Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » virtualization

A Look at the Top Xen VPS Web Host Providers

Art — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:13:42 +0000

The virtualization race is on. Now that concept of hosting several accounts on a single server as if they are on their own server has taken off, multiple platforms have been developed to try to perfect this emulation. Each of them have their own strengths and weaknesses, and there already exist long online discussions about which is better.

The battle is just in its opening stages, but so far as best as we can tell, the leader in this area seems to be Xen. This is all dependent on exactly what you most need it for, and do note that some hosts will provide more than one platform.

A quick summary of Xen’s appeal

What makes Xen attractive to many users is its powerful flexibility. It uses a type of architecture known as “paravirtualization.” That convoluted word may be the last straw for some of you technophobes, but don’t sweat it. What that means is that underneath the Xen kernel is an extra layer virtual kernels. This means that each user on a Xen-backed VPS machine effectively has their own virtual operation system. The advantage to that comes from the fact that, since there is an invisible kernel controlling the action in the background, system resources that are normally static can shift around a bit as the users on the machine require it to.

The bottom line is that this creates a very robust type of type of VPS server. Many web hosts have seized on this and offered some very worthwhile packages utilizing it. Let’s take a look at some of the best ones out there.

BudgetVM

Each of the VPS packages that BudgetVM offers has roughly double the specs of the one below it. With 11 packages this gets pretty big. Since you are not likely to want to pay $1,899/month for 64 TB of bandwidth, we suggest looking at their lower-middle packages instead. $19.50/month for 1GB of RAM, 1TB of bandwidth and 40GB of disk space is one of the best deals you’re going to find anywhere.

Their Xen platforms run on 11 different Linux variants, and BudgetVM themselves operate out of 4 different locations. One minor drawback is that cPanel and DirectAdmin are both addons with large monthly fees, $20 and $10 respectively.

Crucial Paradigm

Crucial Paradigm’s web site explains their services in great detail. They also off a number of packages that more-or-less double each other, but they don’t go hog wild like BudgetVM. Just about all of their account types are arguably good deals for the appropriate customer. Even their top-level choice, the CP-Xen-8192, is only $199/month for 8GB of RAM, 4TB/month of storage and access to all 4 of your machine’s cores.

As usual we’re going to push customers towards the middle options here, though CP’s under-$10 bargain plans cannot be ignored. Their installed control panel gives the user many types of server reboot controls, from restarting the virtual server, to a hard reboot, to rebuilding the VPS’s operating system. You can even install multiple operating systems, and change them at the touch of a button!

ProVPS

ProVPS does something with their plans that more hosts should do, and may well be an indicator of their quality. Each of their VPS accounts comes with a guaranteed maximum number of users on it. Most hosts don’t publish that information, and many won’t even tell you when you ask. Those who are going the VPS route would do well to remember that multiple users on a single machine is still multiple users on a single machine. While the virtualization technology is getting better, it will never be infallible, and will always be vulnerable to the creative problems presented by That User.

Anyway, this leads us to point out that with ProVPS the higher the plan you pick the lower the number of users per server, going all the way down to 10 on the top choice. The machine specs are impressive as well: all of their plans right down to their lowest utilize a dual quad core Xeon (that’s 8 CPU’s), and SATA II Raid 10 Arrays for their drives. This is a host that has gone the extra mile to ensure stability, and they don’t charge you an arm and a leg for it.

Prgmr.com

We have to admit it. After constantly poring over one host after another with sleek, almost magically interactive site designs, we’re just not sure what to make of a web host whose front page looks like it was written as a 1997 HTML 101 assignment, and whose company logo is made from ASCII art. Their slogan is “We don’t assume you are stupid”. From looking at their site, it almost appears the opposite:this looks like a VPS host for the experts.

