<s>
A	O
fax	B-Application
server	I-Application
is	O
a	O
system	O
installed	O
in	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
(	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
)	O
server	O
that	O
allows	O
computer	O
users	O
whose	O
computers	O
are	O
attached	O
to	O
the	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
to	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
fax	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alternatively	O
the	O
term	O
fax	B-Application
server	I-Application
is	O
sometimes	O
used	O
to	O
describe	O
a	O
program	O
that	O
enables	O
a	O
computer	O
to	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
fax	O
messages	O
,	O
set	O
of	O
software	O
running	O
on	O
a	O
server	B-Application
computer	I-Application
which	O
is	O
equipped	O
with	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
fax-capable	O
modems	B-Application
(	O
or	O
dedicated	O
fax	O
boards	O
)	O
attached	O
to	O
telephone	O
lines	O
or	O
,	O
more	O
recently	O
,	O
software	O
modem	B-Application
emulators	O
which	O
use	O
T.38	B-Protocol
(	O
"	O
Fax	O
over	O
IP	O
"	O
)	O
technology	O
to	O
transmit	O
the	O
signal	O
over	O
an	O
IP	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
may	O
communicate	O
with	O
the	O
server	O
in	O
several	O
ways	O
,	O
through	O
either	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
or	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
big	O
organization	O
with	O
heavy	O
fax	O
traffic	O
,	O
the	O
computer	O
hosting	O
the	O
fax	B-Application
server	I-Application
may	O
be	O
dedicated	O
to	O
that	O
function	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
case	O
the	O
computer	O
itself	O
may	O
also	O
be	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
fax	B-Application
server	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
e-mail	O
message	O
(	O
with	O
optional	O
attachments	O
)	O
can	O
be	O
sent	O
to	O
a	O
special	O
e-mail	O
address	O
;	O
the	O
fax	B-Application
server	I-Application
monitoring	O
that	O
address	O
converts	O
all	O
such	O
messages	O
into	O
fax	O
format	O
and	O
transmits	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
can	O
tell	O
their	O
computer	O
to	O
"	O
print	O
"	O
a	O
document	O
using	O
a	O
"	O
virtual	B-Application
printer	I-Application
"	O
which	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
producing	O
a	O
paper	O
printout	O
,	O
sends	O
the	O
document	O
to	O
the	O
fax	B-Application
server	I-Application
,	O
which	O
then	O
transmits	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
web	O
interface	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
,	O
allowing	O
files	O
to	O
be	O
uploaded	O
,	O
and	O
transmitted	O
to	O
the	O
fax	B-Application
server	I-Application
for	O
faxing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Special	O
client	B-Protocol
software	I-Protocol
may	O
be	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
may	O
be	O
sent	O
an	O
e-mail	O
message	O
for	O
each	O
fax	O
received	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
pages	O
included	O
as	O
attachments	O
,	O
typically	O
in	O
either	O
TIFF	O
or	O
PDF	B-Application
format	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Incoming	O
faxes	O
may	O
be	O
stored	O
in	O
a	O
dedicated	O
file	B-Application
directory	I-Application
,	O
which	O
the	O
user	O
can	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Special	O
client	B-Protocol
software	I-Protocol
may	O
be	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fax	B-Application
servers	I-Application
offer	O
various	O
advantages	O
over	O
traditional	O
fax	O
systems	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
problems	O
on	O
a	O
fax	B-Application
server	I-Application
can	O
be	O
diagnosed	O
and	O
solved	O
from	O
remote	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fax	B-Application
servers	I-Application
can	O
be	O
located	O
centrally	O
in	O
an	O
organisation	O
's	O
data	B-Operating_System
centres	I-Operating_System
providing	O
resilience	O
and	O
disaster	B-General_Concept
recovery	I-General_Concept
facilities	O
to	O
a	O
traditionally	O
desktop	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
many	O
Internet	O
fax	O
providers	O
operating	O
fax	B-Application
servers	I-Application
as	O
a	O
commercial	O
public	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subscribers	O
can	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
servers	O
using	O
methods	O
similar	O
to	O
those	O
available	O
for	O
standard	O
fax	B-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
and	O
would	O
be	O
assigned	O
a	O
dedicated	O
fax	O
number	O
for	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
they	O
maintain	O
their	O
subscription	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
integrated	O
fax	O
program	O
is	O
a	O
complete	O
set	O
of	O
faxing	O
software	O
which	O
operates	O
on	O
a	O
single	O
computer	O
which	O
is	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
fax-capable	O
modem	B-Application
connected	O
to	O
a	O
telephone	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
user	O
interfaces	O
may	O
be	O
similar	O
to	O
those	O
used	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
fax	B-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
except	O
that	O
since	O
the	O
entire	O
operation	O
takes	O
place	O
on	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
computer	O
the	O
user	O
may	O
be	O
made	O
more	O
aware	O
of	O
the	O
progress	O
of	O
the	O
transmission	O
.	O
</s>
