Your laptop is already a server
The word means less than you think, which is good news.
When you run a dev command and open localhost, you have started a server. A program is sitting there listening on a port, waiting for requests, and answering them. A production server is the same program with three differences: it runs on a machine that is always on, it is reachable by strangers, and it does not stop when you close your laptop.
A port is how one machine runs several servers at once. The address gets you to the machine; the port gets you to the right program on it. That is all a port is, and it is why you can run a web app on 3000 and a database on 5432 without them colliding.
What to remember
- A server is a running program, not a piece of hardware.
- Ports let one machine host many servers.
- Local and production differ in specific, enumerable ways.
Terms in this lesson
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