Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

October 17, 2008

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Linux Hosting

The Linux operating system has a rich and interesting history.  What began in 1991 as a hobby of Linus Torvalds, a young college student at the University of Helsinki in Finland, evolved into one of most the influential computer software projects of all time.  Released under the GNU General Public License, the source code of the Linux kernel is freely available, largely responsible for a number of variants including Debian and Red Hat Linux.

Linux has long been the preferred choice in the network environment and is currently increasing as a desktop solution.  Though well known for being reliable, flexible and more secure than other systems, Linux does have its flaws as well.

The Advantages of Linux Hosting

As far as Linux and reliability go, there are documented instances where servers running the system have stayed online and functioning for approximately one year while experiencing no downtime or technical difficulties.  This is a very impressive feat when considering how other systems require restarts every now and then.  Linux also has reputation for providing solid security right out of the box.  The default security settings are far more superior than the Windows platform, which is a great attribute in itself.

Linux is also very compatible and supports a number of web-based technologies.  Hosting with this system allows you to work with other open-source technologies such as PHP, MySQL and Apache.  Linux has become incredibly popular to say the least, having vested interests from prominent organizations such as IBM and Sun Microsystems.  At the same time, Linux hosting has remained as one of the most affordable solutions on the market with plans suited for a wide range of users.

Disadvantages of Linux Hosting

As we mentioned, there are a few drawbacks to the Linux platform.  Perhaps the biggest disadvantage is its inability to support various Windows-based scripting technologies and applications.  For instance, the ASP programming language and its extensions cannot be used on a server running the Linux operating system.  While improvements have been made, a website scripted for the Windows environment may be useless when trying to port it to a Linux server.

Another knock on Linux is that its shell-based structure can make the system appear extremely complex, something that can be intimidating to beginners.  Although this isn't so much of a problem on the shared server, the dedicated server customer may have a difficult time learning how to perform critical tasks.  The bright side here is that a number of sophisticated control panel applications have been created to add ease to server administration tasks.  Experienced users tend to enjoy all of its power and are able to benefit from its complexity.

Tags: Linux kernel,  linux,  Debian,  Red Hat