An Operating System is the software that interacts with the hardware of a computer and is the intermediary between apps and the hardware, which includes peripheral devices such as a printer, a mouse or a keyboard. When you run an application, it transfers requests to the OS through an API (Application Program Interface) and the interaction is done through a command line or a Graphical User Interface (GUI). Just like a personal computer, web servers also feature an Operating System which functions as a host for the software installed on them, including script apps or server-side software such as a flash server, a VOIP server, etc. A virtual machine can be created on a physical one, so it is possible to install a guest OS on it and have a different system environment compared to the physical server host OS.
Multiple OS in Dedicated Servers
In case you decide to buy one of our dedicated servers, you will find three Operating Systems on the registration page because we want to give you a larger choice for the system environment on your machine as different applications could have specific requirements. CentOS, Ubuntu and Debian come with different modules developed by their vast support communities, so you can select each of these OSs and enjoy a stable and safe web hosting service. Based on your decision, you'll also have different Control Panels to choose from. Needless to say, we can always replace the Operating System in case the one you have selected in the beginning doesn't meet the requirements of the software that you intend to run. We can also update your OS routinely in order to keep it as secure as possible with our Managed Services upgrade package.