Definition of a Server
Go Up to Client/Server Concepts
The InterBase server is a software process that executes on the node that hosts the storage space for databases. The server process is the only process on any node that can perform direct I/O to the database files.
Clients send to the server process requests to perform actions on the database, including:
- Search the database based on criteria
- Collate, sort and tabulate data
- Return sets of data
- Modify data values
- Insert new data into the database
- Remove data from the database
- Create new databases or data structures
- Execute procedural code on the server
- Send messages to other clients currently connected
The server process is fully network-enabled; it services connection requests that originate on another node. The server process implements the same InterBase application protocol that the client uses.
Many clients can remain connected to the multi-threaded server process simultaneously. The server regulates access to individual data records within the database, and enforces exclusive access to records when clients request to modify the data in the records.