Database Master servers are central and primary locations of data while Database Slave servers are synchronized backups of the master acting as proxies.
Based on industry-managed standards such as AdvancedTCA®, MicroTCATM, Carrier Grade Linux and Service AvailabilityTM Forum specifications, communications servers are the foundational platform upon which equipment providers build network infrastructure elements for deployments such as IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), IPTV and wireless broadband (e.g. WiMAX).
By driving down infrastructure costs, improving time to market, and shifting user resources toward the development of new applications and services, communications servers will help accelerate the cost effective deployment of converged services.
Support for communications servers as a category of server is developing rapidly throughout the communications industry. Standards bodies, industry associations, vendor alliance programs, hardware and software manufacturers, communications server vendors and users are all part of an increasingly robust communications server ecosystem.
Regardless of their specific, differentiated features, communications servers have the following attributes: open, flexible, carrier-grade, and communications-focused.
An application server handles most, if not all, of the business logic and data access of the application (a.k.a. centralization). The main benefit of an application server is the ease of application development, since applications need not be programmed; instead, they are assembled from building blocks provided by the application server. For example, a Wiki is an application server that allows users to build dynamic content assembled from articles. Moreover, Wikipedia is an assembled Wiki that delivers an encyclopedia stored in a filesystem, with changes to the encyclopedia stored in a database.
Application servers run on many platforms, and the term colloquially applies to two different software applications. The term is used to refer to servers of web-based applications, such as integrated platforms for e-commerce, content management systems, and web-site builders. Alternatively, the term is used as a synonym for web application framework.
