|
Linux Hosting
by Zachary Zerries
Linux is a free Unix-type operating
system that was originally created by
Linus Torvalds with the assistance of
developers around the world. Linux is an
operating system of several distributions,
Redhat, Mandrake, Debian, SuSe, and more.
It was developed under the General Public
License (GNU), which means Linux is free
for everyone.
There are two major operating systems used
in the web hosting industry--Unix and
Windows. Linux hosting offers web hosting
companies the stability and inexpensive
cost of operation. Linux also provides
customers with unique features that don't
exist in the Windows system. Currently,
the most popular version of Linux is
RedHat Linux.
Advantages of
Linux
Hosting
The biggest advantage of Linux hosting
over Windows hosting is the lower cost of
web development. Most Linux hosting plans
are cheaper than Windows, because most web
hosts can use the free version of this
program. Thus, they don't have to pay
thousands of dollars to buy the operating
system and associated tools to run the
server. Linux users regularly enjoy the
many free tools and applications that come
with the service.
Whether to use Windows or Linux hosting
will ultimately depend on what types of
web development tools, scripts and
programs are most important to you. You'll
definitely want Linux as a host if you
plan to run PHP scripts or use a MySQL
database. Linux is also widely considered
a more stable and versatile platform for
hosting, as well as a cheaper one--all
Microsoft software costs considerable
cash. However, if you're in the market for
tools like Active Server Pages, Visual
Basic or SQL Server, then Windows hosting
might be the better fit for your business.
Web hosting companies have a
responsibility to look out for their
customers' best interests. Think about,
you've spent hours and days developing a
site that will hopefully lead to great
success--you want someone who's going to
go out of their way to help you see it
through. |
