Clients and Servers
DCE is based on the client/server model. A server is a machine or process that provides a specialized service to other machines or processes. A client is a machine or process that uses a server's specialized service during the course of its own work. Distributed applications consist of a client side that initiates a request for service, and a server side that receives and executes that request, and returns any results to the client. For example, a client can request that a file be printed, and the server where the printer resides carries out that request.
More than one server process can reside on a single machine. Also, one machine can be both a client and a server. For example, a machine can be a client for one DCE component and a server for another.
The following figure shows a machine that is a name server for a client that issues a name request. The same machine is a client for a file server.
Interaction of Clients and Servers
