Server Specification for CAD/CAM applications and companies providing it:

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". The clients either run on the same computer or connect through the network. In most common use, server is a physical computer (a hardware system) dedicated to running one or more such services (as a host), to serve the needs of users of the other computers on the network. Depending on the computing service that it offers it could be a database server, file server, mail server, print server, web servers, or other. In the context of Internet Protocol (IP) networking, a server is a program that operates as a socket listener. Servers often provide essential services across a network, either to private users inside a large organization or to public users via the Internet. For example, when you enter a query in a search engine, the query is sent from your computer over the internet to the servers that store all the relevant web pages. The results are sent back by the server to your computer. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVER: Hardware requirements for servers vary, depending on the server application. Absolute CPU speed is not usually as critical to a server as it is to a desktop machine. Servers' duties to provide service to many users over a network lead to different requirements such as fast network connections and high I/O throughput. Since servers are usually accessed over a network, they may run in headless mode without a monitor or input device. Processes that are not needed for the server's function are not used. Many servers do not have a graphical user interface (GUI) as it is unnecessary and consumes resources that could be allocated elsewhere. Similarly, audio and USB interfaces may be omitted. Servers may incorporate faster, higher-capacity hard drives, larger computer fans or water cooling to help remove heat, and uninterruptible power supplies that ensure the servers continue to function in the event of a power failure. These components offer higher performance and reliability at a correspondingly higher price. Hardware redundancyinstalling more than one instance of modules such as power supplies and hard disks arranged so that if one fails another is automatically availableis widely used. ECC memory devices that detect and correct errors are used; non-ECC memory is more likely to cause data corruption. To increase reliability, most of the servers use memory with error detection and correction, redundant disks, redundant power supplies and so

on. Such components are also frequently hot swappable, allowing technicians to replace them on the running server without shutting it down. To prevent overheating, servers often have more powerful fans. As servers are usually administered by qualified engineers, their operating systems are also more tuned for stability and performance than for user friendliness and ease of use, Linux taking noticeably larger percentage than for desktop computers. As servers need stable power supply, good Internet access, increased security and are also noisy, it is usual to store them in dedicated server centers or special rooms. This requires to reduce power consumption as extra energy used generates more heat and the temperature in the room could exceed the acceptable limits. Normally server rooms are equipped with air conditioning devices. Server casings are usually flat and wide, adapted to store many devices next to each other in server rack. Unlike ordinary computers, servers usually can be configured, powered up and down or rebooted remotely, using out-of-band management.

Energy consumption of servers

In 2010, servers were responsible for 2.5% of energy consumption in the United States. A further 2.5% of United States energy consumption was used by cooling systems required to cool the servers. In 2010 it was estimated that by 2020 servers would use more of the world's energy than air travel if current trends continued. APPLICATION SERVER: An application server is a software framework that provides an environment in which applications can run, no matter what the applications are or what they do. It is dedicated to the efficient execution of procedures (programs, routines, scripts) for supporting the construction of applications. The term was originally used when discussing early client server systems to differentiate servers that run SQL services and middleware servers from file servers. Later, the term took on the meaning of Web applications, but has since evolved further into that of a comprehensive service layer. An application server acts as a set of components accessible to the software developer through an API defined by the platform itself. For Web applications, these components are usually performed in the same machine where the Web server is running, and their main job is to support the construction of dynamic pages. However, presentday application servers target much more than just Web page generation: they implement services like clustering, fail-over, and load-balancing, so developers can focus on implementing the business logic.

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BIOS:
It stands for the basic input/output system of the computer, commonly known as the BIOS (pronounced "bye-ose"). On virtually every computer available, the BIOS makes sure all the other chips, hard drives, ports and CPU function together. The BIOS software has a number of different roles, but its most important role is to load the operating system. The first thing the BIOS does is check the information stored in a tiny (64 bytes) amount of RAM located on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chip. The CMOS Setup provides detailed information particular to your system and can be altered as your system changes. The BIOS uses this information to modify or supplement its default programming as needed. We will talk more about these settings later. Interrupt handlers are small pieces of software that act as translators between the hardware components and the operating system. For example, when you press a key on your keyboard, the signal is sent to the keyboard interrupt handler, which tells the CPU what it is and passes it on to the operating system. The device drivers are other pieces of software that identify the base hardware components such as keyboard, mouse, hard drive and floppy drive. Since the BIOS is constantly intercepting signals to and from the hardware, it is usually copied, or shadowed, into RAM to run faster. After checking the CMOS Setup and loading the interrupt handlers, the BIOS determines whether the video card is operational. Most video cards have a miniature BIOS of their own that initializes the memory and graphics processor on the card. If they do not, there is usually video driver information on another ROM on the motherboard that the BIOS can load. Next, the BIOS checks to see if this is a cold boot or a reboot. It does this by checking the value at memory address 0000:0472. A value of 1234h indicates a reboot, and the BIOS skips the rest of POST. Anything else is considered a cold boot.

If it is a cold boot, the BIOS verifies RAM by performing a read/write test of each memory address. It checks the PS/2 ports or USB ports for a keyboard and a mouse. It looks for peripheral components interconnect (PCI) bus and, if it finds one, checks all the PCI cards. If the BIOS find any errors during the POST, it will notify you by a series of beeps or a text message displayed on the screen. An error at this point is usually a hardware problem.

DDR III
DDR3 SDRAM, an abbreviation for Double Data Rate Type Three Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory, is a modern kind of dynamic random access memory(DRAM) with a high bandwidth interface. It is one of several variants of DRAM and associated interface techniques used since the early 1970s. DDR3 SDRAM is not directly compatible with any earlier type of random access memory (RAM) due to different signaling voltages, timings, and other factors. DDR3 is a DRAM interface specification. The actual DRAM arrays that store the data are similar to earlier types, with similar performance. The primary benefit of DDR3 SDRAM over its immediate predecessor, DDR2 SDRAM, is its ability to transfer data at twice the rate (eight times the speed of its internal memory arrays), enabling higher bandwidth or peak data rates. With two transfers per cycle of a quadrupled clock, a 64-bit wide DDR3 module may achieve a transfer rate of up to 64 times the memory clock speed in megabytes per second (MB/s). DDR3 memory provides a reduction in power consumption of 30% compared to DDR2 modules due to DDR3's 1.5 V supply voltage, compared to DDR2's 1.8 V or DDR's 2.5 V. The 1.5 V supply voltage works well with the 90 nanometer fabrication technology used in the original DDR3 chips. Some manufacturers further propose using "dual-gate" transistors to reduce leakage of current. The main benefit of DDR3 comes from the higher bandwidth made possible by DDR3's 8-burst-deep prefetch buffer, in contrast to DDR2's 4-burst-deep or DDR's 2-burst-deep prefetch buffer.

SD, DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 are all different types of RAM (Random Access Memory). RAM is a kind of computer memory that temporarily stores information, improving your systems performance. Or in other words RAM simply holds data for the processor. The processor also has its own memory known as the L2 cache, the cache lies between the processor and the RAM. The processor sends and retrieves data from this cache, when this cache overflows data is sent to the RAM. There are mainly four types of RAM; SD, DDR, DDR2 and DDR3. They differ in the way they operate and mainly in their operation speeds. All RAM's used in computers today have a synchronous interface meaning they wait for a clock signal before it can respond to clock signals.

Comparision

of

DDR1,

DDR2

and

DDR3

SDRAM