What Is Linux Hosting?

Linux hosting is an alternative to using Microsoft Windows-based technology for operating a website. Linux is an open-source operating system, which means the code that makes it run is publicly available. This means computer experts all over the world can share ways of improving how the system works. Although it is more complicated to understand than Windows, most computer experts say Linux is much more reliable and less likely to ‘crash’. This makes it particularly useful for running websites.

Linux hosting makes use of several technologies:

* PHP is a programming language which produces dynamic web pages. These are pages which can change in appearance and content in response to something the person viewing it does (such as filling in a form). PHP is a server-side language, meaning the program runs on the server (the computer that physically stores the website) rather than the computer being used to view the page.

* MySQL is a database system used for websites. It can be used for features such as a real estate company letting site visitors search for properties of a certain size and cost. It is used by popular sites such as Craigslist and LiveJournal.

* Python is a programming language which is well-regarded among many programmers. It is relatively sophisticated, but is easier to understand than many programming languages. Python often uses common English words where other languages simply use symbols. Python also gives programmers the ability to make a draft alteration to a program and check the effects immediately without having to make the change permanent.

* XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a more flexible method of organizing the information that makes up a website. With the old HTML system, each piece of information is labeled only for appearance (for example ‘bold’ or ‘italic’). With XML, any type of label can be used. For example, in a page containing a recipe, a piece of text could be labeled as ‘ingredient’ or ‘safety warning’. XML means that a website owner has much more control over the information on their site.

What Is Shared Web Hosting?

For businesses, organizations, or people looking to host a website the most popular and cost effective choice is usually shared web hosting. For many websites shared web hosting is the ideal solution. Shared webhosting has it’s advantages and disadvantages, you should be aware of before making your decision to use it.

Hosting companies offer shared hosting to customers with websites that have small or moderate traffic levels. These packages are offered at a very modest and reasonable cost. By allowing different customers to share computer hardware resources, maintenance and operating costs are spread over a larger number of clients which reduce costs. Customers may be on the same physical computer but hard drive space is separated so no one else has access to your files or data.

The most attractive aspect of shared hosting for most people is its low cost. Customers can choose the amount of disk space and bandwidth they need. If you are willing to sign up for a longer term contract (6, 12, or 24 months) the prices will be lower than paying at the end of each month. As shared hosting is managed by hosting company, all security, and software updates and performed by their staff. Shared hosting packages usually come with a simple to use client management interface, that allows them to set up file and FTP access,manage email accounts and other basic functions, giving you control over your website. For customers who want more features such as shopping carts, automated backups, and security certificates shared hosting packages offer them as extras to your account.

While there are many advantages to shared hosting there are some disadvantages as well. Shared hosting often means you are on the same computer as hundreds or thousands of other websites. This sharing of resources means your response time may be less than optimal. For example if you are on the same webserver as several other high volume websites you may notice a performance lag. Hosting companies monitor shared servers for abuse and resource hogging, sometimes malicious scripts or bad code can cause it to stop functioning, shutting down every website on the server. Limitations on disk space and bandwidth is another concern. If you have a busy traffic spike you may exceed your disk space or bandwidth allowance. Which means overage fees or your website gets shut down.

While not the perfect solution for everyone, for many people shared web hosting is an attractive option to consider. It allows them to start small and manage costs, costs time and people resources and have access to the technical expertise of the web hosting company all on a limited budget.

Cpanel Is The Right Choice For Web Hosting Services

When looking for web hosting, it is almost a requirement to check and see if the hosting company has cPanel. Short for control panel, this GUI or graphical user interface, is one of the best additions to the web hosting arena. It makes ease of use and the learning curve for the end user quick and easy, and it is a piece of software that makes setting up and maintaining a myriad of website programs effortless and lacking in frustration.

cPanel is a set of programs that makes jobs that used to need a high level of expertise well within the reach of novice users. Things like setting up mailing lists, email, cron jobs and blogs are simplified through the pictorial interaction between the web server and the webmaster who is working to set up various aspects of their Internet presence.

The cPanel interface runs on a number of RPM-based Linux platforms via ports 2082 or 2083 with authentication and login accomplished through a web page. Logging in and utilizing the various programs are intuitive, graphic and straightforward to navigate. If you want a php bulletin board like phpBB, content management system or blog like the popular WordPress or Joomla blogs, setup is quick and effortless.

Through cPanel, frustration is minimized and as a result it has become the industry standard. cPanel got even better when it added the extremely popular set of scripts called Fantastico. It automates a myriad of tasks including creating the MySQL tables for the various programs eliminating the manual phpAdmin import of scripts written by third-party vendors for many of the softwares on the market today. As a result, when setting up the more popular software, cPanel and Fantastico take what used to be a hard, uphill slog and streamlines it for the end user.

cPanel is much more than just a graphical user interface in many respects. It has merged a number of programs and scripts that used to be run separately. cPanel has standardized these scripts and programs across the line, making it a uniform package approach to hosting and setup. As a result, its popularity has steadily grown to the point where it has become second nature for most webmasters to look for hosting companies that provide cPanel as part of the package. In that respect, cPanel, Inc. has carved a lucrative and viable niche for itself that is not likely to leave any time soon.

There are a few negatives to using cPanel. Because its so widely used, it has become prey to hackers and phishers who run scripts that command cPanel to set up unauthorized sub-domains where they can collect illegal information from unsuspecting victims. Called phishing, this technique must constantly be looked out for when running cPanel.

