CloudLinux Hosting – Why This Could be the Platform your Business Needs.

If you have dealt with different web hosts for some time, chances are you might have come across the phrase CloudLinux hosting. This especially goes for shared hosting providers and their reseller counterparts for whom CloudLinux is fast becoming the go-to operating system.

And rightly so.

This is the only web server operating system that is purposefully targeted at the shared hosting and reseller hosting market.

Before we venture too far into the weeds, perhaps it would be in order to first expound on what CloudLinux entails.

What is CloudLinux?

By now, you have already gathered that CloudLinux is an operating system; an operating system designed with both shared and reseller hosting providers in mind.

That is entirely true.

But if we may add to that, CloudLinux, in plain English, is a Linux-based operating system that allows web hosts (providers of website hosting services) to have better control over the usage of their server resources.

It was launched in 2010 and has been growing steadily since, with a little under 10,000 servers running on the CloudLinux platform at the moment.

The one key thing that has endeared CloudLinux hosting to many is a feature unique to this platform. It is known as “LVE” technology, LVE being an acronym for Lightweight Virtual Environment.

Think of LVE as a composition of isolated virtual user accounts. Each is allocated a certain amount of resources so that problems with one account do not degrade the service for others.

For instance, if a certain account receives a sudden spike in traffic or starts utilizing a lot of memory or CPU, this will not affect the entire server, possibly even resulting to failure. Rather, it will only slow that particular LVE account.

If you are like most website owners, there is a high likelihood that you started out on a shared hosting environment. You have experienced the pitfalls associated with hosting a website on such a small budget, whereby your website is bundled into a server that probably hosts a thousand other sites, each trying to accomplish its own different objective.

Some probably belong to spammers, designed to infect visitors with malware. Others might be holding adult content. Some of the websites in the server have probably been victims of hacking, while others belong to good people like you who are just trying to run an honest business.

Regardless, in a shared hosting environment, no one can tell who their neighbor is – not even the hosting companies. All it takes is that one bad website to bring the entire house down. That’s where CloudLinux hosting comes in handy.

Why Web Hosts are Opting for CloudLinux

A traditional shared hosting environment normally comprises hundreds of website accounts hosted on the same server, all sharing the same resources equally. The server administrator, however, holds little sway over how these individual accounts utilize the server resources.

In the event that one of the website accounts is using the server resources unfairly due to, say, a sudden surge in traffic, or maybe due to a poorly written script, or DDoS attack, the server tends to slow (it may even go down completely) therefore affecting all the other customers hosted on that server.

Unfortunately, traditional shared hosting does not allow for limiting of server resources for the particular website account causing the slowdown. Moreover, trying to hone in on the bad apple causing problems can be an arduous task, not to mention getting to the bottom of the issue might require suspending the website accounts causing the snags.

Ultimately, this might lead to unsatisfied customers since their business is being adversely affected.

These are issues that are unheard of in a CloudLinux shared hosting environment.

In a CloudLinux hosting environment, each account (LVE) has set resource limits aimed at protecting users from bad elements such as abusers and bad scripts. This fosters a healthy hosting environment in which the unaffected accounts continue to run normally without issues like downtime or load speed.

The only account that is affected is the one holding the website that is consuming more resources than it should. And what happens is that this website ceases to work temporarily until its resource usage resumes to normal.

Users to this website will normally be presented with a 503 error message whenever they try to access it. This is to keep that website from taking up even more resources on the server, and this is made possible thanks to the LVE technology.

It is a win-win for everyone. The web hosts provide a superior offering, while majority of the website owners stay a happy lot.

Why you should Opt for CloudLinux Hosting

By now you have a clear idea of how CloudLinux hosting could be of benefit to you.

But to break it down better for you, below we have listed the main reasons you should be thinking of hosting your website on a CloudLinux server.

1. Stable Hosting Environment

One of the most important benefits of CloudLinux OS is the realization of private virtual space.

Every website is allocated its own virtual space where it is sheltered from the activities of other websites, meaning it is fully proofed against common issues associated with a shared server environment.

In such a stable environment, your website is likely to deliver fewer errors for your visitors, the result of which is a consistent stream of good traffic.

2. Security Features

The LVE environment provides effective cover against malware or bad actors trying to access your website’s vulnerable files either directly or through the other users on the server.

This is made possible by a technology known as CageFS which isolates every client’s record framework. This means clients cannot see each other or dig around for delicate data belonging to other clients.

There is no need for you to keep changing scripts or perform unexpected undertakings since CageFS incorporates consistently for everyone.

3. Visibility

CloudLinux grants its users greater visibility over their resources.

By employing the “tenant” model, the system makes it easy for users to monitor log attempts or system logs that could be potential security threats, running each execution by a user inverse.

For instance, it is easy to weed out malicious scripts such as those trying to spam or gain unauthorized higher privileges.

4. Customer Isolation

Typically, in a shared hosting environment, when one account goes down, it takes the others with it because accounts are relatively interconnected.

Luckily, this is not how CloudLinux works, thanks to its lightweight virtualization environment which not only protects individual accounts from malicious attacks, but also keeps the entire server stable when one account goes down.

5. Ease of Conversion

If you are thinking of shifting to CloudLinux hosting, you will be happy to hear that it allows for easy conversion from other operating systems. For example, converting from RHEL or CentOS takes less than 10 minutes.

Licensing is also extremely easy, which should be good news since licensed systems are guaranteed patches and important security updates.

6. Compatibility

Another notable benefit of the CloudLinux OS is that it does not compromise on compatibility.

It works with virtually every major control panel out there and is compatible with software popularly used with RHEL and CentOS.

Downsides Associated with Hosting on CloudLinux

On paper, it is hard to find fault with CloudLinux. Practically speaking, though, you could say some of its features are prone to misuse, which could result to downsides.

Here is what we mean…

1. PHP Selector

CloudLinux gives you the option to select the version of PHP you intend to use, be it 5.3 or 7. The thing is, though, if you are hosting with a provider who is not proactive, there is a big chance your server could be running an outdated version of PHP.

A good number of users don’t take the due diligence to change this (or are probably oblivious of the same), so they continue using popular platforms like WordPress or Joomla while running PHP 5.3 at the same time.

This is a security loophole, and as much as the provider may keep their CMS and plugins up-to-date, the PHP version itself is outmoded and may thus fail to respond well to the latest scripts.

2. Web Host Control

Likewise, CloudLinux affords hosting providers the power to monitor system usage (CPU, memory and I/O) as well as MySQL usage. Which is all good.

But there are potential problems when you consider the fact that you might find yourself hosting with a bad provider, and these features could make life difficult for the end user.

How?

Well, this bad host might find it convenient to monitor and regulate, and could decide to cripple resource usage on cheaper plans in the hope that this might persuade the users on these plans to upgrade to costlier packages.

While some might consider this a little far-fetched, if you care to look, you might notice that a lot of smaller and lower-budget hosting providers are actually on CloudLinux.

It is definitely a logical point to think about, since a reliable web host could use the same monitoring tools to manage the server properly, whereas a host with malicious intentions could misuse these tools.

Last Word

When all is said and done, CloudLinux hosting has more advantages than downsides.

This is an extremely stable operating system that is patched and updated on a regular, and since it simplifies the work of the hosts, you can bet it is going to grow even more popular.

The disadvantages associated with CloudLinux have more to do with how the web host manages it than the shortcomings of the operating system itself. In the hands of a reputable web host, this server OS can prove a great tool for hosting management.