In computer

network protocol A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics, and synchronization of ...

design, inter-server communication is an extension of the

client–server model The client–server model is a distributed application structure that partitions tasks or workloads between the providers of a resource or service, called servers, and service requesters, called clients. Often clients and servers communicate ov ...

in which data are exchanged directly between

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides requested information for other programs or devices, called clients. Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending custome ...

s. In some fields server-to-server (S2S) is used as an alternative, and the term '' inter-domain'' can in some cases be used interchangeably.

Protocols

Protocols that have inter-server functions as well as the regular client–server communications include the following: * IPsec, secure network protocol that can be used to secure a host-to-host connection * The

domain name system The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed name service that provides a naming system for computers, services, and other resources on the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information ...

(DNS), which uses an inter-server protocol for zone transfers; * The

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network protocol, network management protocol used on Internet Protocol (IP) networks for automatically assigning IP addresses and other communication parameters to devices connected to the netw ...

(DHCP); * FXP, allowing file transfer directly between

FTP The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. FTP is built on a client–server model architecture using separate control and dat ...

servers; * The

Inter-Asterisk eXchange Inter-Asterisk eXchange (IAX) is a communications protocol native to the Asterisk private branch exchange (PBX) software, and is supported by a few other softswitches, PBX systems, and softphones. It is used for transporting voice over IP tele ...

(IAX); *

InterMUD LPMud, abbreviated LP, is a family of multi-user dungeon (MUD) server software. Its first instance, the original LPMud game driver, was developed in 1989 by Lars Pensjö (the LP in LPMud). LPMud was innovative in its separation of the MUD infrastr ...

; * The

IRC IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called '' channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat ...

, an Internet chat system with an inter-server protocol allowing clients to be distributed across many servers; * The

Network News Transfer Protocol The Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) is an application Protocol (computing), protocol used for transporting Usenet news articles (''netnews'') between news servers, and for reading/posting articles by the end user client applications. Brian ...

(NNTP); * The Protocol for SYnchronous Conferencing (PSYC); * SIP, a signaling protocol commonly used for

Voice over IP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...

; * SILC, a secure

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

conferencing protocol; * The

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (abbreviation XMPP, originally named Jabber) is an open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Based on XML (Extensible Marku ...

(XMPP, formerly named ''Jabber''). *

ActivityPub ActivityPub is a Communication protocol, protocol and open standard for Decentralised system, decentralized Social networking service, social networking. It provides a Client–server model, client-to-server (C2S) API for creating and modifying c ...

a client/server

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

for creating, updating and deleting content, as well as a federated server-to-server

for delivering notifications and content. *

SMTP The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an Internet standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission. Mail servers and other message transfer agents use SMTP to send and receive mail messages. User-level email clients typi ...

which accepts both MUA-> MTA traffic, as well as MTA->MTA, but it is usually recommended that different ports are used for these actions Some of these protocols employ

multicast In computer networking, multicast is a type of group communication where data transmission is addressed to a group of destination computers simultaneously. Multicast can be one-to-many or many-to-many distribution. Multicast differs from ph ...

strategies to efficiently deliver information to multiple servers at once.

References

IRC Network protocols {{network-stub

Protocols

See also

References