A server forms the backbone of the IT infrastructure of any organization, and in today’s digital world, it’s imperative to acknowledge the fact that a reliable server OS is a must for satisfactory delivery in this increased demand for online services.
What is a server OS?
The Server Operating System is installed and used solely on a server. A server is a high-performance computer employed by organizations to process, analyze, and distribute data in other computers and devices. It is specially built for the particular hardware of performing specific server-related activities, namely database management, web servers, and network service provisioning.
Unix, Linux, and Windows are examples of popular server operating systems; they also support virtualization, backup and recovery, clustering, and security, which are all configured to server specifications.
Choosing the Right Server Operating System
Linux
Linux is an open-source OS that is widely utilized in business and organization applications. Its major attribute is that it is flexible, secure, and stable.
Ubuntu Server
Ubuntu Server is the most popular Linux server distribution. It upgrades very often with fixes and is easy to use. The program also supports several programming languages and applications.
Windows Server
Windows Server is a very widely used server operating system that provides advanced security features and supports virtualization as well as integration with the cloud, besides supporting many programming languages and having an easy interface to follow.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is an extremely secure release developed for business deployments. It provides strong performance with cloud, virtualization, and containerization capabilities.
CentOS
CentOS is based on another program called Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but it is completely free and has open-source distribution. The Server is mainly found in commercial applications and provides a dependable and safe environment for hosting servers.
Oracle Linux
Oracle Linux is mainly very similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux with the aspect of virtualization, scalability, and security and also comprises of Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel with add-on features and performance enhancement.
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a stable and very secure operating system that closely resembles Unix. Its best use is seen on those servers that are to become highly scalable and perform well.
IBM AIX
IBM AIX is a server operating system built on the Unix platform. It offers excellent security, scalability, and performance. Also, it supports a variety of hardware architecture and is built for hectic business settings.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
Distributions such as SUSE Linux Enterprise Server offer reliable and secure access to provide high performance, flexibility, and a range of capabilities, including virtualization, software-defined storage, and cluster management.
Debian
Another very widely used Linux distribution is Debian, which is also famous for its reliability and ease of use. It also has a large number of pre-built packages and supports many hardware architectures.
To sum it up, choosing a server OS requires ensuring compatibility, security, ease of use, cost, scalability, support, and performance. Make sure the OS chosen is compatible with other hardware and software used within your organization. Security requirements, such as built-in firewalls, cyber-attack protection, and backup/recovery, must not be compromised.
Optimizing server performance would consider the processing power, disk I/O, and memory usage. In regard to the interface, you should select one that is friendly to the administrators or IT professionals. Meanwhile, it will provide more hardware resources for the expanding organization with scalability.
