Fax server

A fax server is a system installed in a local area network (LAN) server that allows computer users whose computers are attached to the LAN to send and receive fax messages. Alternatively, the term fax server is sometimes used to describe a program that enables a computer to send and receive fax messages, set of software running on a server computer which is equipped with one or more fax-capable modems (or dedicated fax boards) attached to telephone lines or, more recently, software modem emulators which use T.38 ("Fax over IP") technology to transmit the signal over an IP network. Its function is to accept documents from users, convert them into faxes, and transmit them, as well as to receive fax calls and either store the incoming documents or pass them on to users. Users may communicate with the server in several ways, through either a local network or the Internet. In a big organization with heavy fax traffic, the computer hosting the fax server may be dedicated to that function, in which case the computer itself may also be known as a fax server.