Liquid Web This blog covers the basics of web application servers, how they work, and how to host them.
Competition among web applications is fierce — according to Statista, nearly 90,000 apps launched across Google Play and the App Store in February 2024. There are also ever-increasing consumer expectations for speed, uptime, and quality of their online experiences.
So whether you offer online gaming or retail finance tools, your application server type is critical to your overall performance.
These powerful servers connect the interface your customers interact with and the back-end databases and business logic that make your software valuable. They can also enhance the reliability and performance of your applications.
Here’s what you need to know about application servers.
What is an application server?
This is a software framework that creates an environment for running and managing web applications. It acts as the middleman between the user-facing front-end and the back-end databases or applications. Imagine it as a robust computer in the middle tier of a three-tier architecture:
- The front-end web browser or user interface
- The application server
- The back-end databases or applications
The application server manages all the operations between the user interface and the back end, ensuring the client doesn’t directly communicate with the database. This makes the app more secure, flexible, and scalable while allowing controlled access that reduces the risk of errors or security breaches.
Application servers can be hosted in various ways, including on-premises or through dedicated, cloud-based, or virtual private servers (VPS).
| Key features of application servers |
| • Web server capabilities to generate dynamic web pages • Connection to databases for data retrieval and storage • User session and state management • Transaction processing and application server monitoring • Load balancing for scalability and high availability • Security services, including authentication and encryption |
Web server vs application server
A web server handles user requests through a web browser and serves them HTTP responses in HTML documents and linked objects like images, CSS files, and JavaScript. Hosting websites and delivering static web pages involves using this type of server.
Application servers provide a platform for various applications to run, supporting complex business logic processing, database access, and performance computations. They can also handle web server requests.
These two server types are often talked about separately. In reality, application servers are often installed on the same virtual or physical machine as the web server to allow for more efficient communication between them.
For example, an ecommerce website owner with constantly changing inventory and prices could use an application server to deliver up-to-date, personalized experiences.
How an application server works
To see exactly how web and application servers make it easier for people to access everything from mobile apps to our favorite shows, let’s look at an example. In this case, we’re searching for a movie or show to watch on a streaming app.
Step 1: User input
You open your favorite streaming service on your smartphone, tablet, or computer and want to find a movie. So, you go to the search bar, type in the name, and hit enter. This action sends a request from your device to a web server as an HTTP request.
Step 2: Request handling
The HTTP request moves through the internet to the web server, where its first task is to parse and understand the request. It identifies that you are looking for a search operation and what specific content you are searching for.
Step 3: Business logic execution
The web server sends this request to the application server, executing the appropriate business logic.
In this case, the business logic involves searching for the entered keywords within the database. The server might also check if you have any personalized settings that influence search results, such as preferred genres or previously watched shows.
Step 4: Database interaction
Once the business logic is determined, the application server interacts with the back-end database to retrieve the information. It sends a query to the database asking for all entries that match the search keywords you provided. The database searches its contents and returns the data matching the request to the application server.
Step 5: Data processing
After receiving the data from the database, the application server processes it to format and sort the results appropriately. For instance, it might sort the results by relevance, release date, or popularity based on the app’s logic.
Step 6: Response generation
With the processed data ready, the application server then generates a response. This typically involves creating a dynamic web page or app screen filled with the search results. Each result might include a thumbnail image, a title, a brief description, and links to view more details or start watching.
Step 7: Sending the response
This generated response is then sent back to the web server and then to your device. Your device receives the data and updates the app interface to display the search results on your screen.
Step 8: Display and interaction
Finally, you see the search results displayed on your streaming app. From here, you can scroll through the results, click on a show for more details, or choose one to start watching immediately.
Taken together, the process looks something like this.
As you can see, the apps we use daily for work and play rely on web, application, and database servers to operate effectively. While the application server plays a crucial role in this process, it’s part of a more comprehensive system.
Application server examples
There are several different application servers you can use to support your business. They’re often categorized based on the primary programming language or framework they support.
With almost 43 percent of developers using Node.js to work on their applications’ client and browser side, Javascript app servers are becoming increasingly popular.
Here are some of the most popular application servers that use Javascript.
| App server | Description |
| Apache Tomcat | An open-source Java servlet container and web server for running Java applications, offering quick startup times and a lightweight architecture. |
| IBM WebSphere | A Java Enterprise Edition (EE) application server from IBM that provides high availability, scalability, and management capabilities for mission-critical applications. |
| Oracle WebLogic | An industry-leading Java EE application server offering enterprise features, cloud-native support, and tight integration with Oracle’s product stack. |
| WildFly | Formerly JBoss — a powerful, lightweight, open-source Java EE application server built on a modular architecture with fast startup times and efficient memory usage. |
| GlassFish | An open source Java EE application server providing a modular architecture, comprehensive features, and support for the latest enterprise technologies. |
There are several other open source app servers for non-JavaScript languages like PHP and Python, including Appserver, RoadRunner, and Django.
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With over 20 years of experience in the web hosting industry, we have the personnel, hardware, and expertise to host websites, applications, and databases across various environments.
Whether you want a dedicated VPS, cloud, or GPU hosting for your app, Liquid Web has the right application hosting option for you. Check out our plans to get started today.