Linux Server Hosting

In the Dedicated Server Hosting world, there are two different types of private server hosting options available; Windows server hosting and Linux server hosting. Both use different operating systems, and are designed around the same needs but meet the needs of people in different ways. Server hosting is normally used by businesses and individuals alike who need a reliable form of web hosting, whether it be because their website is mission critical or because information stored within their web space needs to be accessible all the time with no questions asked. Linux server hosting is designed for those who need to be able to host their websites and applications within a Linux based hosting environment.

Linux server hosting can come in two forms: Linux VPS hosting and Linux dedicated server hosting; a VPS server is a form of virtual server hosting, whilst a dedicated server is a form of dedicated hosting since you are provided with your own physical website hosting server. Linux servers are capable of running different distributions of Linux, meaning that if you are able to find a web hosting provider that sells Linux VPS servers or dedicated server, you should be able to have the distribution of your choice installed for you on the server. The most popular distributions for Linux web hosting are Ubuntu and CentOS, although other distributions such as Slackware and Gentoo are also available from most reputable web hosts.

Linux server hosting providers can also supply a control panel with your Linux server so that you can easily manage your server, normally from a web based interface. If you don’t have the necessary knowledge to be able to manage a Linux server, then a control panel such as cPanel or Webmin is recommended to allow you to easily manage your server without the need for much understanding of Linux itself. If you choose a hosting control panel such as cPanel or Plesk, then you will have the ability to setup your own web hosting accounts allowing you to sell off space and bandwidth on your Linux server - this could help you make a return on your investment.

Linux hosting servers can be used for a variety of services; i.e. you could install the Apache web server and use your server as a web server, or alternatively you could install a mail server such as Exim and use your Linux hosting server to send and receive emails for your domain. There are also many other different services available for Linux servers, such as ShoutCast which would allow you to use your Linux server as a streaming media server. If running a mail server, you may want to make use of the Dovecot IMAP server to allow access to emails via the POP3 and IMAP protocols so that you and others can connect to your email remotely.

If you decide to use your Linux hosting server as a web server, then you can use it to host any PHP and MySQL websites or applications that you may have developed. Although applications developed using these two entities will run on Windows hosting servers, they were originally designed to run on Linux hosting servers meaning that they are likely to run faster in such an environment. Both PHP and MySQL, like most Linux distributions are open source meaning that they are free to download and use, meaning that you only need to pay for the cost of the server itself and install all the software you need on it for free. PHP applications can also interact with a Linux server much more than they are able to with a Windows server, meaning that you can easily develop much more dynamic PHP applications on a Linux server than on a Windows server.

In conclusion, Linux server hosting is probably the cheapest form of server hosting around when compared to Windows server hosting since you don’t have to pay a license fee for a majority of software that is available for Linux servers. When developing PHP/MySQL applications, you should ensure that you develop them with a Linux server in mind since you will be able to make them much more dynamic in terms of server functionality because PHP was originally designed for use on Linux. Because of the different Linux distributions available, you are also able to make sure that you can install one that suits your needs.