CentOS Server Hosting

CentOS is one of many Linux distributions offered by web hosting providers for their VPS hosting and dedicated server hosting products. CentOS is now also used by a majority of web hosting providers on their own servers since it is one of the most popular Linux distributions available, and since it is based on the RHEL Linux distribution it is guaranteed to be stable and reliable. As with a majority of Linux distributions, CentOS is available for use for free therefore meaning that you can get a dedicated server cheaper if you decide to make use of the CentOS Linux distribution rather than a Windows operating system.

What makes CentOS a popular choice for web hosting providers is that it is frequently updated meaning that it is very secure and unlikely to be compromised any time soon, but they key to its success in the web hosting industry is the fact that it is able to support the cPanel control panel. The YUM respitory also comes installed as default with a majority of CentOS installations which allows system managers to install any program of their choice within a few seconds, just as long as it has been included by YUM. However, if you want to install programs yourself from scratch then you can still of course compile them from freely available source code.

CentOS is based on the RHEL Linux distribution meaning that all existing programs that have been designed for use with Redhat can also be used on CentOS servers. Although this means that a majority of Linux programs available today are compatible with CentOS, some older programs with security vulnerabilities are also compatible but this could compromise your overall server security. RHEL can still be used by enterprises and large corporations who require a secure and highly reliable IT infrastructure, but for small web hosting businesses and those who just have a server for general testing, CentOS will be more than sufficient.

Unless you choose to use a control panel such as cPanel or Webmin for managing your server, you should ensure that you have a certain amount of server management skills since you will want to ensure that you can manage your VPS or dedicated server based on CentOS with ease. Although you will find that some web hosting companies can offer full support with their CentOS server hosting packages, it is always a good idea if you know what to do in the event of an emergency since your web hosting provider’s support team may not always be available.

Although CentOS has largely been designed as a server operating system, it can still be used in conjunction with Linux GUI applications such as Gnome and KDE which will provide you with an easy to use interface that will allow you to use a computer or server which is based on CentOS like a desktop computer. Although many people do use Linux as their desktop operating system, if you are an every day user who likes to make use of applications such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Internet Explorer it would be safer for you to stick with Windows since such applications aren’t available for Linux or CentOS based computers and servers.

CentOS server hosting is offered by web hosting providers who are selling VPS hosting solutions and dedicated servers, meaning that CentOS is normally available for either form of web hosting. If you do look into the possibility of using shared or reseller web hosting services then you will find that a majority of web hosting providers are running their servers on CentOS. Web hosting providers offering VPS hosting services use Virtuozzo or OpenVZ to virtualize their VPS nodes, and you will find that CentOS is available as an operating system template in either case.

CentOS provides users with a reliable operating platform that can be easily expanded on through the use of YUM as well as other tools that are available for users. If using the cPanel control panel then a majority of services are pre-installed for you, but you can still make use of the EasyApache interface that will allow you to compile and update the Apache web server as you wish. Other tools are also available to ensure that you can keep all the software that you have installed on your CentOS server up-to date.

In conclusion, CentOS server hosting can provide users with a cost effective web hosting platform. Not only is CentOS a freely available power house, but with the use of software tools, system managers can ensure that they keep their servers up-to date and therefore more secure than they could otherwise be. Although a majority of web hosting companies do offer CentOS as an operating system choice for their VPS and dedicated server packages, other operating systems are normally open to usage if you feel that CentOS isn’t the operating system for you.