Don’t get us wrong: this is not a bad thing. Not everyone needs to be hand-held. If you are a user who can do it yourself, then you might appreciate a host that will provide you with instructions for installing your own (there’s that word again) paravirtualized operating system under their Linux Xen kernel. If this sounds enticing, it will be even more so when you look at their prices. Apply enough pre-pay discounts and coupons, and you can get their machine with 2GB RAM for roughly $20/month.

Evorack

We’ll be generous and not think too badly of the fact that this is the first VPS host we’ve surveyed in a long time that doesn’t tell you how much CPU you buy with your account. Instead we’ll focus on the fact that Evorack is one of the few hosts to offer both managed and unmanaged VPS. Their managed plans come at two different levels on top of that, depending on the level of service you need. None of their fees for any of these are bad, and the lower level Basic Managed accounts might be a good deal for someone who just needs a little help getting started.

All of Evorack’s plans offer 14 different Linux variants in either 32 or 64 bit versions, and come with a /64 Ipv6 subnet. This means that your account comes with 18.4 quintillion IPv6 addresses, just in case you needed a few. It’s refreshing as well to see a host that admits that “uptime guarantees” are often subtly empty promises.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. For right now, Xen appears to be the virtual private server platform of choice. Customers who are looking for this have even more choice.

A News Rundown About the Great Growing Cloud

Art — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:59:37 +0000

Cloud technology is evolving so quickly that it’s near impossible to keep up with all of its developments. We’re not even going to try ourselves. Let’s instead do a brief news summary of some of the biggest recent advances in this field.

China flies further into the cloud

Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced this week that they will be building a 7,500 square meter cloud data center facility for Range Technology Development, a Chinese cloud provider. The press release stated that this is a reaction to expanding customer needs, both private and governmental. It further stated that the data center will be designed to fit “carbon emission reduction plans” in the country.

Here’s why this is a very interesting development. While this isn’t the first introduction of the cloud to China, this is a technology that may soon run the risk of running afoul of Great Firewall standards. While crafty users have always found a way around China’s notorious censorship, now, more than ever, the country will need to provide to businesses a more sanction method of getting outside of it in order to remain competitive.

Cloud technologies are becoming increasingly distributed. The trend of advancements in this field is for farmed out bits of the web to become smaller and smaller. This is going to make it all but impossible for state agencies to keep a lid on what kind of data goes in and out. How they will deal with this problem once they realize the breadth of it is an open question.

Cloud9 goes dark but stays on

The unexpected state-wide blackout that hit California in early September had one positive benefit: it wound up being an effective test run for how well the cloud would handle disaster-level situations. While the news article detailing how well Cloud9 dealt with it very much reads like a company-written press release, there’s no reason not to believe that it’s accurate. If that’s the case, the answer to this is “blazingly well.” The article states that not a single customer was affected by the outage.

Let us remember that this was the whole point behind the design of the internet in the first place: to make a network so robust that even a nuclear strike couldn’t disable it. In that sense, cloud technology is one of the developments that is looking to further realize this original idea. We could very well be entering an era in which downtime seriously starts to become a thing of the past.

WeVideo introduces cloud-based video editing

This is a simple concept, but one that has the potential to seriously take off. WeVideo has launched the first cloud-based collaborative video editing web site. It’s difficult to say for certain from a glance, but it looks like they thought of all of the basics. The site seems easy to use while still containing enough editing options to create high-quality videos. It’s already set to work well with different types of smart phones and tablets, and to make sharing on social networks easy.

Nevertheless it’s the underlying idea that’s exciting. Even for the experienced user, video editing can be hard, laborious work. Using the cloud to allow editing by multiple users seems like the kind of idea whose time has come. We’ll keep a close eye on it and see if it is.

CloudLinux doubles in size

CloudLinux Inc. announced recently that its operating system, CloudLinux OS, is now being run on more than 5,000 servers, double the amount of just six months ago. CloudLinux bills its product as the only commercially supported shared hosting Linux OS. It has the notable feature that each user account is put into its own Lightweight Virtual Environment. This allows the administrator to put up safeguards that prevent a single bad user from impacting the entire server, the most common problem on shared hosting servers. In that way it’s much like virtual private servers, and is designed to work with them, but without the level of virtualization that makes it appear like you are the only user on that machine.

