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I am learning about: Client/Server Architecture (more concretely the characteristics). I have a question:

"Asymmetrical protocols: there is a many-to-one relationship between clients and a server. Clients always initiate a dialog by requesting a service. Servers wait passively for requests from clients." (Source: https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E13203_01/tuxedo/tux80/atmi/intbas3.htm)

QUESTION: I do not understand, I see that like SYMMETRICAL.

For example: A client request a service (web page) to a server (web server), but before this request the server was waiting passively until it received a request from client, just in that moment there is a connection between client and server, the server says "here you have the web page which you requested". For that moment I think it is SYMMETRICAL.

So, why is it asymmetrical?

learnprogramming
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There is a many to one relation between clients and server, so there is a single server and many clients but a single server per client.

The client actively sends requests, while the server serves the request and does not initiate requests on its own.

The client is active and the server is passive, so it is assymetrical.

Lajos Arpad
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  • Isn't assymetric protocol mean, server is master and client is slave? – overexchange Mar 04 '19 at 13:42
  • @overexchange it means that there is an active part who sends the requests (client) and a passive part who receives the requests and responds (server). – Lajos Arpad Mar 04 '19 at 14:44
  • @overexchange https://specialties.bayt.com/en/specialties/q/60062/what-is-meant-by-asymmetrical-protocols/ – Lajos Arpad Mar 04 '19 at 14:51
  • Please don't rely on that reference. There are multiple answers given for the meaning of asymmetric, in that reference – overexchange Mar 04 '19 at 15:10
  • @overexchange do you have a better link? – Lajos Arpad Mar 04 '19 at 15:37
  • @overexchange according to your link you are right and we can call one side a "master" and the other a "slave". Intuitively it seems that the client is the "master", since the client sends requests, which are served by the server. – Lajos Arpad Mar 05 '19 at 09:13
  • server is master because server serves the request, if client initiates(slave) the request. – overexchange Mar 05 '19 at 14:08