Hi all, I am going to install SharePoint 2013 in a three-tier farm environment.
I understand that the only difference between web server and app server is whether or not the "Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Web Application" service application is running or not. If yes = web server, if no = app server. App server is also where CA is installed. Both web server and app server will have connection to DB. When web server serves web page requests from users, it will go to DB directly to get the page content.
However, the real three-tier architecture actually means that only app server should have access to DB. Web server will get the information it needs from the app server.
Is my understanding correct so far? Why is there a difference between three-tier architecture when it is applied in SharePoint context?
