Every personal computer or server is run by an Operating System - the low-level program that communicates with the hardware equipment, including peripheral devices such as a mouse and a printer, along with any apps that are installed on the 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 Operating System. On a server, any application runs within the parameters set by the OS as well - priority, physical memory, processing time, and so on. This goes for both standard website scripts and server-side software like a media server. When a virtual server is created on a physical one, there can be two independent Operating Systems, named guest OS and host OS, which means that you will be able to set up a different software environment on the same machine.
Multiple OS in Dedicated Servers
In case you decide to acquire one of our dedicated servers, you shall find three Operating Systems on the order page as we want to give you a broader choice regarding the system environment on your machine as different applications could have particular requirements. CentOS, Ubuntu and Debian include different modules developed by their vast support communities, so you can select any of these OSs and benefit from a stable and risk-free Internet hosting service. Based on your selection, 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 initially does not meet the requirements of the software that you want to run. We can also upgrade the OS routinely to keep it as secure as possible using our Managed Services upgrade package.