Introduction to Linux Hosting

Introduction to Linux Hosting

Although the terms are often used interchangeably to describe a single platform, Linux and Unix are actually two separate operating systems.   What are the differences?  In terms of power, functionality and reliability, there are no significant differences.  Unix is the oldest operating system and the one to heavily influence all modern platforms running today, including Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X especially.  It is the system from which Linux was derived, an open-source version created by student Linus Torvalds and currently one of the most widely used operating systems in the web hosting environment.
Improved Usability and Ease of Use 
Linux hosting is prevalent on the market, but there was a time when it was limited to a certain group of users.  In the beginning, it was primarily used on academic level before being incorporated into the business environment and utilized in similar fashion as Unix.  Around this time, only experienced administrators could thrive with the platform due to its complexities.
However, Linux hosting and the system in general grew more popular.  Today, developers and hosting providers are equipped with all the tools needed to make this platform just about as easy to use as the user-friendly Windows system.  On the other hand, if you have the know-how, you can get the most out of Linux by controlling your site via the Shell's command line interface.
Unparalleled Stability, Security and Reliability  
Like many other Unix-based solutions, Linux hosting has a reputation for providing the utmost in stability and reliability.  With the proper configurations and a premium piece of hardware, this platform can run for incredibly long periods of time without needing to be rebooted for maintenance or technical issues.  This is because similar to Unix, Linux has the ability to harness the processing power of the computer on which it is installed, producing unrivaled performance.
While highly touted as one of the most stable and reliable systems, the output you get from the platform all depends on the underlying infrastructure and the hosting provider itself.  And even though Linux is naturally more secure, improper configurations of Apache or PHP could make it just as vulnerable as any other system.    
Highly Functional
The functionality of Linux hosting can be attributed to the ability to make the most of the hardware, but its superb compatibility plays a significant role as well.  It offers a greater range of support for programming languages than almost any other operation system.  Some of the most common languages it supports are C, C++, Perl, PHP, Python and Ruby to name a few.  It is also compatible with widely SQL databases of the open-source variety, such as Postgre SQL and the industry leading MySQL Server.  When combined, these powerful components allow users to create dynamic, data-driven, interactive website that greatly surpass the functionality of traditional static HTML web pages.  
Cost Efficient
In most cases, Linux hosting is notably less expensive than solutions designed on the Microsoft Windows platform.  This is because under the GNU GPL (General Public License), it is an open-source software application that can be freely distributed.  Although not all versions are free, distributions such as CentOS, Debian and OpenSUSE are, thus making Linux hosting a solution that is clearly the most affordable on the market.  And while Unix is not an open-source and freely distributed operating system, full support for the same open-source technologies means it is usually equally affordable and almost always cheaper than Windows.
Why Choose Linux Hosting? 
There are many reasons to opt for a Linux hosting plan.  It is the most widespread operating system platform in the hosting realm and largely supported by the development community that makes the web go round.   In the right set up, Linux and Unix can both provide you with the most stable and secure environment, delivering a level of performance that is hard to match by some of most revered commercial products.
Perhaps the greatest benefit is that is does not matter what operating system you have running on your personal computer; you can still choose a Linux or Unix hosting package and maintain your site directly from your web browser.

Should You Consider Windows Web Hosting?

When searching for web hosting you will typically run across a multitude of hosts that utilize a Linux platform, as well as a plethora that use a Windows platform. There are even some hosts that offer both options readily to their customers.
Because many people use Windows as their home operating system they think this is the better solution. Many believe that this will also cause them to specifically choose a Windows platform in their web hosting. However, the truth is that most people will be able to use a Linux platform without problematic instances. Sometimes the choice for Windows hosting is a personal preference and other times it is a necessity.
Linux Vs. Windows: The great debate
The fact is, it is often more important to concentrate your efforts in finding a host that is most reliable, as well as the best suited to your particular needs, regardless of the platform used. There are, however, several topics of debate that are used when comparing Windows vs. Linux in order to determine which platform is best. They include:

• Price – Historically Windows servers were more expensive. In the majority of web hosts this is still the case. However, the price is coming down due to the competitive nature of the industry, and you will find plenty of hosts that now offer Windows hosting at the same price or at a price difference that is negligible. Price, therefore becomes less of an issue than expected with both systems becoming fairly comparable. If your budget is extremely tight, though, you can typically find Linux cheaper at more hosts.
  
• Features – Both Linux and Windows have a variety of features available that will allow you to accomplish your goals. Both platforms will allow you to run scripts, create pages, blog, install forums and more with very little difference. If you need a full spectrum of features, you will likely get all you need regardless of platform you choose.
  
• Performance – Performance is something that is often debated. Linux consistently performs slightly better than Windows but there is a caveat to that. First, the difference will likely not be noticed by most customers. The reason there is a difference in performance is due to how each platform is offered. Linux offers a platform that is extendable and Windows is all-in-one. Therefore, with Windows you are getting everything at once which may cause some slowing in performance. Most of this difference is negligible and will never be noticed, however, if this is a primary concern, you may want to choose Linux.
  
