Architectural Review of Client-Server Models
Authors:Mr. Geofrey Mwamba Nyabuto, Mr. Victor Mony, Professor Samuel Mbugua
Abstract-Client-server architecture is a distributed systems architecture where one or more client computers request resources from a server computer over a network. The client computers provide user-friendly interfaces through which users request resources from the server. In turn, the server receives one or more requests, processes them, and returns a response to the requesting client. The birth of this architecture led to the birth of many models and applications including the Internet, banking systems, and mobile cellular networks among others. This model enables multiple users to simultaneously access and use the same resource. This study used a systematic approach to review types of client-server architecture, comparing these types by pointing out their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. Through the Google search engine, articles were retrieved, reviewed, and analyzed. The study was able to note that each of the types of client-server architecture has its advantages and disadvantages as per implementation needs. Two-tier architecture works well in a small set-up where not many resources are available, and the implementation is not resource intensive. On the other end, n-tier architecture is suitable where a lot of resources are needed, and high processing speed is required.
