As you visit any web site, the browser simplifies this process for you. You enter an address and press 'enter,' getting access to the page right away. However, there are some processes that happen behind the scenes. There is a DNS server that helps your device find a web server. Then the server processes your request. The connection is encrypted with some software. The operating system works with the hardware and possibly a database.
The names of all these technologies are very unlikely to be seen by you. At the same time, many of them are the result of development of open-source projects for decades. We find this aspect of the Internet very interesting as the web is not just about products of the biggest technology companies.
If you want to explore this infrastructure from the server side, you can visit Hostzealot and look at options such as Ultra-fast centos vps hosting. A VPS gives you a useful environment for learning how Linux, web servers, databases, network services, and security tools interact in practice.
Linux: The layer under the layers
While surfing on the Web you may never meet Linux, but server admins see it everywhere. The Linux kernel is responsible for managing all the processes, memory, hardware devices, networking, filesystems, and other resources required by applications.
This particular piece of software is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2. This means that the developers are allowed to use, change, and share its source code on certain terms.
Linux offers the infrastructure team unprecedented flexibility in its implementation. It allows for creating VPS instances, database servers, container platforms, and other large-scale systems. You can discard unnecessary components of your system and add Linux to thousands of different open-source projects.
Our specialists when working with Linux will be able to look through many more things than just a fancy control panel. The processes, logs, network sockets, file permissions, kernel actions, and configuration settings - this is what we can see when investigating Linux server issues.
BIND: The software that helps the Internet remember names
You remember example.com. Your computer needs an IP address.
The Domain Name System links these two worlds together. The DNS software answers the queries related to domain names and helps to direct clients to the right resources. The BIND 9 program from the Internet Systems Consortium contains the authoritative DNS server and a recursive resolver as well as other associated tools. BIND 9 is available as open source software under the Mozilla Public License 2.0.
The BIND program has a rich history. The Internet Systems Consortium calls it one of the oldest and most widely used DNS implementations. It is important to note the history since DNS lies close to the starting point of many Internet operations.
When you connect to a website, your web browser cannot ask, "Where is this company?" Machines need specific data. The DNS infrastructure allows transforming the name that is understandable for you into the network data.
You do not notice DNS until something goes wrong.
OpenSSL: The cryptography behind the padlock
Before you enter your password or other payment details, you likely check the padlock icon. This icon relies on an enormous system of security.
Many servers and applications use OpenSSL for cryptography and secure communications.
This project refers to OpenSSL as a general-purpose cryptographic library. New versions of OpenSSL from 3.0 onwards are licensed under the Apache License 2.0.
The OpenSSL library can take part in TLS connections ensuring security during transfer. You can use cryptographic libraries such as OpenSSL for authentication and protection of information from interceptions or modifications.
Do not consider OpenSSL the only TLS implementation in the world. There are other libraries, and different platforms implement different options. Nevertheless, OpenSSL is an integral element of the security landscape.
However, it is also one more example of why maintenance is necessary in case of open-source software. The fact that the code is open allows inspection of the software by researchers and developers. It does not mean automatic absence of vulnerabilities; maintenance is still needed.
Apache HTTP Server and NGINX: The doors that open when you visit a site
Once your request reaches a server, something needs to answer it.
Apache HTTP Server has performed that job since the early days of the web. The project released Apache 1.0 in December 1995. Today, Apache HTTP Server remains an open-source web server with support for features such as HTTP/2, TLS, authentication, caching, virtual hosts, proxying, and load balancing.
NGINX offers another familiar piece of the modern server stack. Teams can use NGINX Open Source as a web server, reverse proxy, cache, and traffic management component. The official project continues to provide its source code and open-source releases.
You can think of these servers as highly organized reception desks. A request arrives. The server examines it and decides what should happen next. It may return a static file, forward the request to an application, balance traffic across several systems, or reject the request according to security rules.
Millions of users can interact with systems like these without ever learning their names.
PostgreSQL: Where web applications keep their memory
A website becomes far more useful when it can remember something.
Your account details, product catalog, application settings, financial records, comments, and business data need structured storage. PostgreSQL provides one widely used open-source answer to this problem.
The PostgreSQL project traces its origins to the POSTGRES project at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1986. The modern system supports SQL while adding features for complex data workloads, extensibility, data integrity, and reliability. The project distributes PostgreSQL under its own permissive open-source license.
When you add an item to a cart, update a profile, or search a large catalog, the visible website may represent only one small part of the operation. A database often performs the less visible work behind the interface.
Our team likes this example because it changes the way you picture the Internet. Websites do not simply “contain" information. Applications constantly read, write, validate, organize, and retrieve information from systems behind the page you see.
Kubernetes: The coordinator behind modern applications
A traditional website might run on one server. A modern online service can involve hundreds or thousands of containers spread across many machines.
Someone needs to coordinate them.
Kubernetes provides an open-source platform for managing containerized workloads and services. Google open sourced the project in 2014. Kubernetes can help teams handle deployment, scaling, service discovery, load balancing, rollouts, and the replacement of failed containers. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation now hosts the project.
Imagine that an application suddenly receives far more traffic than usual. Infrastructure teams may need additional instances. If a container fails, they may need a replacement. If developers release a new application version, they need a controlled rollout.
Kubernetes gives teams tools for describing the state they want. The platform then works to move the cluster toward that state.
You do not see this coordination from your browser. You simply expect the service to respond.
cURL: The tiny tool hiding almost everywhere
There are certain technologies of the infrastructure sphere which get conferences and fancy diagrams about themselves. cURL tends to be presented in the terminal as one command. This plainness conceals tremendous coverage.
cURL is an open source command line tool and library for URL transfers. cURL is used by developers for HTTP and HTTPS protocols, yet the project has much more to offer.
The developers of cURL cannot count their installations precisely. Still, according to the Frequently Asked Questions page of the project, in 2025 cURL was used in approximately 30 billion installations all over the world. This is just an estimation of the project.
cURL can be found in the scripts, developer tools, routers, applications, test environment, embedded devices, and automated infrastructures. It is used by developers for testing APIs, downloading files, checking endpoints and transferring data from one service to another.
Open source does not mean “Nobody Owns the Problem"
This is possible since open-source infrastructure is maintained by real individuals. Volunteer contribution plays a significant role, but it also receives contributions from companies, non-profits, foundations, security researchers, and professional engineers as well. For example, Apache Software Foundation has hundreds of open-source projects supported by an official organization.
It is important to differentiate between “open source" and “automatically secure/reliable". Code in the public domain opens possibilities for inspection and collaboration. It is necessary to make updates, configure systems properly, monitor failures, limit access, create backups, and handle vulnerabilities.
It can happen that a poorly configured powerful open-source server will be a failure, but it is possible that a properly maintained installation will work perfectly for years.
Why this hidden layer is important
There is no need for you to be a system administrator to take advantage of the benefits that come with knowing about this ecosystem.
Once you understand what goes on behind the scenes of a web page, you will no longer see terms like DNS, TLS, database, web server, container, and Linux as separate pieces of jargon but as part of one cohesive conversation.
Your request requires a destination, which is where the role of DNS comes into play. Your communication requires security, and that is where cryptography software helps you communicate securely. The web server handles your request. An application processes your request. The database remembers what is important. And infrastructure software runs the required services.