Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

March 24, 2009

Linux and the LAMP

Hence the name, Linux hosting revolves around the Linux platform, an operating system quite similar to Unix.  The system itself was first created in 1991 by a student named Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland.  The system was originally intended to be meant for academic use and as a non-commercial replacement for Minix, a smaller Unix-like system.  Torvald's goal was to exceed the 16-bit design of Minix and deliver an OS that was more accessible in terms of modification with more lenient redistribution standards.  Torvalds eventually came up with the Linux kernel, the central component of the operating system and the heart of Linux as we know it today.

The Linux operating system is the very core of many web hosting packages, both of the free and premium variety, making it the most common hosting solution on the market.   Released under the GNU GPL, Linux naturally supports a number of open-source technologies, particularly those that make up the LAMP server, a platform that consists of Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP.

Apache

Since we've already discussed the Linux system, let's start with Apache, an essential component of the LAMP and many other server configurations.  Apache is an HTTP web server application and similar to Linux, it is open-source software that can be freely distributed.  The most widely used web server available, Apache currently helps serve the pages for more than half the websites on the World Wide Web.

MySQL

MySQL is a relational database management system used in the LAMP.  This multithreaded, multiuser application operates as a server and allows users to interact with databases through a website.  It allows for the easy storing and quick retrieval of data and also provides back-end support for numerous web-based applications.  MySQL is currently the most popular database system with more than 10 million installations world wide.

PHP

Hypertext Preprocessor or PHP, is the programming language commonly used in the LAMP configuration.  As a server-side scripting technology, PHP is used to create dynamic web pages as well as stand-alone applications.  Both Perl and Python may also be used in the platform as these languages are quite similar to PHP.  There have also been rare instances where Ruby on Rails is used instead of PHP, changing the LAMP acronym to LAMR.  Although these technologies are compatible with Microsoft IIS and Windows, they are all open-source and therefore, primarily used in the Linux environment.

Do You Need Linux Hosting?

Linux hosting makes a viable option for creating a website consisting of static HTML pages or even a feature-rich, interactive site.  The programming languages are what gives this system the ability to create dynamic pages.  In fact, these technologies are the biggest difference between most operating systems as they all share the same basic goal in the web hosting environment.  Understanding this, you should know that Linux works best with its open-source brethren and generally isn't compatible with Windows-based products such as ASP and ASP.NET.   Therefore, unless you have a preference or require a dedicated server, the operating system is really of no prevalence.

Tags: LAMP server,  LAMP,  GPL,  GNU,  apache,  unix,  php,  mysql,  Minix,  Linux hosting,  linux,  LAMR