With simple shared hosting starting to get squeezed out by all of the other hosting services providing more reliability at not much more cost, this is a development worth watching. If this OS succeeds, expect to see others start to adopt some of CloudLinux’s tricks.

App developers find a Buddy

What Buddy Platform, Inc. has opened up for beta use is simultaneously expected and exciting. As the number of portable devices grows and along with it the number of desired apps, programmers need to pump out their material faster. Buddy helps in this endeavor by providing for developers APIs of common application functions such as user accounts, photo albums, location-based services and so forth. The APIs would be in the cloud, accessed by the apps.

The short-term gain from this is that applications, especially those from budding freelancers and small IT firms who have limited resources but have ideas that are based on thinking outside the box, will come more frequently and be of higher overall quality. The long-term gain is even more fascinating. If this trend sticks, it means that programming will become even more distributed, opening up more opportunities outside of traditional IT business channels.

Trying to capture the cloud

For our last news item we come to an article which proves that cloud technology is operating by a new set of rules. Marketing research firm Research and Markets (couldn’t they have chosen just a slightly less redundant name?) has added to their list of research publications the Frost & Sullivan report “Cloud Data Analytics: Technology Penetration and Roadmapping”.

As cloud technology rapidly develops, trying to get accurate cost-benefit data is going to prove increasingly labyrinthine. Even just trying to determine who is using your technology at any point will be difficult. What Frost & Sullivan is offering is surely going to be something that you’re going to see more often. Even hosting providers can’t tell just from looking at it exactly where the edges of the cloud are anymore.

Tips for Improving Performance of Your Windows Server 2008 Dedicated Machine

Art — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:29:07 +0000

It’s common in the web hosting world to compare the relative benefits of operating systems. This masks an important fact, though: in all cases, they are what you make of them. While there are naturally limits to this (no one is running Commodore 64 web hosting), the little improvements you can make to a machine can add up quickly.

This means that whatever drawbacks there are to hosting a dedicated Windows machine (and some say there aren’t as many these days), they can easily be negated with the right adjustments. Here are some of the most common suggestions for improving performance of Windows Server 2008 on your dedicated server.

Put the pagefile on a separate drive

The “pagefile” is a memory file that Windows treats as virtual memory (does that make it virtual virtual? Oh, never mind). This file is accessed frequently, and so you’re going to want to make sure that it is able to respond quickly. The best way to do this is to have it setup on its own separate hard drive. This will keep it freed up in case your machine gets bogged down by some memory hog script or complicated request.

One thing that makes this easy is that you probably won’t need a large drive for this at all. Web hosts usually have a cache of old hard drives that no one wants because their small size makes them effectively deprecated. They might sell you these for cheap or even just give them to you for free.

Disable unused services

We already suggested this as a way to increase security on your machine. It’s also a good way to increase efficiency. Each one of these services uses up system resources.

Which ones you’ll want to disable will depend on exactly what you’re trying to do, but there are a lot that are likely candidates for downgrading to “Manual” or outright deletion. One example is “Block Level Backup Engine Service”, which backups data on the block level for restoration. A good web host should have backup procedures already in place, if your web host doesn’t provide it automatically.

As you go through these, take care not to disable anything that you are going to actually need. There’s lots of information online for each of them to help you double-check.

Perform the obvious

If your machine even has a sound card, disable it, if not remove it outright. Turn off the screen saver if you can, or set it to “blank” if you can’t. Turn off machine hibernation (not like it’ll probably ever get that far, but constantly checking for it is one more thing your machine doesn’t need to busy itself with).

Also if you can either spare the downtime or can arrange your data in such a way that you can keep your site up while doing so, see if you can defrag your disk now and then. Your web host might be able to suggest a clean way to do that. If it’s not possible, then at least defrag it once before going live. The less spread out your data is, the faster your machine will be able to access it.

