Understanding Linux package management
Nowadays, app stores are all the rage on most platforms; typically, you’ll have one central location from which to retrieve applications, allowing you to install them on your device. Even phones and tablets utilize a central software repository in which software is curated and made available. The Android platform has Google Play, Apple has its App Store, and so on. For those that have used Linux for a while, this concept isn’t new. The concept of software repositories is similar to that of app stores and has been around within the Linux community since long before cellular phones even had color screens.
Linux has had package management since the ‘90s, initially popularized by Debian and then Red Hat. Software repositories are generally made available in the form of mirrors, to which your server subscribes. Mirrors are available across a multitude of geographic areas, so, typically, your installation of Ubuntu Server would...