommunications standard that permits the addition of high-speed data transfer to an existing cable TV system...
- G.hnG.hnG.hn is the common name for a home network technology family of standards developed under the International Telecommunication Union's Standardization arm and promoted by the HomeGrid Forum...
- HomePNAHomePNAThe HomePNA Alliance is an incorporated non-profit industry association of companies that develops and standardizes technology for home networking over the existing coaxial cables and telephone wiring within homes.-Overview:HomePNA does not manufacture products, although its members do...
- Power line communicationPower line communicationPower line communication or power line carrier , also known as power line digital subscriber line , mains communication, power line telecom , power line networking , or broadband over power lines are systems for carrying data on a conductor also used for electric power transmission.A wide range...
, HomePlug Powerline AllianceHomePlug Powerline AllianceThe HomePlug Powerline Alliance is a trade association of electronics manufacturers, service providers, and retailers that establishes standards for, and tests members' devices for compliance to, the various power line communication technologies known as HomePlug.The alliance developed standards... - VDSL, VDSL2Very high speed digital subscriber line 2Very-high-speed digital subscriber line 2 is an access technology that exploits the existing infrastructure of copper wires that were originally deployed for traditional telephone service. It can be deployed from central offices, from fiber-optic connected cabinets located near the customer...
- Wireless LANWireless LANA wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...
, IEEE 802.11IEEE 802.11IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards for implementing wireless local area network computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. They are created and maintained by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee . The base version of the standard IEEE 802.11-2007 has had subsequent...