Glossary — server words, in plain English

Every term you’ll bump into, explained in one plain line. Skim it once, then come back whenever a word trips you up. Linked terms have a full guide.

The basics

Server — a computer that’s always on, waiting to answer requests for your website.
VPS — “virtual private server”: your own slice of a big server, like renting an apartment in a building. The common way to host a site.
Cloud — servers you rent on demand from a provider (DigitalOcean, AWS, etc.).
Control panel — the friendly dashboard (OrbixPanel) you use instead of typing commands on the server.
Root — the all-powerful admin user on a server. Powerful = dangerous; most tasks don’t need it.
IP address — a server’s numeric address, like 203.0.113.9. Every server has one.

Domain — your human-friendly name, like yoursite.com.
Registrar — the shop where you buy a domain (Namecheap, GoDaddy…).
DNS — the internet’s phone book: turns a domain name into a server’s IP address.
Nameserver — the service that answers DNS questions for your domain.
A record — the setting that points a domain at a server’s IP.
CNAME — points one name at another (e.g. www → your root domain).
MX record — says which servers handle your domain’s email.
TXT record — holds text, used for SPF/DKIM/DMARC and verifications.
Propagation — the short wait while a DNS change spreads worldwide.
Subdomain — a name under your domain, like blog.yoursite.com.

Web root / document root — the one folder that becomes your website (in OrbixPanel, the folder named after your domain).
index.html / index.php — the default page shown when someone visits a folder.
Static site — plain files served as-is (a React build, plain HTML). Fast; no program runs.
Dynamic site — a program runs on the server per request (WordPress, a Node API).
Build — turning source code into the final files (npm run build → dist/).
Deploy — putting your site/app onto the server so it’s live.

Port — a numbered “door” on the server an app listens on (e.g. 3000). Internal; visitors never see it.
Reverse proxy — the server’s front desk (nginx) that forwards yoursite.com to your app’s port, adds HTTPS, etc.
nginx — the web server software that receives visitors and serves files or proxies to apps.
vhost — a rule that says “serve this folder/app for this domain.” One per site.
PHP — a popular language for dynamic sites (WordPress, Laravel).
PHP-FPM — the part that actually runs PHP for your sites.
Node.js — runs JavaScript on the server (APIs, backends).
Service / daemon — a program the server keeps running in the background (your app, the database, nginx).

Database — a smart spreadsheet your app reads/writes (users, posts, orders).
MySQL / MariaDB — the common database software (MariaDB is a drop-in MySQL).
Connection string — the one line with host/user/password/db your app uses to reach the database.
Environment variable / .env — settings and secrets kept outside your code.

SSL / TLS — the encryption behind HTTPS.
HTTPS — a secure (padlocked) connection. SSL makes it work.
Certificate — the file that enables HTTPS and proves your site’s identity.
Let’s Encrypt — a free, auto-renewing certificate authority OrbixPanel uses.
SSH — a secure way to log into a server’s command line (for admins).
SFTP / FTP — ways to transfer files; prefer the encrypted SFTP.
2FA — a second login step (a code from your phone) on top of your password.
SPF / DKIM / DMARC — DNS records that prove your email is genuine so it reaches inboxes.
Firewall — controls which ports/connections are allowed in.

Cron / cron job — a command that runs automatically on a schedule.
Backup / restore — a saved copy you can roll back to.
CPU / RAM / Disk / Bandwidth — your plan’s resource limits.
CDN — a network that caches your site near visitors to make it faster.
Cache — a stored copy of something so it doesn’t have to be rebuilt every time.
Uptime — how much of the time your site is up and reachable.
Migration (data) — in app terms, applying schema changes to a database. (Also: migration can mean moving a whole site to a new host.)

Tenant — a hosting customer with their own portal (if you host others).
Reseller — someone who sells hosting to their own customers using the panel.
Agent — the small program on each server that carries out the panel’s instructions.
App Catalog — one-click installers for popular apps.

Missing a term? Open a support ticket and we’ll add it — if one person’s wondering, others are too.

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