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== Operating systems ==
[[File:Cobalt Qube 3 Front.jpg|thumb|Sun's [[Cobalt Qube]] 3; a computer [[server appliance]] (2002); running Cobalt Linux (a customized version of Red Hat Linux, using the 2.2 Linux kernel), complete with the Apache web server.]]
On the Internet, the dominant [[operating system]]s among servers are UNIX-like [[open source software|open-source]] [[Linux distribution|distributions]], such as those based on [[Linux]] and [[FreeBSD]],<ref name="linuxusage">{{cite web |url= http://w3techs.com/technologies/details/os-linux/all/all|title=Usage statistics and market share of Linux for websites|access-date=18 Jan 2013}}</ref> with [[Windows Server]] also having a significant share. Proprietary operating systems such as [[z/OS]] and [[macOS Server]] are also deployed, but in much smaller numbers. Servers that run Linux are commonly used as Webservers or Databanks. Windows Servers are used for Networks that are made out of Windows Clients.
Specialist server-oriented operating systems have traditionally had features such as:
* [[GUI]] not available or optional
* Ability to [[Reconfigurable computing|reconfigure]] and update both hardware and software to some extent without restart
* Advanced [[backup]] facilities to permit regular and frequent online backups of critical [[data]],
* [[Network transparency|Transparent]] data transfer between different [[Volume (computing)|volumes]] or devices
* Flexible and advanced networking capabilities
* Automation capabilities such as [[Daemon (computer software)|daemons]] in UNIX and [[Windows service|services]] in Windows
* Tight system security, with advanced user, resource, data, and memory protection.
* Advanced detection and alerting on conditions such as overheating, processor and disk failure.<ref>{{cite web|title=Server Oriented Operating System|url=http://www.ingelec.uns.edu.ar/rts/soos/|access-date=2010-05-25}}</ref>
In practice, today many desktop and server operating systems share similar [[code base]]s, differing mostly in configuration.
== Energy consumption ==
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