None of these things by themselves may sound like much. No one of them is. Taken together, they can make a world of difference in how well your Windows 2008 Server machine runs.

Do-it-yourself Virtualization

Art — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:50:47 +0000

ServerBeach Limited is a Vancouver, Canada-based web hosting provider that recently began offering the “optional platform” to technically knowledgeable customers who desire additional control over their servers.

Statement from ServerBeach

The General Manager of ServerBeach released a statement informing the public that many smaller clients had been requesting “do-it-yourself virtualization” and utilize a group of servers however they need. Common uses include running websites or specific applications, backing or storing content or utilizing it for security purposes.

The Problem with Hosting

Customers were aware of the components of the equipment; the company previously did not allow them to open it up in the manner they wanted. However, with the new service, the equipment is open and customers can do exactly what they need to do. Clients have a choice between the Citrix ZenServer or Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor. Both servers give administrators a centralized control panel to allocate specific services to dedicated servers.

Improving System Management

As a division of Peer 1 Hosting, ServerBeach targets small-to-mid-sized businesses that have the knowledge and experience to be the system’s administrator of their own servers. These new tools of advanced virtualization will allow information technology professionals to improve management and allow for more cost-effective initiatives.

Corporate Objectives

The goal for this new infrastructure is to extend the company’s reach and increase growth within the market. Simultaneously this will escalate competitive pressure on other local and international web hosting providers. In the web hosting industry it typically only takes one innovative idea to spark a slew of changes.

Showcasing the Significance of Virtualization

Since each hosting provider has shifted toward virtualization, this expanded service will showcase the significance of the practice. It is more than likely similar news from other web hosting providers will be announced in the near future.

ServerBeach Company Information

Peer 1 began running ServerBeach from its Toronto, Canada location. At that time the facility was newly built. As the years progressed, ServerBeach services became expanded to Los Angeles, London, San Antonio and Herndon, Virginia.

Virtualization of resources has become a popular new hosting type due to its cost-effectiveness and performance capabilities. The new do-it-yourself service takes the basic idea and expands it to allow customers to basically do whatever they want on the server. Many businesses are limited to unlocking the complete functionality they need from a server. However, ServerBeach’s new product will now allow customers to utilize exactly what they require.

Telconet Scheduled to Build Two New Data Centers

Art — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:51:41 +0000

Based out of Ecuador, telecommunications company Telconet recently announced its plan to build two new data centers for technology services. Groundbreaking is expected to begin in September 2011. The company currently boasts one data center in Quito and one in Guayaquil, both are in Ecuador. There is currently a growing demand for available sites for business hosting services and the housing of services.

Three Options

The new location will be a colocation facility with low, medium and high-density options. The facility will also play host to physical servers, server virtualization, networking, virtual storage and processing. The company is attempting to cater to clients attempting to post applications in a private or public cloud. Due to the popularity of cloud hosting, Telconet must offering the service to remain competitive with other hosting providers.

Basics Specifications of the New Data Centers

Additionally, the new data centers will be specifically designed to meet Standard 942-2 TIA. Also, the Uptime Institute will provide Tier ratings of the facilities. Tier ratings are an industry measurement of different aspects of the center. Furthermore, each location will feature 1500 square meters of floor space, all of which will be dedicated to computing. The Quito location will be a Tier III with 180 racks. The Guayaquil facility will be Tier IV and feature 400 racks.

Equipment Providers

GE, Schneider Electric APC and Cisco will be a few of the many providers of equipment which will all be interconnected by a fiber optic network with a maximum transfer rate of 20 Gbps. This speed will certainly enhance available backup options.

External Connections to the World

Each data center will be externally connected to Ecuador and the rest of the world through NAP of the Americas high speed connections which is based out of Miami, Florida. Additional connections will be made through Cloud Latin or Cloud Latin American Internet Peering Group which connects Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Argentina and Brazil.

