For example, Cisco offers a version of the Cisco Internetwork Operating System ( IOS) that uses the Linux kernel. Network OS for routers, switches, domain name system servers, home networking devices and more.Linux is used as an embedded OS for a variety of applications, including household appliances, automotive entertainment systems and network file system appliances. Embedded device or appliance OS for systems that require limited computing function.Headless systems are often used for remotely managed networking server and other devices. Headless server OS for systems that do not require a graphical user interface (GUI) or directly connected terminal and keyboard.Linux is an open source and freely available desktop environment for users who prefer it to commercial OSes. Desktop OS for personal productivity computing.Designed to support high-volume and multithreading applications, Linux is well-suited for all types of server applications. Server OS for web servers, database servers, file servers, email servers and any other type of shared server.The Linux OS can be found in many different settings, supporting many different use cases. The enormous community for developers and wide range of distributions means that a Linux version is available for almost any task, and Linux has penetrated many areas of computing.įor example, Linux has emerged as a popular OS for web servers such as Apache, as well as for network operations, scientific computing tasks that require huge compute clusters, running databases, desktop and endpoint computing, and running mobile devices with OS versions like Android. How is the Linux operating system used?Įvery version of the Linux OS manages hardware resources, launches and handles applications, and provides some form of user interface. It is supported on almost every major computer platform, including x86, ARM and SPARC, making it one of the most widely supported operating systems. Linux is a Unix-like, open source and community-developed operating system (OS) for computers, servers, mainframes, mobile devices and embedded devices.

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