Server Types :

1- Blade Server
2- Rack Server also called Rack mounted Server
3- Workstation

1- Blade Server
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A blade server is a thin, modular electronic circuit board containing one, two,
or more microprocessors and memory, that is intended for a single, dedicated
application (such as serving Web pages) and that can be easily inserted into a
space-saving rack with many similar servers.

A blade server is a server chassis housing multiple thin, modular electronic circuit boards, known
as server blades. Each blade is a server in its own right, often dedicated to a single application.
The blades are literally servers on a card, containing processors, memory, integrated network
controllers, an optional Fiber Channel host bus adapter (HBA) and other input/output (IO) ports.

Blade servers allow more processing power in less rack space, simplifying cabling and reducing
power consumption. According to a SearchWinSystems.com article on server technology,
enterprises moving to blade servers can experience as much as an 85% reduction in cabling for
blade installations over conventional 1U or tower servers. With so much less cabling, IT
administrators can spend less time managing the infrastructure and more time ensuring high
availability.

Each blade typically comes with one or two local ATA or SCSI drives. For additional storage,
blade servers can connect to a storage pool facilitated by a network-attached storage (NAS),
Fiber Channel, or iSCSI storage-area network (SAN). The advantage of blade servers comes not
only from the consolidation benefits of housing several servers in a single chassis, but also from
the consolidation of associated resources (like storage and networking equipment) into a smaller
architecture that can be managed through a single interface.

A blade server is sometimes referred to as a high-density server and is typically used in a

clustering of servers that are dedicated to a single task, such as:

File sharing
Web page serving and caching
SSL encrypting of Web communication
The trans-coding of Web page content for smaller displays
Streaming audio and video content

Like most clustering applications, blade servers can also be managed to include load balancing
and fail-over capabilities.
2- Rack Server
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A rack server, also called a rack-mounted server, is a computer dedicated to use

as a server and designed to be installed in a framework called a rack. The rack
contains multiple mounting slots called bays, each designed to hold a hardware
unit secured in place with screws. A rack server has a low-profile enclosure, in
contrast to a tower server, which is built into an upright, standalone cabinet.

A single rack can contain multiple servers stacked one above the other, consolidating network
resources and minimizing the required floor space. The rack server configuration also simplifies
cabling among network components. In an equipment rack filled with servers, a special cooling
system is necessary to prevent excessive heat buildup that would otherwise occur when many
power-dissipating components are confined in a small space.

A rack server, is the standard size server used for mounting inside a datacenter server cabinet or
rack frame infrastructure. A single rack server is 19"w x 1.75"h. This is referred to as a 1U rack
server which is short form for 1 unit.

Rack servers are most commonly available in 1U, 2U and 4U sizes. A standard rack-mount
server cabinet is 42U in height. The front panel a rack server is mounted to the vertical cabinet
rail posts using typical nuts and bolts. Dell and Supermicro are two of the more popular
manufacturers of rack servers.

Due to their minimized height and ability to be mounted on top of one another with minimum
space in between, rack servers offer much higher datacenter density than tower servers, but less
so than blade servers. As with tower servers, rack servers are connected using traditional network
cables and power cords.

In more recent times, an Open Rack mounting system has been introduced by Facebook under
the Open Compute Project. The system shares the same outside dimensions as a typical 19" rack-
mount cabinet but supports a wider, 21" chassis. (Source: Wikipedia, 19-inch rack).
3-Workstation
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A workstation is a computer intended for individual use that is faster and more
capable than a personal computer.

It's intended for business or professional use (rather than home or recreational use).
Workstations and applications designed for them are used by small engineering companies,
architects, graphic designers, and any organization, department, or individual that requires a
faster microprocessor, a large amount of random access memory (RAM), and special features
such as high-speed graphics adapters. Historically, the workstation developed technologically
about the same time and for the same audience as the UNIX operating system, which is often
used as the workstation operating system. Among the most successful makers of this kind of
workstation are Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, DEC, and IBM .

2) In IBM and other corporations, the term "workstation" is sometimes used to mean "any
individual personal computer location hooked up to a mainframe computer." In today's corporate
environments, many workers have such workstations. They're simply personal computers
attached to a local area network (LAN) that in turn shares the resources of one or more large
computers. Since they are PCs, they can also be used independently of the mainframe assuming
they have their own applications installed and their own hard disk storage. This use of the term
"workstation" (in IBM, sometimes called a "programmable workstation") made a distinction
between the earlier "terminal" or "display terminal" (or "dumb terminal") of which the 3270
Information Display System is an example.
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what is the Difference Between Rack and Blade Servers?
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Computing power has evolved over the years. Blade servers are currently the most efficient
computer devices and are often used by modern businesses as the backbone of the office
computer system.

Blade servers are gaining in popularity over the rack mounted servers in large office operations.
Both provide similar computing power although the devices differ in some key ways.

Rack mounted servers are computers that contain all the components necessary for operations.
Plug the rack mounted server into a standard electrical outlet and connect the network cables and
the device is operational. The rack mounted configuration allows the device to be mounted in a
computer hardware rack, usually 19 inches in width, although the devices could sit on a table or
desk with similar results.
Blade mounted servers do not contain all the components of a computer and must be mounted in
a blade enclosure which includes power supplies and networking components. The blade
enclosure can mount in a rack for ease of operations.

While each system has its advantages the rack mounted servers often offer greater flexibility.
The blade enclosure commonly includes a single power supply and cooling unit as well as
several other components that are shared among the blade units. The rack mounted servers each
operates with its own power supply unit and cooling system and other components allowing the
user to configure each rack server unit to the specific needs of the operation.

The single power supply of the blade enclosure may offer some advantages including easier
integration with an uninterrupted power supply unit to provide continuous service during power
outages. However, the single power supply serving multiple blade servers is a possible point of
failure that can render an entire system operational.

Updates to rack servers can include adding more memory or replacing other components within
the server. Blade servers are commonly fully integrated board and any upgrade usually involves
replacing the blade unit within the blade enclosure. Failing parts within, such as memory, can
also be replaced without scrapping the entire rack server. Think of these as computers that can be
repaired rather than components of a blade system that would need to be replaced.

Rack mounted servers continue to be the most cost effective computer network option for small
to medium sized operations. The cost of a single rack mounted server usually is more
economical than a blade enclosure and one or two blade units. For this reason, many businesses
start with rack mounted systems and many stay with those proven systems as they grow.