On the back end, there are databases, file servers and messaging mechanisms -- the source of goods and services to be delivered. On the front end, there are users or the consumers of the goods and services, and their PCs or other computing devices. Servers connect the two and facilitate interactions and exchanges. Historically, big companies have increased their capacity by purchasing a big, expensive server -- known as "big iron" -- while smaller businesses have made do with what they could afford until they were able to expand. But recently that began to change as businesses adopted the use of clusters of smaller servers.
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