If you're looking for web hosting, you probably know there's a lot of different options out there. However, there's one in particular which has become the industry standard. That's something known as Linux. The operating system itself is the brainchild of a man named Linus Torvalds. However, what's really made it unique is the fact that it's extended so far away from those humble beginnings. While it was initially created as the pet project of a single person, it's evolved into a giant endeavor which has spanned the globe. As more and more people have worked on it, Linux has become the cornerstone of the webhosting industry.
However, there's also a major addition to the standard Linux model. This is the addition of what is known as a VPS infrastructure. This means that one can essentially have a larger and more powerful Linux system which runs smaller versions of itself. This means that the single Linux machine can essentially do the task of dozens of webservers.
There are a number of very significant benefits. However, of these perhaps the greatest comes down to security. The vast majority of virus, malware, and similar malicious software targets Windows based computers. This is as true for Windows based servers as it is for a windows based home computer. By going with a Linux based VPS solution, one can be assured that there's an automatic immunity to the vast majority of damaging code out there. However, there are additional benefits which come from the VPS system. While the server uses a central Linux kernel, each of the individual virtual servers is essentially isolated from the others. This means that if anything were to impact the performance of a single instance of the software, the others would still be fine. This is a process known as sandboxing, which ensures that every process can run in perfect isolation from the rest of the system.
In large part because of something known as the LAMP stack. This stands for Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP. At the moment, the best web based technologies are targeting the LAMP system. If one wants to take advantage of some of the best software out there, Linux is a clear choice. Whether it's blogging software, or high quality web applications, the majority of developers are writing for LAMP and Linux. There's also the additional aspect of how a system works with LAMP systems. These can eventually become highly CPU dependent over time. However, with a VPS system running Linux, it's a simple matter to implement a software based upgrade to the environment. One can easily ensure their software is always up to date, and that users will never be left in the dark. However, there's also another reason to go with a Linux system which is structured within the context of a VPS. Monitoring software is always finding new ways of working with Linux VPS systems. There's a number of different software packages out there to monitor network use within the system. It's then a far easier matter to determine if one should begin scaling up their software to accommodate a growing user base.