Web Server Vs Application Server

[Apan Raj]

Can we deploy servlets and JSP in a webserver. I heard from a very experienced Project Manager that its not possible without some plugin. And if the plugin is used, it becomes a Application Server. ( He says Tomcat that supports Servlet and JSP is a Application Server. )

[Chris Mathews]

It depends on the web server. For example, IPlanet support JSP and Servlets of the box. However, Apache and IIS do not.
Regardless, every web server can support JSP/Servlets in one form or another, either thru a plugin or by proxing requests to a dedicated Servlet Container (such as Tomcat).

[Lasse Koskela]

Sounds like a project manager, alright
Tomcat is a web container, not an application server in J2EE terminology. But he was right that you can't deploy servlets and JSPs on a web server such as Apache.
Search this forum for "difference app web server" and you'll find several posts that discuss the differences between a web server, a web container, and an application server.

[Apan Raj]

Then how exactly does a Web Container differ from Application Server and Web Server.

[Lasse Koskela]

As you would've found out by searching as I suggested, they differ by the technologies they support. Web servers support static content such as HTML pages and images, and some dynamic technologies such as CGI and PHP -- they have nothing to do with Java. Web containers support a subset of J2EE technologies such as Java Servlets and JavaServer Pages. Application servers include a web container and a lot of other services, including an Enterprise JavaBeans container.

[Apan Raj]

Thank you Las.

[perry arora]

The Web server handles the http request , and responds back to the client by sending a html page which coud be static page or coud be a response from a server side technology like cgi, servlets, in this case the response is in terms of html pages. and the web servers receives the request via Http protocol.

In case of application server it exposes the buisness logic to the application programs, through a component API. in case os j2ee its the EJB's and the application server can receive the requests from client through any no of protocols.

With that the Web server and the Application server which we are discussing basically they are containers. or the we can say an environment in which the application run.. We can make our web container supports every thing which is defined inits specification or in other words , the container has the needed piece of software/plugin for that.. Thats why we have different-2 vendors coming up with their conteiners (WEB/SERVlet/J2ee)

Technically the Web and the Servlet container are different , but now a days the web conteiner include the service of a servlet container which we can use to run the Servelts and the JSP...

Hope this will help you. but if you need any grilled implementation about What is a Container !!!.. i will provide you!

[Ramakrishnan thiyagarajan]

hi,
first u know that webserver is a request/response oriented.but application server encapsulates business logic and transaction,security.
to plug in a webserver is not a application server rather it provides functionality to deploy jsp/servlets.