Normally I wouldn't mind recommending a product, but looking through his post history shows that he's a developer or at least affiliated with the company.

Thanks for the advice, but it would be nice if you disclosed your conflict of interest with electrotank.  Especially when consulting a beginner. 

Thanks all I think I think it finally makes sense! 

Also thanks for the extra tips those will certainly come in handy

Ah I see, thanks a lot!  That clears things up.

I guess the only advantage of using a real server compared to a dedicated computer would be efficiency then?  I'd imagine that servers would have the OS and stuff stripped down since that is their primary function.  Or are all servers fully functioning computers in essence, easily able to add java (if you wanted to)?

Hi!  I was hoping to learn more about how game servers are chosen/implemented.  I understand how to write basic TCP/UDP server/client programs in java.  I'm more interested in how this would be applied in industry to make a functional server.

To make a server accepting clients (with the example of a game perhaps):

1. Do game developers buy/rent servers and simply upload a java program onto it?

2. Is a server for this type of application basically a regular computer just running a java program 24/7?

3. Would Apache Tomcat be used for something like this?  (Basically in my searches I have found things like Tomcat and I don't understand how they fit into the picture.  Does a server run Tomcat which enables you to run your java-server-program?)