The Growing Demand for Internet Services

With more individuals accessing the Internet on a daily basis, the demand for web hosting services continues to grow. In emerging markets such as South America and China, Internet connectivity is growing a rapid pace. Therefore, website creation and access to websites is also expanding. With the construction of these two new data centers in Ecuador, all South American customers will benefit from the technology.

Ascent to Partner with Comcast

Art — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:37:22 +0000

Colocation web hosting provider recently announced it has partnered with industry-leading telecommunications company Comcast Business Services. The partnership will allow both companies to have access to Ascent’s data center in Pittsburgh through Comcast’s fiber optic network. The partnership will grant customers access to colocation, virtualization and managed hosting as well as disaster recovery and business continuity.

Data Center Specifications

The data center is a 20,000 square foot, SAS Type II certified facility located in RIDC Park, O’Hara Township; approximately 12 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. The combination of services between the two companies is a response to the growing demand for cloud hosting services. Both companies are hoping the partnership will offer small and mid-sized businesses with the resources to improve data security and information technology through a point-to-point connection.

Growing Success of Both Companies

Comcast is excited about the collaboration as it will help to continue driving success for both companies through a dedicated Metro Ethernet bandwidth that provides a secure and scalable solution to meet customer’s expanding bandwidth demands. The pairing of services also bring Comcast’s fiber-optic based network together with Ascent’s secure data center to provide customers with quality, performance, robust solutions and exceptional value.

Ascent Company Information

As the leading provider of data center services in the Pittsburgh area, Ascent offers a variety of services including managed, colocation, server virtualization, data security, cloud hosting and business continuity. All customer information and applications are protected by their state-of-the-art data center. Applications and infrastructure is outsources to third-parties which significantly improves operational efficiencies and decreases business risk.

Comcast Business Services Company Information

Comcast Business Services is the leading provider of business-grade Ethernet, video solutions, phone and internet for all types of customers. The voice and data plans come packed with features developed to assist the continued growth of businesses. Comcast’s Metro Ethernet features a 40 gigabit fiber-optic backbone, the largest in the nation. Packaged with the Ethernet is reliable, around the clock support resulting in a robust, scalable solution for organizations of all types.

Ascent Data and Comcast Business Services are leading service providers in their respective industries and regions. Therefore, the partnership between the two organizations should result in a major increase in new customers for both parties. As Comcast continues to expand its services into other industries, the company is continually improving its products and services provide for to a wider audience.

Amazon Web Services adds Static Web Hosting

Art — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:16:27 +0000

With the addition of static web hosting, Amazon Web Services now has the ability to host basic websites without the need for a virtual machine. In the past, customer were required to use Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) in conjunction with Simple Storage Services (S3). However, this is no longer necessary to host a non-dynamic website. Instead, websites can be directly mounted through S3.

A Split of Blog Hosting

The Chief Technology Officer of Amazon Web Services stated that the bulk of his personal blogs are hosted on S3 due to the reliability and scalability of the service. On the other hand, applications used to manage user comments, editing posts and serving blog searches are hosted on a low-powered virtual machine using EC2 technology.

Error Documentation

These static web pages are developed using HTML and therefore do not undergo server-side manipulation before being presented to the user. The S3 service will continue to allow users to use HTML error documentation as opposed to the automatically generated XML messages commonly seen on incorrect websites. In summary, this allows for the creation of 404 pages and other 400-level class errors.

Requirement for using this Service

Unfortunately, one of the largest requirements for use of this service is some technical knowledge. The primary users of this service will need to be knowledgeable of the Amazon Web Services console as well as the development kit in order to successfully mount their site onto the server. Other actions include setting access and permissions as well as modified specific parameters to ensure websites are correctly stored in the S3 buckets.

Luckily, each of these tasks can be easily learned for those that lack this technical knowledge. Simply reading through the manuals, tutorials or even asking customer support for help will allow for success.

