Backend Explained

In this article, we shall take an overview of the backend technology to analyze how it works. 

What is a backend?

The backend is the portion of an application that executes various tasks that the app is designed to perform. The backend of an app is managed by the administrator and inaccessible to the app user; it the part of an app that stores data and codes that interpret program syntaxes.

The backend directly contrasts the frontend that provides an interface, allowing the user to interact with the application backend.

More often than not, backend codes consist of several programming languages. It is often referred to as the data access layer because it contains the functions accessible to client programs and users to provide various services. 

Vital Backend Concepts

The backend consists of several layers. It is necessary to discuss the architecture of backends to understand the integral layers it contains.  Below are some primary components of a backend architecture. 

• The Database

The database is a central place for storing data in a unique format and retrieving it when needed. The database provides functions for accessing, adding, deleting, and updating data by a privileged user. A typical example is a library that has different sections and subsections that contain books.

• The Virtual Server

This refers to a server located within another physical server machine. This type of server has an operating system and allocated server resources. Its operations and functions are independent of other virtual machines. 

A single server machine can contain multiple virtual servers. Perhaps, the best part of a virtual server is that it has no interaction with the host server machine. In essence, the apps that run in the virtual server environment are segregated and secure. 

• Container

Containers perform the same functions as a virtual machine except that they do not run a dedicated operating system. Instead, several containers can share the same operating system. The fact that a container doesn’t host an operating system makes it lightweight and faster than a virtual server. 

Containers are like operating systems that are dedicated to running specific processes. They are excellent for running apps and other micro-processes. 

• API Request

API requests refer to calls for data from the server-initiated by entering a specific URL on a client application. 

• Load Balancer

Backends have a resource that distributes loads among the available backend servers to enhance service delivery to client terminals. This resource is called the load balancer; it prevents a single server from getting overwhelmed by client requests so that apps continue to function optimally.  This resource can also add servers on demand when available servers cannot handle traffic from client terminals. 

The Architecture of a backend

Taking a closer look at backend architecture, you will realize that they are separated into three segments called backend layers.  Let’s take a look at these layers one after the other.

• Database Servers

The database layer is the first layer in the backend. It is essential to note that the database layer can contain several servers which may function as data replicators or manage backup routines. 

More often than not, databases are designed as redundant infrastructures with at least two databases that sync data in real-time. The database servers work together to ensure the data is always available despite contingencies.

• Applications Servers

The second layer consists of several virtual machines that process requests from client devices. The number of available virtual machines varies throughout the day through a technology called autoscaling to allocate the optimal number of virtual machines to handle traffic from connected client terminals. 

Virtual servers can have multiple containers, while each container can only host a single application. 

• Network Connection

The layer that connects the application to the internet is the third and last layer. This layer ensures that the application performance is optimal through load balancers and content delivery networks (CDNs). When an application experiences low latency, the fault is traceable to the network connection layer. 

Conclusion

This article s provided an overview of backends and how it works to provide a stable platform for hosting applications. Core backend concepts such as scalable databases, containers, virtual servers, load balancers, and CDNs were explained. 

Here we discussed all the architecture and working of a backend. All these elements work together to provide backends for developing and hosting applications. 

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