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In most networks, a server computer is a server computer and nothing else. It’s dedicated to the sole task of providing shared resources, such as hard drives and printers, to be accessed by the network client computers. This type of server is a dedicated server because it can perform no other task than network services.

Some smaller networks take an alternative approach by enabling any computer on the network to function as both a client and a server. Thus, any computer can share its printers and hard drives with other computers on the network. And while a computer is working as a server, you can still use that same computer for other functions, such as word processing. This type of network is a peer-to-peer network because all the computers are thought of as peers, or equals.

Here are some points to ponder concerning the differences between dedicated-server networks and peer-to-peer networks while you’re walking the dog tomorrow morning:

 Peer-to-peer networking features are built into Windows. Thus, if your computer runs Windows, you don’t have to buy any additional software to turn your computer into a server. All you have to do is enable the Windows server features.

 The network server features that are built into Windows 10 (the most popular desktop operating system) aren’t particularly efficient because this version of Windows wasn’t designed primarily to be a network server. If you dedicate a computer to the task of being a full-time server, use a special server operating system rather than the standard Windows desktop operating system. A server operating system is specially designed to handle networking functions efficiently.The most commonly used server operating systems are the server versions of Windows. As of this writing, the current server version of Windows is Windows Server 2019. However, many companies still use the previous version (Windows Server 2016), and a few use even earlier versions such as Windows Server 2012 and 2008.Another popular server operating system is Linux. Linux is popular because it’s free. Linux requires more expertise to set up than Windows Server but is just as capable.

 Many networks are both peer-to-peer and dedicated-server networks at the same time. These networks haveAt least one server computer that runs a server operating system such as Windows Server 2019Client computers that use the server features of Windows 10 to share their resources with the network

  Besides being dedicated, your servers should also be sincere.