Linux Server
Return to Servers, Server topics, Linux topics, Linux
“Before we dive into Linux server details, we will first explain what we mean by a Linux server and show how a Linux server differs from a Linux desktop.
Both Linux desktops and Linux servers use the same Linux kernel, run the same shells, and even have the ability to run the same programs. The difference comes in which programs they primarily run and how those programs run on the system.
Linux desktops primarily focus on personal programs that you run from a graphical desktop interface, such as when you browse the Internet or edit a document. The graphical desktop provides an easy interface for users to interact with the operating system and all files and programs. You start programs by selecting them from a menu system or clicking a desktop icon. In the desktop world, everything is interactive.
Linux servers primarily operate without any human interaction. There’s no one sitting at a desktop launching applications (and in fact, many servers don’t even have a dedicated monitor and keyboard).
The server runs programs that provide shared resources (called services) to multiple users (clients), normally in a network environment. Many services run all the time, even when no clients are actively using them.
Server programs seldom rely on a graphical interface. Instead, they almost always utilize the Linux shell’s command-line interface (CLI) to interact with a server administrator, and often, the administrator connects to the server from a remote client to perform any interactive work with the services.
Since there’s little interaction with a human operator, servers must know how to launch the programs that provide the services to clients on their own. How the server runs those services can differ from server to server and service to service. The following sections describe how Linux servers start services and how they provide access to those services to clients.”