Thread: What is Linux Hosting

HI,

Linux supports a wide range of software, applications, languages, and databases such as PHP, Perl, PostGre, MySQL, PostgreSQL and many others making it very scalable. On the downside, Linux is not fully compatible with some Microsoft technologies so if you are using Access, ASP, MS SQL, or VB development tools then Windows would be a better bet.

Linux is an open source system and is therefore more cost-effective to operate and maintain than Windows, meaning that Linux hosting will cost you less than Windows hosting. Linux also has a reputation for stability and speed which means that Linux web servers will crash less often than Windows web servers and Linux runs most processes faster than Windows.

Linux hosting is also the most popular platform used out there. It outnumbers Windows even. My VPS is a Linux based one and I know a lot of people who do reselling and they use Linux.

It is just a great platform I think that doesn't require a lot of resources and performs well.

CentOS all the way Driving more then few million sites

Originally Posted by BreezeHost

CentOS all the way Driving more then few million sites

One of my sites is one of the million! Redhat is another option people use now a days. I gave Windows a go and bought a package from my host and it is far more complex with more options I think than Linux. It is made for a very specific user.

Linux Web hosting and Unix Web Hosting are the most common budget hosting platforms used today.

Linux/Unix web hosts are normally also friendly to PHP/Perl scripts. It's easy to install these on Linux/Unix web hosts. I've never had a good experience to install these scripts on Windows based servers.

Originally Posted by simplyamazing12

I gave Windows a go and bought a package from my host and it is far more complex with more options I think than Linux. It is made for a very specific user.

I was looking into getting a windows based Server, everyone says Linux is better, but I am much more familiar with a windows based system, as all computers that I have ever owned ran a Windows Operating System.

May decide to stick with windows as I am sure that it is more End-User Friendly and easier to grasp.

I can just buy a windows server book and learn myself, but linux would be something that truly does frighten me, I tried doing a project back in college which would have involved linux, I quickly changed my mind and picked something else to do as my class project!

Originally Posted by BiologyWebmaster

I was looking into getting a windows based Server, everyone says Linux is better, but I am much more familiar with a windows based system, as all computers that I have ever owned ran a Windows Operating System.

May decide to stick with windows as I am sure that it is more End-User Friendly and easier to grasp.

I can just buy a windows server book and learn myself, but linux would be something that truly does frighten me, I tried doing a project back in college which would have involved linux, I quickly changed my mind and picked something else to do as my class project!

I agree there will be somewhat of a learning curve. But in the end if you go the Linux route you will no longer have to worry about paying fees, and I believe the majority of web servers on the Internet are Linux based. There is a reason for that, and its has to do with stability and security.

Still out of the box most linux servers will need to be configured correctly or you do risk being broke into.

Very much agreed. Right out of the factory, the Linux servers are just better optimized and customized. For Windows, you are looking at more set up and customization and tweeks to get it right which isn't a bad thing at all; a lot of people want this to get the most out of the servers.

I have both Windows and Linux VPS with my host and I can say both are equally reliable. One is just made for a more complex user (Windows) while Linux is made for the average joe.

Originally Posted by BiologyWebmaster

I was looking into getting a windows based Server, everyone says Linux is better, but I am much more familiar with a windows based system, as all computers that I have ever owned ran a Windows Operating System.

Servers are different than your home computer. The biggest problem with using Windows as a server OS is the fact that it's graphical which wastes CPU and RAM. It's been that way since the 90's. Linux servers don't run a graphical Interface, allowing it to conserve resources. Linux also has better memory management than Windows. It knows when a process is idle or not very busy and allocates fewer resources to it. Another issue for any system is that when an application is opened and memory is used then closed, not all of the memory is returned until the machine is rebooted. This is called a memory leak and is a much bigger problem in Windows than Linux. Linux does not have BSOD, either. I've kept my Linux servers running for 30 to 90 days at a time, sometimes longer, without any degradation in performance.

All of that information is besides the fact that most hosting servers run Linux and most of the discussion in this forum revolves around Linux hosting. Because of that, you can actually get more help for it. Don't worry too much about not being a guru, just find a provider with admins who know the systems well and can help you.

