  Hosting Article written by Timon SchroeterExpert EditorServer-Administration and PHP/mySQL Programing since 2000. Any Questions? Drop me an email.Latest update of this content was: Thursday, Apr 28, 2011 |
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 Linux Hosting: An Introduction
Background Knowledge about Linux and LAMP
Linux Hosting is the most common way of web hosting,
since Linux is the most popular operating system for servers in today's
hosting industry. Linux is a free open source software, that is
developed by different groups and companies world wide. Mostly bundeled
with Linux, other open source and/or free components come along, like
the Apache webserver, the PHP scripting language and the mySQL database
system, only to mention the most important. The greatest benefits of Linux Hosting are low costs with very high stability, performance and security.
Advantages of Linux as an operating system
First of all, Linux OS is free, so Linux hosting is cheap. The
Linux OS is developed by many different entities. Some well known are
RedHat Linux, Ubuntu Linux, SUSe Linux and many others. Linux itself can
be downloaded for free. Ubuntu even sends you a free installation DVD
worldwide, even without shipping costs.
Linux
is an open source software. That means, the source codes of the Linux OS
are included in an open form, so that they can be modified by potentially
everybody. This is completely contrary to Microsoft's proprietary
operating system Windows, where source codes are compiled to binary code
and therefore it's not possible to modify the software. Due to many
people work on constantly improving Linux, security issues are found soon
and immediately closed. Also other software improvements concerning
speed, efficience of memory management and much more is improved to a
very high level by a large community of people. In this way, the paradox
can be explained, that although Linux is for free, it is in many
aspects far supperior to the some hundret bucks costing Windows server
OS. And that Windows security issues are a constant topic for web
hosting on Windows servers, what makes it more expensive, while Linux
hosting is very secure and reliable.
Common bundled Softwares in a Linux Hosting environment
As
mentioned before, a server running on the Linux operating system uses a
set of common applications and software components to provide its
functionalities. The most common are:
Apache Webserver
Apache is a free software, that enables the Linux Computer to act as a web server. It is the most vital software on a Linux hosting server - without it, there is no hosting.
PHP scripting language
The
most common server side scripting language used today. PHP is extremely
powerful. Code snippets writen in PHP are usually in between HTML
codes. These snippets are interpreted by the server. After complete
execution of the PHP scripts, the dynamically created page is sent to
the browser.
mySQL database
This is a very
popular, stable and powerful database system. It can be downloaded for
free and has a very complete online documentation. mySQL databases are
mostly used in connection with PHP, however can also be used by ASP
scripting language on Windows platforms via a myODBC driver.
Software for Linux OS
Most
common softwares known from Windows platforms exist as a free and open
source plagiate with very similar features and look-and-feel for Linux
OS. Original Windows software does not work on Linux OS, though.
However, most Windows-inspired softwares like Open Office
(www.openoffice.org) do have nearly the same functions as e.g. Microsoft
Office (some of them even more features), are for free, open source and
natively developed for Linux OS. Firefox web browser and many other
programs are working on Linux. It is a powerful operating system for
webservers and meanwhile even a serious alternative for desktop PCs and
Laptops.
Our editorial staff has compiled a list of the best Linux hosting
providers and their hosting packages for our readers. You will find
in-depth reviews, thoroughly reserched prices and features of their
hosting plans and clear ratings. | |
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