A Linux server will be a cheaper option than a Windows server and can provide you with greater flexibility if you are looking to make more use of open source applications with your servers. As most Windows applications are commercial, you have to pay for a license to use them; on the other hand a majority of Linux applications have followed suit of the operating system and are also open source meaning that not only are they free to use, but their source code is also freely available to modify and recompile as you wish. Linux is seen as a better option for smaller businesses because the cost-free approach of most Linux distributions means that businesses don’t have to invest so much into their web hosting services and can spend the extra money more appropriately around the business and an help to increase output and profits. A Linux server will be able to provide you with an environment that is capable of hosting a website and email services using various technologies; one of the most popular applications for use on a Linux server is Apache, which is currently the most popular web server application in use on the internet by a long shot.
Open Source Hosting
Open source hosting services will be cheaper than Windows web hosting, simply because the applications used on the hosting server are all going to be free meaning that hosting provider’s don’t have to pay any additional fees. All Linux distributions are open source meaning that hosting companies have nothing to worry about here, although there are certain aspects of Linux server hosting that you may need to pay extra for. If you wish to have a web hosting control panel installed on your Linux VPS server or Linux dedicated server then the likelihood is that you are going to have pay for this because there aren’t any decent solutions that are open source. Similarly, you will need to pay extra for any additional resources that you require regardless of whether you choose a Linux VPS server or a Linux dedicated server. There are also other applications for Linux that are commercial which you’ll have to pay for as it is important to consider that there is nothing to strictly say that all Linux applications have to be released as open source – it all depends on who the developer is.
PHP Web Hosting and MySQL Database Hosting
Linux servers provide the perfect dedicated hosting environment for the hosting of PHP websites as these can vary in size from being very small to incredible large database driven web applications. PHP is a popular scripting language used by web developers to develop websites that interact with MySQL databases at any level; both are part of the standard ‘LAMP’ setup which stands for ‘Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP’ and is seen by web developers as a good combination to use when developing websites of any size as it provides a high level of functionality as well as good value for money. As PHP is easy to script with and MySQL databases are fairly easy to create and manage, PHP and MySQL development is a good place to start if you are new to the creation of websites and potentially web hosting in general as this will provide you with the best results possible.
Linux VPS Servers
A Linux VPS server is going to be the cheapest form of VPS server hosting available from most web hosting companies and so when starting out with server hosting, a Linux VPS server is generally the natural choice before choosing to upgrade to something more powerful. Linux VPS servers provide you with the isolation required ot allow you to make the most of a dedicated web hosting environment, although this is provided with the safety of a virtual hosting environment. If something goes wrong with your Linux VPS server then you can easily reinstall the operating system on your server, usually in a few simply clicks; this will again provide you with a fresh server that you can then configure as you see fit. Although a Linux VPS server will also come with guaranteed resources, you need to remember that you will still be sharing the CPU of the hosting node with other VPS servers.
Linux Dedicated Server
If you are looking for the ultimate in dedicated web hosting then a Linux dedicated server will not only be able to provide you with a dedicated web hosting environment, but also dedicated physical server resources to accompany it. Dedicated server hosting services are well known for their reliability, although security is also another positive factor that may come to mind when thinking about Linux dedicated server hosting. Although dedicated servers come at an increased price tag, it is important to remember the benefits that will come with using a dedicated server since it means that you won’t really ever need to worry about the uptime of your website or the safety of any data that you may be hosting under your web hosting account. With a Linux dedicated server you will be able to modify your hosting environment to modify your specific needs; as well as being able to select the hardware resources that you have installed in your server, you can also alter software and enforce custom configurations so that your server performs as you want it to.
In conclusion, Linux server hosting will allow you to make the most of what the Linux operating system has to offer. A Linux VPS server or Linux dedicated server can also offer increased reliability from lower end forms of web hosting such as Linux shared web hosting and Linux reseller hosting. By choosing a server hosting service you are giving yourself a more adaptable form of web hosting that can be modified as per your wish through the SSH access that you will be provided with, although if you choose to have a web hosting control panel installed then this can be used as another method through which you can manage your Linux server hosting service.