While doing some random Internet surfing, I ran across this article from the WHIR. Sometimes the easiest questions out there are the hardest ones to find answers to. The folks at the WHIR do a good job at explaining exactly how a Web hosting server does what it does so well.

You have probably come to this site to find a company that provides Web servers or Web hosting services. But do you actually know how these hosting machines work? It’s a good idea to know a little bit about the product or service you are searching for before you begin your quest.

First, it’s important to note that this is a two-sided story. Web servers are responsible for storing and exchanging information with other machines. Because of this, at least two participants are required for each exchange of information: a client, which requests the information, and a server, which stores it. Each side also requires a piece of software to negotiate the exchange of data; in the case of the client, a browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer is used.

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Here are also a few more resources for those of you who might want to know a little more about the Web hosting magic that happens inside that server that your Web site is hosted:

Google definitions for a web Hosting server

Listen as Google explains what a Web hosting server is from several diffrent sources!

Wikipedia’s definition of a Web hosting server

Yet another good definition of what a Web hosting server is and what it does.