CentOS is the name of the Operating System that we use on our servers and is an alternative to Windows. CentOS is an acronym for Community ENTerprise Operating System, and is a community driven, freely released version of the secure and stable Red Hat Enterprise Server, Linux-based, operating system.
We selected CentOS as they provide long-term support for their operating system, together with security, reliability and stability, making it the perfect choice for our web servers and for our customers.
What is Linux?
Known officially at the GNU/Linux operating system, Linux is the kernel which runs the computer by controlling the software (what program runs, when, and for how long) and managing the hardware (setting up the network cards, hard drives, etc.) and allowing the software to work with them.
Linux started 15 years ago as a way of creating a open-source, free, version of a Unix-like operating system (the same operating systems that still runs many of today's Mainframes and Supercomputers). Despite this small start, Linux has become a driving force in computing, with up to half of all servers on the Internet now running a version of Linux (compared with just 25-30% for Windows servers) and a rapidly increasing base of Desktop users.
