Hi Paul

Totara is a Maori word - a highly durable and prized native tree from New Zealand pronounced To (long vowel as in your) - ta - ra (long vowels as in bar)

Totara will run on a LAMP setup the requirements for each version vary - these are found on the documentation site help.totaralearning.com under Technical Information > Technical Specification

There are instructions for installing Totara on the documentation site under System implementation > Installing Totara 

regards