What is Client-server?
[[Image:Server-based-network.svg|thumb|200px|A one '''server''' based network.]] [[Image:P2P-network.svg|thumb|200px|A '''peer-to-peer''' based network.]] In [[Computer science]], '''client-server''' is a [[software architecture]] model consisting of two parts, [[client]] systems and [[server (computing)|server]] systems, both using a [[computer network]] or on the same [[computer]]. A client-server [[Application software|application]] is a [[Distributed computing|distributed system]] made up of both client and server software. Client server application provide a better way to share the workload. The client [[Process (computing)|process]] always starts a connection to the server, while the server [[Process (computing)|process]] always waits for requests from any client. When both the client [[Process (computing)|process]] and server [[Process (computing)|process]] are running on the same [[computer]], this is called a '''single seat''' setup. ==P2P== Another type of related software architecture is known as '''peer-to-peer''', because each host or [[Process (computing)|application]] [[Object (computer science)|instance]] can act as both a client and a server (unlike centralized servers of the '''client-server''' model) and because each has the same responsibilities and status. Peer-to-peer architectures are often [[abbreviation|abbreviated]] using the [[acronym]] '''P2P'''. Both '''client-server''' and '''P2P''' architectures are in wide usage today. ==Client-server relationship== The '''client-server relationship''' describes the relation between the client and how it makes a service request to the server, and how the server can accept these requests, process them, and return the requested information to the client. The interaction between client and server is often described using [[sequence diagram]]s. Sequence diagrams are standardized in the [[Unified Modeling Language]]. ==Two-tier== The basic type of '''client-server''' software architecture employs only two types of hosts: [[client]]s and [[server]]s