Even though some network servers look very much like the standalone computers that fill your office, they play a very different role in your business than desktop PCs do, and therefore their design is very different under the hood. Like a PC, a server does have powerful processors, lots of memory, and big storage subsystems, but those components are not like the ones you’ll find in a typical PC.

As the center of data processing and the main point of data storage in a networked business, a server is assembled from components that are specially designed for speed, efficiency, robustness, and fault tolerance. With everyone in your organization relying on it 24/7, a server is built to work...and work hard. Since choosing the appropriate server for your small- or medium-size business requires a basic understanding of all those components, it’s worthwhile to take a quick look inside a server to see how all the pieces come together.