Expansion of the Size

Another important action taken by Amazon Web Services is the expansion of the maximum size of any object in S3 from 5 gb to 5 tb. This is significant in that it allows for gigantic datasets to be hosted on the server.

Amazon Web Services took on the web hosting industry by storm when they first released their cloud hosting products. In only a short amount of time, they are re-revolutionizing the industry with a more efficient and powerful method of cloud hosting. This segment of Amazon continues to expand and amaze even those professionals in the industry.

A Guide to Virtual Private Web Servers

Art — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:22:09 +0000

VPS, or virtual private web servers, is a term used by most hosting companies to refer to a virtual machine. This virtual machine acts like a dedicated server, in the sense that clients can control certain aspects of the machine they normally wouldn’t be able to. However, it is still a modified version of shared hosting.

Generally speaking, every VPS has its own fully installed, dedicated operating system. These VPS systems usually do a good job of splitting up the resources of a machine as the hosting company sees fit. This allows a modern hosting company to bridge a gap between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. VPS is often much cheaper than dedicated hosting and a little more expensive than shared hosting. This makes it a good fit for a web master who is in an in-between area, in terms of hardware requirements.

Right of the bat, an assumption most people make is that a VPS is the best choice. However, this isn’t always the case. Take a look at the chart below for a good comparison of the different systems.

Shared	VPS	Dedicated
Shared RAM, Disk Space, and CPU	Dedicated RAM and Disk Space, Shared CPU	Dedicated RAM, Disk Space and CPU
No Server Level Customization	Server Level Customization Allowed	Server level Customization Allowed
All Server level Software Pre-Installed	Server Level Software pre-installation varies by provider	Server Level Software pre-installation varies by provider
Full Customer Support Typically Provided	Support Levels Vary By Provider	Support Levels Vary By Provider
Cheap	Moderate	Expensive

This isn’t an all-inclusive chart, but it does illustrate some of the differences between the different times of servers. As you can see, the difference between a VPS and a dedicated machine is pretty slim. The only major difference is that on a dedicated server, the CPU is entirely yours. On a VPS, the system is sharing the processing capacity with other VPS systems on the machine.

More Ram the Better

Generally speaking, the more ram available the better your server will perform. Some providers offer an extra pool of memory that is reserved for high traffic scenarios. This extra ram is used as needed by a VPS and then quickly released to the pool for other VPS systems to access

So, what is the best choice? It really just depends on your budget. Try and take a good look at the requirements you’ll have as a web master and weigh them with the cost carefully.

Linux Hosting – From Corporation to Consumer

Art — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:57:10 +0000

Every web site on the internet is hosted on a web server that is managed through the use of an operating system, similar to how you control your computer through the operating system. This aspect of web hosting is quite often overlooked, and a lot of novice webmasters don’t even know what kind of operating system their hosting plan uses. Nowadays, if you don’t know what operating system your hosting plan uses, there is a very good chance that it runs on Linux. This is because the Linux operating system is the default choice for nearly every web hosting provider.

The cheapest and most reliable web hosting plans usually have Linux as their operating system because it is a free open source software that is easy to service and install. However, Linux wasn’t always so convenient or popular, and at one point it was only used by corporations with IT departments and in-house residents. Over the years, Linux developed into many flavors that are friendly to even the most novice user. The following are some of the most cited reasons for using Linux hosting instead of Windows.

Open Source Compatibility

As an open source software, Linux is compatible with virtually any programming platform other than those that are native to Windows or Microsoft technology. Some of the programming languages that Linux is compatible with that are incredibly popular are the three Ps - PHP, Perl and Python. Since the operating system is open source, new programming languages can be developed around the Linux base to ensure future compatibility, and existing languages can be amended to accommodate the Linux software. This allows hosting companies to provide instant support and continue expanding their technological capabilities within an open source platform. With a Windows server, hosting companies have to wait on updates from Microsoft, and they cannot add custom developments to the operating system.

