Handle With Linux

If you are looking for a hosting provider for your new website, or want to upgrade your hosting services your going to get confronted with a lot of options. It may not be completely clear what the differences are.
No doubt you probably want some kind of Linux hosting as there are only very specific circumstances where windows web hosting has benefits. In my humble opinion you would only want windows hosting if you have a web service or application which can only be run on windows(which would be a design flaw).

Reasons why Linux is superior for web hosting include:

Price

Linux hosting is cheaper in general, as there are no license fees and it's cheaper to maintain

Security

Linux servers are more secure and there are virtually no viruses attacking Linux

Performance

Linux performs much better when used as server operating system, the difference is bigger compared to desktops as the GUI can be completely left out on a Linux server.

Manageability

Linux is a lot easier to manage, especially from a distance. This might not seem to be the most important reason as you first start out with your site, but when your site grows and you upgrade to dedicated hosting one day, you'll be very happy you chose Linux. Not only does it need a lot less maintenance, it is also a lot easier and safer to manage your Linux server from a remote location.

I can easily dream up a lot more reasons for choosing Linux for your hosting solution, but that's not the intention of this article.

There are a lot of options for Linux hosting, here is some info on the different setups:

Shared hosting

A shared web hosting service or virtual hosting service refers to a web hosting service where many websites reside on one web server connected to the Internet. Each site has it's own section on the server to keep it separate from other sites. This is generally the most economical option for hosting as many people share the overall cost of server maintenance. This is the option which provides the least flexibility as management is completely done by the hosting company. It's also the cheapest option. In this case you don't need any Linux knowledge as you only need to upload your files to your server and that's it.

Virtual private server hosting

A virtual private server (VPS, also referred to as Virtual Dedicated Server or VDS) is a software solution emulating different servers on the hardware of one server (not completely correct, as there are many different technical solutions to accomplish the same thing). Virtual server hosting provides a lot more flexiblity than plain shared hosting as you are often free to choose which linux distribution you want and you have the freedom to install almost any software available for the operating system of your choice. Not all software runs on as well on virtual servers though and there are many different technologies for achieving this. In most cases the technology used is transparent to the end user.

Managed or unmanaged hosting

There are often options for managed and unmanaged hosting of your server. In the case of managed hosting which is more expensive, installations and maintenance of software can be done on your request. In the case of unmanaged hosting you'll need basic Linux knowledge to maintain your server. (this basic knowledge could be easily obtained though, especially if you use a OS which has a decent package manager like Debian installing software and security updates is a breeze) Unmanaged hosting is cheaper in most cases.

Dedicated server

A dedicated server is actually the rental of server hardware in a data center, in this case the server is completely dedicated to your application. You have full control as to which operating system and software is installed. In most cases you have the choice to have the server software maintained or do it yourself. The hardware is always maintained by the company providing the server. This is a relatively expensive hosting option but it also provides great flexibility. In the case of self maintenance you do obviously need sufficient Linux knowledge. I must say if you only run static websites (reselling or something) it may be an option to learn the basics and only hire someone when there's something to difficult for you. The basic maintenance of a Linux webserver is really very doable, especially if the hosting company maintains the firewall which is most often the case. I know of Linux systems which run websites for years without rebooting and with virtually no maintenance except for security updates.

Colocation

In the case of colocation you can rent a space in a datacenter, here the only thing you get is network and power source. You need access to the datacenter and you have to install and maintain everything yourself.
In some cases there's an option for having a firewall maintained or having your server hardware/software maintained. Characteristic for this type of hosting is that you own the server and especially when you have big requirements for speed/space/memory this is most often the best choice. Obviously in this case you need in-depth knowledge of server maintenance on the hardware and the software level, as well as the time to go to the datacenter in case something goes wrong.

Miss something?

Do you miss something on this list? Think I'm wrong? Just have something to say or ask?
Please leave a comment.