Popular applications used by webmasters such as Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, phpLD, vBulletin and so many others are open source applications made for Linux. Because Windows is closed source and proprietary, good luck finding powerful free open source software. Windows costs money and so does software for it, which drives the cost up for hosting end-users for something that has always had quality issues to begin with.

Originally Posted by simplyamazing12

Very much agreed. Right out of the factory, the Linux servers are just better optimized and customized. For Windows, you are looking at more set up and customization and tweeks to get it right which isn't a bad thing at all; a lot of people want this to get the most out of the servers.

I have both Windows and Linux VPS with my host and I can say both are equally reliable. One is just made for a more complex user (Windows) while Linux is made for the average joe.

I would disagree and say it's the exact opposite. Linux is for complex operations OR a simple use. Whichever is preferred. If you just want to use Fantastico to auto-install software and FTP some files, you can keep it simple like that on a Linux server if you want. No one is forced to do complex or advanced operations unless they want to. Windows was designed to be simplistic and user-friendly but hardly has much market share in the hosting industry because it's not taken as seriously as CentOS, RedHat and BSD.

If you are not sure which kind of hosting to choose, go with linux hosting. It is the most basic and supports many features. Just because it is linux doesn't mean it is hard to use. Now with control panels like cPanel, Direct Admin, etc. it is extremely user-friendly.

There are different types of databases available for Linux web hosting, such as MySQL, mSQL and PostgreSQL. However, the type of database that would be used on your website often depends upon your web hosting provider.

Linux hosting simply refers to a web host running the Linux operating system on their server along with the database and other software. The functionality and flexibility of Linux has made it a viable alternative to Windows and even other Unix-based systems, the platform it is designed after.

I also want to add how much cheaper Linux is. It is so open source thus reducing the licensing costs by a lot!
Probably one of the best platforms for any hosting out there.

Linux is an open source OS and it is consider to be the most secure and reliable OS for hosting servers. Nowadays million of websites are using Linux based servers for web hosting.

I recommend linux because it very secure.

Agree. Much easier than others.

Linux hosting is the most secure and affordable way to host any website with the support of the most flexible and customized control panel called cPanel.

Originally Posted by Asher ross

Linux hosting is the most secure and affordable way to host any website with the support of the most flexible and customized control panel called cPanel.

Very true. cPanel is one of the reasons why so many users flock to Linux instead of Windows. It gives the user so much control over the aspects of a server/resources yet in such a simple way.

Doing a simple parked domain task takes 1 minute on cPanel while on other OS's it will take 5 minutes at least.

Linux hosting is the most secure and affordable way to host any website with the support of the most flexible and customized control panel called cPanel.

Very true. cPanel is one of the reasons why so many users flock to Linux instead of Windows. It gives the user so much control over the aspects of a server/resources yet in such a simple way.

I couldn't agree with both of you. Don't you guys offer windows hosting solutions to your clients? IMO, both platforms are secure, reliable, and flexible as well. The only thing which differentiate both is a cost factor, and that's it.

Hosting that is based on the Linux operating system will be ready to make use of coding languages that are able to run quickly and efficiently with the plans. Many hosting providers will more than likely offer options for one click installations that will provide a quick and efficient option for getting the hosting ready for a website launch or making the preparations for a transfer from another server or hosting option.

Thanks

Everyone says that it is the cheapest, easiest and most flexible hosting platform to be used. I'd definitely agree.

Originally Posted by eddie9312

Hosting that is based on the Linux operating system will be ready to make use of coding languages that are able to run quickly and efficiently with the plans. Many hosting providers will more than likely offer options for one click installations that will provide a quick and efficient option for getting the hosting ready for a website launch or making the preparations for a transfer from another server or hosting option.

Thanks

Exactly, no other OS based software supports PHP and mySQL databases natively. So many scripts now a days are based on PHP such as this very forum we are discussing on.

Linux has less loopholes in security than Windows. So in reality Linux has proven to be more secure.