An Operating System is the software which communicates with the hardware of a computer and functions as the intermediary between all the applications and the hardware, which includes peripheral devices such as a printer, a mouse or a keyboard. When you run software, it transfers requests to the OS using an API (Application Program Interface) and the communication is done through a command line or a Graphical User Interface (GUI). Similar to a personal computer, hosting servers also feature an Operating System that serves as a host for the software installed on them, which includes script apps or server-side software such as a flash server, a VOIP server, etc. A virtual machine can be set up on a physical one, so you can install a guest OS on it and have a different system environment compared to the physical server host Operating System.
Multiple OS in VPS
Our virtual private server plans include three Linux distributions which you could select from for the Operating System of your new web server - Debian, Ubuntu and CentOS. Apart from being free, the OSs are very stable and safe and the primary reason to offer the three of them is to ensure that you'll be able to run any app that you'd like, as different pieces of software have different requirements with regards to the environment they work on. Each one of the three OSs is supported by a huge community of web developers who have produced a large number of software packages which you can install and use on your VPS. In accordance with the Operating System which you choose, you will also be able to choose between 3 different Control Panels to handle your website hosting content. Also, if you decide that you need another OS, we can always re-install the server with it. As a paid upgrade, we also provide weekly updates of the OS for max stability and security.
Multiple OS in Dedicated Hosting
If you decide to obtain one of our dedicated servers, you'll find three Operating Systems on the registration page since we want to give you a broader choice for the system environment on the 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 any of these OSs and benefit from a stable and risk-free hosting service. Depending on your decision, you will also have different Control Panels to choose from. Of course, we can always change the Operating System if the one you have selected initially doesn't meet the requirements of the software that you'd like to run. We can also upgrade your OS on a regular basis to keep it as risk-free as possible through our Managed Services upgrade package.