Each and every PC or web server is run by an Operating System - the low-level program that interacts with the computer hardware, including peripherals such as a mouse or a printer, along with any applications that are installed on your system. Any program input through 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, every single app runs within the parameters specified by the OS as well - priority, physical memory, processing time, etc. This goes for both standard site scripts and server-side software such as a media server. If a virtual server is created on a physical one, there can be two separate Operating Systems, called guest OS and host OS, so that you will be able to set up a different software environment on the same machine.
Multiple OS in Dedicated Hosting
The dedicated server plans that we offer come with as many as three different Operating Systems to pick from. They are all Linux distributions - Ubuntu, CentOS and Debian, and not only do they have no license taxes, but they’re also regarded as the most stable and secure OSs. We offer three different ones as each one of them is backed by a different community. The packages which you can add on your server are different and this may matter if you need to install some piece of software with particular requirements for the hosting environment. In this light, the web hosting Control Panel that you can select for the dedicated server also depends on the Operating System that you'll choose. You may choose any of the three Operating Systems during the order procedure, however if needed, we can always install the server once again with an alternative one upon your request. As an optional service that you could add to the plan at any moment, we can update the OS on a regular basis in order to keep it as secure as possible.