A1.1 Features of digital devices GapFill

An embedded system has limited functions.  The hardware is dedicated to the task.  An example embedded system is a traffic light monitoring system.  The system will have  temperaturepHcarbon dioxidemagnetic field sensors that detect when a car passes over them. This signals the traffic lights that there is a car waiting. The systems can be connected to the  clientWorld Wide WebInternet of Thingsintranet to allow data about the traffic lights to be collected and monitored.

Another Internet of Things (IoT) embedded system that is often found in homes is a heating system.  The system is dedicated to the purpose of monitoring the temperature in a house and turning the boiler on, or off, to maintain the heating to a set temperature.  The system is connected to the  file serverweb servertemperature sensorInternet to allow the home owner to access the system remotely. 

The systems transmit data to a  printersensorserverdomain name server and receive data back.  Some devices perform their own processing, while some only transmit the input data for processing elsewhere.

A server is a system that is connected to a network.  Servers receive data from   the Internetprintersclientsa wide area network.  The server processes the data it has received, which may be a request for data, a request to access an email, etc. and then the server   sends the result backupdates the network settingsoutputs the result on the monitorproduces an audio output. 

A web server is a specialist server that stores websites.  When a user visits a website their device sends a request to the web server that has the matching   postcodeDNS serverIP addressMAC address of the site they are trying to access.  The web server processes the request and returns the  zippedtextHTMLURL document the user is trying to view. 

 ApplicationFilePrintWeb servers run software that users can access.  A client accesses the software, but this is run on the server and not on the client’s device.  The user can access the software from any device because it is not installed locally.

A  printfileapplicationweb server stores files.  Clients send requests to the server for a file, or to perform an action on a file, e.g. delete it.