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I have just been looking through our server estate and looking at what is running on what. &nbsp;One thing that has stood out to me is that one of our main applications is running on the same server as the data is stored on. &nbsp;This server is also used as a web server to access the application remotely. <br />
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Now I was always under the impression that data and applications should be separated, so one server running the application and another server storing the database, is this correct? &nbsp;If so, how important is it to separate these functions? &nbsp;I’ve got a few ideas:<br />

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Security – If separated and an attacker is able to gain access to the application server, the data is still safe from theft or malicious damage/corruption.
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Performance - Unless using a very powerful server, surely using one server to run these function is going to put a big load on it.
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Are there any more important reasons why these function should be split across different servers? &nbsp;Just in case it is relevant, this is a virtual server.
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I have just been looking through our server estate and looking at what is running on what.  One thing that has stood out to me is that one of our main applications is running on the same server as the data is stored on.  This server is also used as a web server to access the application remotely. 
 
Now I was always under the impression that data and applications should be separated, so one server running the application and another server storing the database, is this correct?  If so, how important is it to separate these functions?  I’ve got a few ideas:
Security – If separated and an attacker is able to gain access to the application server, the data is still safe from theft or malicious damage/corruption.
Performance - Unless using a very powerful server, surely using one server to run these function is going to put a big load on it.

Are there any more important reasons why these function should be split across different servers?  Just in case it is relevant, this is a virtual server.

Data and Application Seperation

Databases are organized collections of data, most commonly accessed through management systems including schemas, tables, queries and processes that allow users to enter and manipulate the information or utilize it in other fashions, such as with web applications or for reporting purposes.

Databases

An application server is a software framework that provides both facilities to create applications and a server environment to run them. Most application server frameworks contain a comprehensive service layer model, acting as a set of components accessible to the software developer through an API defined by the platform itself. For Web applications, these components are usually performed in the same running environment as their web server(s), and their main job is to support the construction of dynamic pages. However, many application servers target much more than just Web page generation: they implement services like clustering, fail-over, and load-balancing.