1. Linux is more stable and secure than Windows
If you’re a Windows user thinking about switching to Linux, you may be worried about security issues. However, the Linux operating system is actually more stable and secure than Windows. In fact, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducted a study on the security of the two operating systems and found that while Windows crashes more frequently, Linux is more secure. One of the major reasons that Windows is insecure is because of the way malware spreads and attacks the system. Web servers are commonly used by businesses, and so they are at a much higher risk of having malware getting onto the server. With the better security of Linux, it can offer protection against a number of exploits that can harm a web server. Hopefully, this will help mitigate the risks that web hosts face with Windows. Although virtualization has become a popular way to run applications on different operating systems, this solution is not ideal for running web applications. The reason is that, with each virtual machine that runs on Linux, the operating system exposes ports to connect to the outside world. Thus, there have been numerous attempts from the big players like Microsoft to bring virtualization to the world of web hosting. However, none of these solutions have been successful during the past few years. However, now, a company by the name of QNAP Technologies have unveiled a solution that appears to be using a slightly better method than virtualization. Up until now, all of the virtualization methods used relied on your computer sharing a screen with another computer. With virtualization, you shared the screen with another computer so that one computer could run multiple applications that needed to be on the same screen. This works, but was not ideal for web applications because screen space is a limited resource. Additionally, Microsoft often restricts certain operating systems from running as virtual machines. So, if you were running a piece of code that used virtualization then Microsoft would prevent it from continuing running because it does not meet their requirements for running a virtual machine.
2. Linux is free, with no licensing fees or costs
While Linux is free to use, it does come with a catch. It’s entirely open source, which means that you can use it for free as long as you’re willing to put in the hard work to learn how to use the operating system. You can’t just download it and expect it to work the way Windows or Mac do.In order to use Linux effectively, you’re going to have to do a bunch of things that are difficult with Windows or Mac. The ‘monkey’ of all computing is the CPU. It is the brain of the computer. It can execute pretty much any type of computer task that you have, from playing a game, watching a movie, doing some editing on a video, downloading software, writing code, or even running your day to day web server. To run a modern web server on Linux, which is one of the most popular servers on the market, you also need a database server. That’s right. Again, another huge piece of open source software that isn’t available without paying a lot of money. The problem with web hosting on Windows or Mac is that these operating systems don’t allow you to run multiple types of database servers at once. While you can have more than one instance of the same database running on Linux, you’re only allowed to run one instance of an application or database at a time. Again, this restriction forces you to be more restrictive with how you use the virtual machine that you download. With a Linux virtual machine, you’re able to run multiple versions of the same application or database, so you can run multiple instances of a site, allowing you to scale out your resource requirements, or you can run multiple client websites when you staff’ every server. For full understanding of how advantages of Linux virtualization will change your web hosting strategy, don’t be overwhelmed by the list of things to keep in mind.
3. Linux is supported by a community of developers who are constantly making improvements and updates
Linux is supported by a community of developers who are constantly making improvements and updates. While every Linux release comes with new features, every release also comes with updates and bug fixes. Bullet Point:8. The best way to learn about an open source project is to contribute to it. As an Open Source enthusiast, I believe that contributing to open source projects is a strong career choice. However, with every project there is an element of luck and that the project does not always run the way you planned for. Around 2005, I stumbled upon a project called Juju. The project was an open source system provisioning tool. The idea behind the project was to create a simple framework to help every developer create simple services without writing a single line of code. The community around Juju grew by supporting the project financially. And in 2012, the project grew a huge following when Canonical started sponsoring it. In 2015, the project received a total of $12 Million in donations. This meant a lot of money for the community, as explained by John Fallenone. After the Money started rolling in, developers were facing a problem. Everybody loves to use trivial tools like Juju. Why not make it easier for developers to share their projects, that means the packages are more attractive to acquire. The first hurdle to overcome was the need to convince developers to signsback their packages. While signing back means that the owner takes the ownership away from the distro maintainer, they still gain the opportunity to sell the software. The second hurdle that build, was promoting the software. While it is easy to create a package on top of a build, it is much harder to promote it through a package description and guidance around best practices. Bullet point:9. Keeping all of these moving points under control is the toughest part for any project. WordPress plays an essential role in most digital adventures today because it scales seamlessly with any content management system (CMS).
4. Linux systems require less memory to run effectively
Linux is known to be a more effective operating system than Windows, and one of the reasons is because it uses less memory than Windows. Linux is a very efficient operating system that requires less computing power to run effectively. Nevertheless, sometimes during programming, you will need to run a program larger than your current computer. Ever wondered why some programmers prefer to use Linux web servers rather than Windows web servers? Web server software is specifically designed to run lightweight web applications such as Pages and Simple Template System (STS) which need nothing else than IP address and port access. Let’s prove what I just said is true. Let’s download Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, an LTS (Long Term Support) version of Ubuntu, onto our local hard drive. To be able to use a Linux web server, we need to install its web server software, which is called Apache2. Apache is a very popular web server mentioned because of its enormous popularity since its inception in 1993, resulting in a relevant application being called “web server.” Because of its name “Apache”, a lot of users associate Apache as the server that started the whole internet. But the truth is that it is the second most popular web server as of September 2019, according to a Statcounter study, and it is present in over 100 different versions and configurations. To easily install Apache 2 on a Linux computer, first you can install it using the command: For most standard personal computers, you’ll need at least an Intel processor, and for most cheap laptops you’ll need an AMD processor. If we do not have an Intel or AMD processor: For more information on which machine you have, and your preferred processor, do a simple Google search on “Which computer do I need?” to identify which computer will be fully utilized.
5. New features are released at a faster pace in the Linux operating system because it’s open-source software that anyone can edit or improve upon
In the world of Linux, the newest software is often released to the public before it’s even finished. This is because the Linux operating system is open source, meaning that anyone in the community can edit or improve upon the software. This helps Linux maintainers speed up, fix bugs, and add new features faster than Microsoft or Canonical can. For example, the Blockchain project recently announced they had unveiled a new client called Casper that they claimed would revolutionize how the global payments industry functions. This is due to the fact that blockchain is built on cryptographic proof (proof of work) and peer-to-peer networks. Unlike client-side code in web browsers that requires updates, a decentralized private blockchain network allows the code to remain secure, private, and untampered. As proof of this, global media reports claimed that the client was completed in February and made its debut in March. Since blockchain is decentralized and peer-to-peer, anyone can join and contribute to it. As more people are added, the network grows faster and improves over time. Since the blockchain is not controlled by any company or individual, data can be verified and the network borders itself with the global populace to ensure security and compliance. The end result is that even the largest companies in the world can no longer keep the client a secret. A similar example of decentralized code was illustrated recently when the Ethereum Foundation released a new operating system named Zcash that enables people to store and send their wealth digitally. Since Ethereum uses a public chain database and a decentralized network for its blockchain, anyone can access and check the code. This removes the need for companies to own expensive servers to store, verify, and distribute the code. And for businesses holding large portions of cryptocurrency, this can be advantageous because they save on costs and storage.