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Moodle and Linux series, part 1

Most Moodle sites run on Linux servers, but what exactly does this mean? Read our Moodle and Linux series..

For many people setting up a Moodle server, their computing experience may be largely from a Microsoft Windows centric background, or more recently perhaps a Windows and Google background if using Chromebooks, Chrome browser, etc.

This series of articles will explore the use of Linux, in an effort to support those who may be installing and running Moodle in an unfamiliar Linux environment.

For this first article, it’s probably enough to define what Linux “is”.

Let’s reach for our friend Wikipedia:

Linux is a family of free and open-source software operating systems built around the Linux kernel. Typically, Linux is packaged in a form known as a Linux distribution (or distro for short) for both desktop and server use. The defining component of a Linux distribution is the Linux kernel.

So, it’s an Operating System (OS), just like Microsoft Windows or Apple macOS are Operating Systems. The OS controls the hardware, and provides a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to control the environment.

One key difference between Windows, Mac, and Linux, is that Linux has traditional been strongest as a Server OS, whereas Windows and Mac are much more Desktop OS’s. This is the reason that relatively few home users get exposed to Linux, because they are primarily desktop users.

On the other hand, most people who are IT professionals are exposed to Linux within their professional development or interest areas.

Next month we will start looking at Linux in more depth, and over the series of article introduce Linux concepts, terminologies, and specifically relate Linux to Moodle – to help existing and new Moodle administrators.

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EdTech Geek

Server administrator, solutions architect, developer, EdTech enthusiast, and park-time geek.

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