Server Normal Format is a bitmap font format used by X Window. It is one of the oldest X Window font formats. Nowadays it is rarely used, however it is still supported by the latest X.org

X.Org

X.Org refers to several things related to the X Window System:* X.Org, the organisation in charge of X standards from 1999 * The X.Org Foundation, a community-based foundation which took over X stewardship in 2004...

 server. SNF fonts had the problem of being platform dependent, therefore it needed to be compiled on each system. 1991, X11

X Window System

The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...

 moved away from SNF fonts to Portable Compiled Format

Portable Compiled Format

Portable Compiled Format is a bitmap font format used by Xserver in its core font system, and have been used for decades. PCF fonts are usually installed, by default, on most Unix based operating systems, and are used in terminals such as xterm. PCF fonts replaced BDF due to a slight efficiency...

, which could be shared between systems.