• Security – Security is another often debated issue between Windows and Linux. Because of security issues surrounding the home operating system and the popularity of it as an operating system there is the idea that Linux is more secure. However, this is a fallacy. There are also hacks into the Linux system. Both have the potential for vulnerabilities. However, where this becomes an issue is not the platform itself but the staff who monitor it. If a web host has skilled IT administrators and robust monitoring software, security issues will likely not be a problem.
  

Windows specific features
When considering the differences between Windows and Linux there are really very few differences. Even when differences do occur, there is a lot of debate as to which one comes in favorably. The main deciding factor, though, of whether or not you should use Windows comes down to whether or not you use Windows specific applications. These may include:

• ASP – This is a basic application framework web designers may use to create pages.
  
• FrontPage – This is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web page creator that allows you to create pages and forms within your site and then easily upload them to your site.
  
• .NET – This is a software framework that provides a variety of solutions such as security, connectivity, application development and more.
  
• Windows Streaming Media – This is a means of serving audio and video to the public and is often used for band sites or for movie trailers.
  
• Access – This is a database system similar to MySQL often used as the back bone of various applications.
  
• MSSQL – This is a relational database system often used with Cold Fusion or ASP
  

Any Windows proprietary application will be better served on a Windows platform simply because it is designed to work that way. Many Windows applications can be used on Linux via work arounds and add ons but they may not be secure or as robust as what is provided with Windows.
Thus, if you use any Windows proprietary applications as a primary function of your site, you may want to consider concentrating your efforts to Windows hosting. But, if you do not, the platform you choose will likely not matter one bit. Instead you should concentrate on the reputation, features and price for the package you are considering.

What’s So Special About a Dot-Com Name?

So is a dot-com better than all the other dots? Short answer, yes. This is because the web is a dot-com universe. When people think of the web they automatically think “dot-com”. It wasn’t called the “Internet Company Bubble Crash”  or the ” Online Business Bubble Crash” it was called the “Dot-Com Bubble Crash”. Think » Read More

How to Change NS Record of a website

How to change NS record of a website each website has a Control Panel from which a client can change NS (Name server ) record  and this is provided by Registrar of your domain like Pknic.net.pk internic.net etc, most of this type of task done by Hosting companies , where your website is hosted, how » Read More

wordPress Backup

I got below methods from different sources This is fact that to backup of word press based website is very essential and yoou need complete step by step instructions, 1 In the plugins section of your WordPress backend, search for “WP-DB-Backup”. Install the plugin and follow the instructions. It’s a super easy-to-use plugin which will » Read More

How to Pick a Web Host Provider

A website can be utilized for either personal or professional reasons. For personal reasons many people choose to chronicle their lives, blog about something they are interested in or share photos with friends and family. For businesses, a web site is a necessity. In fact, many people these days use the presence of a web site as a method for determining the legitimacy of a company and often they prefer to use the Internet to conduct their business.
Whether looking to enable a web presence for the first time, or if you are simply unhappy with your existing service, you will need to find a web host provider. In order to ensure you have the best possible service there are several items you should consider. When shopping around keep these five important questions in mind:

1. Reliability: How often will your site be unavailable? Reliability or uptime is of vital importance and something that should be carefully considered before choosing a host. For business websites this is even more important than personal.When a website is down it may be irritating for a personal website but it can translate to hundreds, even thousands of dollars in revenue lost for businesses. Keep in mind, though that claims of 100% uptime are likely not accurate so be wary of these claims. The fact is there are times where there may be an unforeseen problem or scheduled maintenance causing your website to be unavailable for a short period of time.What is important to determine is the actual uptime percentage for the company as a whole as well as the specific server where your website will reside. All web hosts should have this historical data available. You should also determine how scheduled outages are handled. When possible the better web hosts schedule down time well in advance and during non-peak times. With today’s technology there is no excuse for any web host to have a low uptime percentage.  Source webhostinghub  Read More

wordpress backup

I got below methods from different sources
This is fact that to backup of word press based website is very essential
and yoou need complete step by step instructions,
1

In the plugins section of your WordPress backend, search for "WP-DB-Backup".
Install the plugin and follow the instructions. It's a super easy-to-use plugin which
will backup your entire database. You can also set it to run at certain intervals (ex. daily)
and email the file to yourself. This plugin will only backup the database. To backup your theme folder,
simply download the theme folder via an FTP client. You will only need to do this when/if you make changes to your theme.

2

Use an ftp program to download the html_public folder to your computer.
Use cpanel - phpmyadmin to export the database.
If the database is too big for phpmyadmin, look for a program called mysql dumper.
You should find it on a german site, but there is an english section to download it from.

3


Use the FTP program to upload the files to the html_public folder on new host.

Use cpanel - phpmyadmin to import the database you exported.

And your good to go - you might have to edit the wordpress config file to reflect any database - username - password changes.

But if your moving to a new host, any host worth its salt should move your site for you. Just about all host will move your
sites for you - within a reasonable limit of course.If both host use WHM (web hosting manager) - there is a Transfer site
feature in the WHM. You just need the WHM username and password to both host. It will transfer everything - email accounts,
 databases, files,,,,, everything. WHM has a drawback though, its not able to transfer huge sites. If your site is over 5 or 10 gigs,
then WHM will time out.

4

If you are changing to a new server but same domain, all you need to do is edit wp-config.php and upload everything as it is to your
new server.Easier way try WP-DB-Backup plugin.

if you have any other suitable method please post here below