It is becoming increasingly rare to carry out any given computing task using a single computer in isolation. Most often, whether or not the user is aware of it, part of the task performed takes place on one or more other computers networked to the user's computer.

As network computing has developed, it has become more common for different types of computers to specialize in specific areas. Some computers do nothing but store archives of files and software for on-demand use by network users, some computers specialize in super-high-resolution graphics for desktop design and engineering, others focus on high-volume centralized database transaction processing, and many simply function as general purpose workstations which present graphical user interfaces to all these services to end-users.

This new diversification of network computing tasks has resulted in a new general paradigm for software architecture called client/server. In this architecture, most software applications have exactly two components: the client component and the server component.

See also the client/server definition in The Free Online Dictionary of Computing