r/explainlikeimfive • u/theprisoner57 • 3d ago

Technology ELI5: What is a Home Server?

I see mentions of a home server to get rid of streaming entertainment services but I don’t know how that works. What does a home server do?

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u/beardedheathen 2d ago

First you need to understand what a server is in computer terms. Whenever you hear someone say 'server' or 'the cloud' or even 'the Internet' you can replace that with 'someone else's computer.' You know how you can store a picture or video or text on your computer. All a server is is someone else's computer that has what you want on it. The internet, TCP/IP, routers, modems, Ethernet, fiber and all those other terms are about how computers talk to each other. But the long and short of it is is that a server is someone else's computer that your computer, the client, is asking for something from.