Linux is an open source, multi-platform, and free software community based primarily on the Linux kernel. Linux started out as a project for compiling a free operating system. Linus Torvalds ported the Linux operating system to a PPC platform. Later, he developed the kernel to be compatible with the Unix kernel. Linux is typically available in a Linux Distribution.
The Linux kernel has become one of the most widely used operating systems. Many companies use Linux in their servers. Many individuals and developers also use Linux. Some people compare Linux to UNIX because they both run on the Linux operating system.
Linux can be obtained as a free software distribution, under the GNU General Public License (GPL). When downloading or installing Linux, you must indicate that you are using the Linux distribution which is based on the GNU General Public License. Some of the software tools contained in the Linux distribution have been designed with the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and its license. Thus, you need to be aware of the licensing differences between Linux and other similar free software distributions.
Linux has several advantages over other popular web servers available today. It is faster than most commercial web servers, and it is available in several languages, therefore making it easy to administer. It is easy to use, and is available in many versions. Linux also makes it easier to create multiple websites, since it supports the use of multiple URLs.
In the past, there were several open-source operating systems. The Linux distributors did not charge royalty fees for using Linux on servers. However, the cost of maintaining Linux, while cheaper than other systems, has also been an issue in the past. Commercial Linux distributions do charge fees for licensing. Linux users also complained about the slow speed of some Linux distributions.
Today, Linux distributes charge money for licensing, but the cost of installing Linux on servers has become cheaper. The Linux distributions that charge money to install are Ubuntu, Red Hat, Mandriva, Fedora, Opensuse and Gentoo. In contrast, all the other distributions do not require any payment to install Linux on servers. In addition, all of the distributions except Fedora have free support.
To install Linux on servers, the most common method is to use the apt-get install command. For example, to install Red Hat Linux on a Red Hat Enterprise server, an apt-get install red hat. The advantage of this method is that you can install the operating system, if it is not installed already, directly from the distribution. Another advantage of the apt-get install command is that it supports multiple operating systems and platforms.
However, Linux users might find it difficult to install Linux on windows servers because of Microsoft. Microsoft provides its own fork of Linux called Microsoft Linux. To run Microsoft Linux, you need to obtain and copy the appropriate installation files. There is no other way to install Linux on Windows servers.
Another way of installing Linux is to obtain and burn the appropriate installation CD containing a Microsoft Linux operating system and follow the installation wizard. The disadvantage of using this method is that you will lose a lot of data and an important part of the Linux kernel as well. The advantage is that you will have a ready to use a Windows server with the Microsoft operating system. On Linux, the system calls the ‘ldap’ command to locate and bind the terminal to the server. With the lhapss binary package, you can create a Linux web server from a Microsoft Linux console.
Another way of using Linux on windows servers is by downloading and installing a Microsoft Linux virtual machine. Microsoft provides a free download of its own Linux operating system. Microsoft Linux distributions are more expensive than other Linux distributions. It also runs faster.
You can also use Linux for remote servers. To use Linux on windows servers, you can connect through the use of telnet, NTP or configure a secure VPN client to connect to the server. A drawback is that telnet and VPN may not be enough to provide you with a secure network and access to Microsoft Windows programs. A better choice to use Linux is to install Linux on your PC and then configure a secure VPN client to connect to Microsoft Windows via that Linux operating system.
There are many differences between the Linux command line and the Windows command line. It is important to know these differences when you decide to use Linux on your windows server. This will allow you to avoid a big problem like using the wrong Linux command line on a windows server.
