A computer that connects to a server is referred to as what?

A computer that connects to a server and requests services or resources is referred to as a client. In the context of a network, the client is the device or application that interacts with the server to receive data, resources, or services. This relationship is fundamental to the client-server architecture where the client initiates requests to the server, which processes those requests and returns the appropriate responses.

In this architecture, the server is a powerful machine that stores, manages, and provides resources, while the client can be any device that uses those resources. The distinction between client and server is crucial for understanding how network communications typically function.

The other options involve specific roles: a node could refer to any device on a network that can communicate, a host is often used to denote a computer that runs services and can serve as a server, and a server is specifically the machine that provides resources to the client. Therefore, identifying the client helps clarify which part of the network architecture is being discussed in scenarios involving request-response interactions.