piping/server

Hi All (again!),
(note questions are denoted by, eg, (A.)...)
I got a small program and am piping to it from apache,
(A.) i am wondering is this program loaded into memory,
(B.) and is it constantly piped to,
(C.)does this take a great deal of resource?.
****************information********************
it is possible that my webpages might get a great deal of traffic, so,
i am considering running a seperate server to just handle the logs, and
a program to force session expire, and to check the main server if
there has been problems, and take the appropriate action when required,
this server will only be connected to one or more servers, and only
accessable through a direct connection (different from internet), so as
to isolate it as much as possible from attack, and this would also
decrease the usage of cpu of main server.
****************end*information***********************
(D.) Also, is it possible to pipe across a cable between the servers?,
(E.) is this efficent,
(F.) or is it better to use ports,
(G.) and also which is more secure?,
(H.) can apache send information by ports, and, last question,
(I.) if it ports, does it hold open a port, or does it do it every
request?

Thanks all who answer, i am not expecting one person to answer all
questions, but if people answer one or two it wont take long to get it
all down!
Andrew