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A fax server is an alternative to providing individual fax machines throughout a company location. For instance, many companies purchase a fax machine for each department in the company. For larger companies, this policy can result in dozens if not hundreds of machines. The fax machine must also be conveniently located for the employees.
A fax server provides a centrally-located fax system for all company departments, including remote workers, and can save costs from purchasing dozens of individual fax machines. It consists of special software running on a server computer to which are connected one or more fax-capable modems. In a big organisation with heavy fax traffic, the computer may be dedicated to the fax function, it which case the computer itself may also be known as a fax server.
Users (and computer programs which generate fax messages) may have several ways to communicate with a fax server. For outgoing faxes, an e-mail message (with optional attachments) can be sent to a special e-mail address; the fax server monitoring that address converts all such messages into fax format and transmits them. Another method is for the user to tell his computer to "print" a document using a "virtual printer" which, instead of producing a paper printout, sends the document to the fax server, which then transmits it. A fax server also has several ways to inform users of incoming faxes; typically they would be e-mailed to users, but they can instead be stored in a dedicated file directory which users can monitor, or be uploaded to a website.
Public fax servers
There are many companies ("internet fax providers") operating fax servers as a commercial public service. Subscribers can interact with the servers, sending and receiving faxes via e-mail, web browser, or special client software, and would be assigned a dedicated fax number for as long as they maintain their subscription. This may be more cost-effective for a company to use than operating their own fax server or fax machines. Fees are normally charged on a flat monthly rate, with a limit on the number of fax pages sent and/or received.
See also
"Fax server"