What are the Key Advantages and Benefits With Linux Hosting

Linux can rightly be described as an internet hosting phenomenon.  From its origins in the obscure world of open source development, Linux has gone mainstream, gathering an army of devoted followers along the way.  According to its supporters, Linux is quicker, easier and cheaper than Windows.  But is it all it's made out to be?  In this article, we'll take a look at some of the main advantages and benefits of Linux hosting.

First of all, Linux has the advantage of flexibility.  As an open source platform, Linux can run across all sorts of systems.  This gives it an edge over commercial, proprietary products, which tend to work on their own systems and those systems alone.  Open source also means cheap - the software behind Linux was developed for free, so nobody's looking to make a profit.

Is linux hosting flexible and affordable?

Flexible and cheap are all very well, but does Linux actually cut it in the real world of computing?  It would seem so.  Linux is remarkably efficient, and is generally considered to load and run much faster than other hosting platforms - typically 50% faster.  This efficiency also means that Linux has the reputation for being stable, because it requires less in the way of processor resources to operate.  For this reason, Linux is a favorite amongst developers, who don't want their system to crash every time they start a new project.

Linux hosting is also backed up by a wide and active community of open source developers.  This means that there are any number of applications, from the most basic to the most technically advanced, that have been created for the system.  In the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, somebody somewhere will be able to develop it for you, usually for free.

Some web users are nervous about open source software interfering with their existing systems.  This is never going to be a problem with Linux hosting, which works entirely independently from other operating systems.  You can therefore install it on your own PC and play around with it in perfect safety.

Linux also works very well with the cPanel control panel, which is pretty much the standard control panel for webmasters.  It also supports PHP and MySQL databases, websites and applications, so if you're a web designer, Linux will fit right in with your existing toolkit.

Finally, the best advert for Linux hosting is the number of users it attracts, from professional developers to ordinary consumers.  Thousands of web users can't be wrong!  If you're looking for cheap, reliable and flexible hosting, then Linux is an operating system you would do well to consider.