What is the difference between a Portal server and an Application

Question :What is the difference between a Portal server and an Application
server? (General)
Answer :Before understanding portal server, we will have to understand portal. As
we know, portal in nothing but a web
application. In simple words, a portal server is an application having a
portal and its management capabilities.
In traditional web application, we have a separate management section for
managing the web application. Portal server
provides the application as well as that management section. In other
words, a portal server is an application deployed
inside application server.
Whereas, an application server is a system that provides the execution
environment that is at the core of network
computing or web-based architectures, providing a full set of services.