Each PC or server is run by an Operating System - the low-level software that communicates with the computer hardware, including peripheral devices such as a mouse and a printer, along with any applications that are currently installed on your system. Any program input using a command line or a Graphical User Interface (GUI) is processed by sending an Application Program Interface (API) request to the OS. On a web server, any application runs within the parameters set by the OS as well - priority, physical memory, processing time, etc. This is valid for both standard Internet site scripts and server-side software such as a media server. When a virtual server is set up on a physical one, there can be two separate Operating Systems, referred to as guest OS and host OS, so that you can set up a different software environment on the very same machine.
Multiple OS in Dedicated Servers
In case you decide to get one of our dedicated servers, you will find three Operating Systems on the order page as we want to give you a broader choice for the system environment on the machine as different apps may have specific requirements. CentOS, Ubuntu and Debian come with different modules developed by their large support communities, so you can select each of these OSs and benefit from a reliable and secure web hosting service. Depending on your choice, you'll also have different Control Panels to choose from. Needless to say, we can always change the Operating System if the one you have selected initially doesn't meet the requirements of the software that you would like to run. We can also update your OS routinely in order to keep it as secure as possible through our Managed Services upgrade package.