Week 2 Flashcards
Explain what is meant by a client and a server in a distributed information system.
A network architecture in which each computer or process on the network is either a client or a server. Servers are powerful computers or processes dedicated to managing disk drives (file servers), printers (print servers), or network traffic (network servers). Clients are PCs or workstations on which users run applications. Clients rely on servers for resources, such as files, devices, and even processing
power.
Client - The client part of a client/server architecture. Typically, a client is an application that runs on a personal computer or workstation and relies on a server to perform some operations. For example: an e-mail client is an application that enables you to send and receive e-mail.
Server - A computer or device on a network that manages network resources. For example, a file server is a computer and storage device dedicated to storing files. Any user on the network can store files on the server A print server is a computer that manages one or more printers, and a network server is a computer that manages network traffic. A database server is a computer system that processes database queries. Servers are often dedicated, meaning
that they perform no other tasks besides their server tasks. On multiprocessing operating systems, however, a single computer can execute several programs at once. A server in this case could refer to the program that is managing resources rather than the entire network.
What is meant by the Common Gateway Interface (CGI)?
The Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is a standard for interfacing external applications with information servers, such as HTTP or Web servers. CGI scripts provide a means of implementing business functions on the server and integrating server functions with “back-end” systems that may be running on other hosts within the organization.
Given their capacity to access system resources and initiate changes and updates to files and data in databases, CGI scripts represent a potential source of security violations
Explain why cookies are used.
HTML is a stateless protocol. It remembers the information related to the page it visited. Without a cookie every time you open a new web page the server where that page is stored will treat you like a completely new visitor.
Describe how virus in email server can do damage.
An Email Server is a computer/storage device dedicated to storing emails. Any user on the network can store or access their email on the server. One of the most common way for the virus to spread is through email attachment. In that case, by opening the email the client machine can be affected. The primary target is the client here with virus protection on the email server you can stop an infected email before it gets accessed by the desired recipient. An Email Server is also a great place to implement Anti-Spam software to prevent inappropriate junk emails from overwhelming your server or causing lack of productivity.
