# See what a server is

> Every server's page says, under its name, what the server is: a web server, a database, a cache and so on.

Source: https://infranest.io/docs/what-a-server-is
Last updated: 2026-11-02

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See at a glance what each of your servers actually does — a web server, a database, a cache, and so on — without labelling anything yourself. This is for anyone who wants to understand their infrastructure without digging through each server by hand.

## Overview
- Every server's page shows, under its name, what it is and why — for example, a web server and a database, running nginx and postgresql.
- InfraNest works this out automatically from what runs on the server and what connects to it. You don't have to set anything up.
- The same summary appears next to each server in the server list, so you can tell your machines apart at a glance.
- You can always correct it if InfraNest gets it wrong, or set it yourself before anything is running.

## What InfraNest looks at
InfraNest can recognise these roles: **Web server**, **Database**, **Cache**, **Queue worker**, **Mail server**, **DNS server**, **Backup host**, and **Container host**.

It decides based on two things:

1. **What runs on the server.** With the InfraNest agent installed, InfraNest sees the services, programs and containers running on the machine. The server's name is never used to guess its role — a machine called `db-01` running nginx is still shown as a web server.
2. **What it's connected to.** Other servers connecting to it on a database port mark it as a database, even if that database runs inside a container. A load balancer sending it traffic marks it as a web server. Domains and DNS records pointing at it show which sites it serves.

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Click **Recognised from what runs on it** to see the evidence behind each role — every server, load balancer or domain listed is a clickable link.

> [!NOTE]
> Without the agent installed, InfraNest can only go by what connects to the server, so it may show less detail. Installing the agent makes the result more precise.

## Correct what a server is

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If InfraNest got it wrong, or you'd rather set a server's role yourself before anything is running on it:

1. Open the server.
2. Under its name, click **Recognised from what runs on it**, then click **Correct it**. If nothing has been recognised yet, click **Say what this server is** instead.
3. Tick everything the server is, or leave everything unticked, then click **Save**.

Your choice sticks — InfraNest keeps watching what runs on the server, but it will never overwrite what you've set. The line will then read **Set by** followed by your name. To go back to automatic detection, open it again and click **Use what we recognise**.

Every correction is recorded in your workspace's **Audit Log**.

## Manage automatic reboots on databases
Rebooting a database takes down every server that depends on it until it's back up. Because of this, **automations that reboot servers skip any server marked as a database**, and the automation's run log explains that it was skipped and why.

1. If you do want automations to reboot a particular database server, open the server.
2. Click **Recognised from what runs on it**.
3. Switch on **Let automations reboot it**.

A reboot you trigger yourself, right now, always goes through — the **Reboot safely** window will simply remind you the server runs a database, so you can pick a quiet moment.

A reboot you **schedule** for later runs unattended, so it's treated the same as an automation's:

- When scheduling a reboot on a database server, the **Reboot safely** window asks you to confirm by ticking the option to reboot it anyway at the chosen time. Without that tick, the reboot won't be scheduled.
- If a server becomes a database *after* you scheduled its reboot, InfraNest won't go ahead with it. The reboot is held, your **Audit Log** records why, and you can either schedule it again and confirm it, or allow automatic reboots on the server's page.

## Tips
> [!TIP]
> You need permission to change servers in order to correct a role, but anyone who can see the server can see its role too.

## Good to know
- Your role setting is saved per server, and only within your workspace.
- InfraNest re-checks what it recognises every time you open the server, at most every 15 minutes.