Stability and Security

Surprisingly, even though the operating system is free, it is generally much more reliable than the Windows operating system because anyone can perform maintenance on the software without waiting for the operating systems manufacturer. This makes Linux a stable solution that can be maintained by anyone with the knowledge and willpower to do so. Linux is also one of the most secure operating systems, which is another reason why so many people use it for web hosting in an industry which security is of the utmost concern. The Linux operating system effectively keeps your web site free from worms, intrusion and third party viruses that can compromise the safety of your online business. This reliable protection minimizes downtime and keeps your site up and running without any problems more than 99.9 percent of the time.

Limited Limitations

The Linux operating system is not without its limitations however, as it is not compatible with some Microsoft based software that are commonly used by bigger businesses. For example, Microsoft Sharepoint could not be installed on a Linux server without virtualization software. Fortunately, if you’re experienced enough, you can install a visualization software and urn Windows within the Linux operating system, completely eliminating such limitations. Thus, there are very few limitations within the Linux operating system, and it is easy to see why it has progressed from a private to a public solution in the past two decades.

The Pros and Con of Linux Web Hosting

Art — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:54:59 +0000

Linux web hosting is one of the most popular types of hosting because it is cheap and easy to use. However, most people don’t realize why Linux is so favored amongst web hosting companies and webmasters. Choosing an operating system for a web hosting plan is not easy, especially for those without an adequate amount of technical knowledge pertaining to web hosting.

Linux hosting offers advantages for webmasters that are interested in developing eCommerce stores, as well as amateur webmasters in search of a more personalized solution. If you’re interested about the pros and cons of Linux web hosting then you may want to consider the following summary of the advantages and disadvantages of Linux web hosting.

Operating System Reliability

This is definitely a pro for Linux web hosting, the Linux operating system is known for being reliable and easy to work with. Being that Linux is an open source software, it can be amended or fixed by any developer with the willingness and knowledge to do so.

Most web hosting providers choose to offer Linux web hosting for this reason, because they can provide better support with an open source operating system. Linux is extremely flexible, and comes in a wide variety of distributions that are suitable for a diverse range of webmasters and hosting providers. When it comes to compatibility and reliability, the Linux operating system is definitely a pro.

The Cost Of Linux Hosting

Linux hosting is also usually cheaper than Windows hosting, because the Linux operating system does not cost as much as Windows. The cost of support for a Linux operating system is also less than Windows support, simply because the in house support staff of the web hosting company can control the operating system more efficiently.

When an error occurs in the Windows operating system there is little the web hosting company can do besides wait for an update from Microsoft. All of this ultimately contributes to the low cost and common availability of Linux web hosting, which is often favored over Windows web hosting by hosting providers.

Linux Software Compatibility

This is a pro and a con for Linux web hosting, because the Linux operating system is compatible with anything that is not a Microsoft software. Microsoft holds a monopoly for all of their software that prevents any operating system other than Windows from being compatible with Microsoft software. If you’re planning to use Microsoft software for your web server then you may want to consider Windows web hosting.

On the other hand, the Linux operating system can be used to boot virtually any other kind of operating system within itself, using virtualization software such as VMware. In fact, virtualization software could also be used within Windows web hosting to load Linux as well. However, if you don’t have enough web hosting expertise to use virtualization software, then you may want to choose the type of hosting plan that includes an ideal operating system for your preferences.

Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » virtualization

A Look at the Top Xen VPS Web Host Providers

Related posts:

A News Rundown About the Great Growing Cloud

Related posts:

Tips for Improving Performance of Your Windows Server 2008 Dedicated Machine

Related posts:

Do-it-yourself Virtualization

Related posts:

Telconet Scheduled to Build Two New Data Centers

Related posts:

Ascent to Partner with Comcast

Related posts:

Amazon Web Services adds Static Web Hosting

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A Guide to Virtual Private Web Servers

Related posts:

Linux Hosting – From Corporation to Consumer

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The Pros and Con of Linux Web Hosting

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