Aside from this obvious drawback, the good points and benefits in terms of ease-of-use and the ability to set up programs quickly with little experience, far outweighs the nuisance value presented by hackers and phishers. It simply takes vigilance to stay ahead of them but the benefits derived from using cPanel far exceeds this detraction.

Is cPanel right for web hosting? Without a doubt. It offers the end user everything necessary to be successful in setting up and maintaining a workable website and it accomplishes it with a minimum of fuss. You can’t ask for more than that.

Cpanel Web Hosting Is Your Best Option

You know when I am looking for web hosting; I am looking for a number of things. The first thing I want to see from my chosen web host is more value for my money. We all know that hosting is not the cheapest thing in the world.

Well I know that is true if I want quality hosting, but many web hosts offer very little to justify any type of cost. Therefore, I want features that will allow me to make the most out of my money and offer my customers more for their money as well. cPanel does this for me. I have the ability to use one product, which carries so many different features, which enables me to provide the very best to my customers.

I am also looking for ease in use. I certainly do not want to use a host that will require me to take classes just on how to use the software or management center. I need a host that allows me to easily manage every aspect of my website in an easy to use manner. cPanel can offer me this with its easy to use format that is quick and easy to understand.

In the internet world today, customers expect a lot of benefits and options. This is something I have to give my customers if I expect them to come aboard with my business. This means that I need to have the ability to offer my customers unlimited possibilities. With all the different operating systems available, I want to make sure that my customer’s needs are well taken care of, with cPanel, I can do just that.

One absolute must is automation. Without automation, my job is that much harder. The whole point in creating an interest business is that the internet makes the world an easier place to shop, learn, and provide service to surfers. I want a host that offers me solutions or lets me use my own. I need a host, like cPanel, that allows me to make use of any number of business tools to help my business succeed.

With that being said, just as offered with cPanel, I will need a flexible hosting package. I need to be able to add features, delete features, and customize my customers viewing and shopping experience as needed. I have a custom application that I am looking to use within my business; the host must have support capabilities to integrate the application.

Lastly, my host needs to keep me abreast on how my account and server is working. If there are any problems with my account, I want to know. cPanel, sends me emails or messages via an instant message program or even through my cell phone if there are any issues with services, my account, or server. This is important, because I do not always have the time to log into the website to check the status. With these messages, I can always be sure that everything is running smoothly.

Fantastico And cPanel Is The Best Choice

cPanel is short for Control Panel and is a graphical user interface or GUI that is web-based and designed to afford webmasters and web designers easy access to many aspects of the web hosting system. It used to be hard, if not impossible, for most people to figure out what to do with their hosting once they paid for it.

cPanel is an interface that allows web hosting companies to offer a graphical interface to people seeking to set up and run websites on a number of RPM-based Linux platforms. cPanel is usually interfaced with the end user via ports 2082 and 2083 with authentication accomplished through surfing to a specific web page and logging in. Because cPanel is graphically based, it is extremely easy to use and very intuitive for novice as well as veteran users to work with.

If you want to set up a blog, mailing list, php link directory or basic content management system, cPanel is the way to go. By clicking on the happy face icon used by Fantastico, a user is taken a list of software that is grouped into various topics and offered as an easy setup and tracking system for just about anything the end-user might want to add to the Internet community. As a result, a webmaster can concentrate on the content and quality of what’s offered from the website and not the technical aspects of getting the site up and running.

With cPanel, managing your MySQL databases are a breeze to manage, releasing hosting companies from endless help requests from confused people. cPanel manages setup and maintenance of email accounts using three different web interfaces for retrieval via the web of email coming into the account. Raising and lowering email quotas, adding and manipulating databases, managing PGP keys, setting up crontab tasks, email and FTP tasks and more.

Via Fantastico, several add-on scripts automate the installation and upgrade of many of the popular applications like SMF, WordPress, Joomla, TikiWiki and phpBB to name a few. There are over 50 other scripts to choose from and it is constantly updated.

There are some pros and cons to using cPanel with webhosting. One of the biggest cons is in the ever increasing reality that cPanel is a hackers dream. With identity theft being a prevalent and expanding phenomenon, the ease of making sub-domains portion and ease of using cPanel has been and continues to be exploited.

Vigilance is necessary to avoid having the account suspended due to phishing. A hacker will set up a sub-domain called aol.YOURDOMAIN.com or bankofamerica.YOURDOMAIN.com and point unsuspecting victims to the sub-domain on your site via bulk email.

After a few days, your site will disappear and you will receive an email where the web hosting company will shut you down due to phishing. If you receive this email, go back into cPanel and click on the sub-domains button. It will give you the sub-domain in question, and you can attempt to get rid of it. Get rid of the contents via FTP and delete (or attempt to delete) it via cPanel. If you can’t get rid of it, contact your web hosting company. They will be happy to help you. Be sure and change your password because it’s passed around like candy in a schoolyard.

What makes cPanel so easy is what makes it so easy to exploit. Until lately, most of these scripts ran through a cPanel that was set to either X or X2 layout. Nowadays, the scripts can run under any layout.

That’s the only con to this great piece of software. It takes consistent monitoring; however, it is not something that happens that often. Hacking cPanel is just something that most webmasters need to understand. If you want to avoid it altogether, simply set up your site with 0 sub-domains or the exact amount of sub-domains you need for your needs. If you have 100 sub-domains with your package, ask the administrator to reduce it to 5 until you need more. In that way, you can benefit from the fantastic feature-rich cPanel interface and won’t need to deal with the crap that comes along with it. There is so much positive advancements in using this interface, that the sub-domain problem shouldn’t be a deterrent to using it. It is definitely the best system on the market.