Client Server Architecture
Imagine you and your friends are playing a game where one of you is the “server” and the others are “clients.” The server has all the game pieces and makes decisions about the rules, while the clients ask the server for the pieces they need to play the game.
Just like in a computer network, the server is a computer that stores and manages information, and the clients are other computers that request information from the server. In this way, everyone can play the game together and the server makes sure everything runs smoothly.
So, in computer networks, the client-server architecture allows many devices to access and share information and resources, with a central authority (the server) to manage it all.
What happens when we hit instagram.com on browser?
When you type “instagram.com” in your web browser and hit enter, the following sequence of events occur in the client-server architecture:
The client (your web browser) sends a request to the server (the Instagram server) asking for the web page associated with the URL “instagram.com”.
The server receives the request, processes it, and retrieves the necessary resources (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, images, etc.) to build the web page.
The server packages these resources into a response and sends it back to the client (your web browser).
The client receives the response and uses the information to render the web page on your screen.
As you interact with the web page (e.g., by clicking on links or buttons), additional requests are sent from the client to the server and the process repeats.
This communication between the client and the server is facilitated by the HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or HTTPS (Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol) protocols, which define the format and structure of the requests and responses exchanged between the client and server.
In this way, the client-server architecture allows for efficient and organized communication between computers, making it possible for you to access the Instagram website and all its features with ease.