Local vs Remote Servers

Understanding the difference between a Local Server and a Remote server is very important. If you are referring to a Local Server, this means that you have a server setup on your current machine. When the server is Remote, this just means that it is on another computer.

You may have heard the phrase, "Working Remotely." What this means is that the person will not be working in the office, instead they could be working at home or from their favorite corner coffee shop. So since that person is away from the office, they are considered "Remote." In the same case if a server hosting your files is not in-house or on your computer, it is considered to be a Remote Server.

First let's talk about what happens when you visit a web page in your browser. Well, your computer needs to contact a (remote) server on the web and then send the data back to your computer:

But when you are running a local server, your computer contacts itself since it is running a local server and returns the data back to the browser:

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And that's the basics of a Local Server vs a Remote Server. It's a very simple concept, but sometimes the jargon seems to get a little cumbersome. Just remember that a Local Server is on your computer and a Remote Server is on another computer. Easy Peasy, right!