Why Use CloudLinux OS for your Shared Dedicated Servers?
The latest addition to our operating system offering is CloudLinux as part of our partnership with cPanel. The CloudLinux OS improves server stability, security, flexibility, and allows system administrators to track heavy resource usage in shared hosting environments. Users on the dedicated server are reminded when they are at their resource limit, which avoids the penalty of shutting the entire website down. They can also track CPU, memory or disk I/O with graphs on their dashboard.
What are the benefits of using CloudLinux vs. CentOS for web hosting providers?
One of the most challenging tasks for any web hosting provider is managing customer server utilization, but an operating system called CloudLinux can make it easier. For small web hosts, managing Dedicated Servers can mean waking up at all hours of the night to handle a server overload, and for larger hosts with dozens of servers, these problems are simply duplicated and intensified.
In the Shared Hosting environment, it is critical to ensure no single user can overload a system with their applications. But with any shared server, it’s always a matter of “when will the server be overloaded by a customer” rather than “will a customer overload the server?” One of the major game changers in web hosting has been the introduction of CloudLinux, an Operating System designed to tackle all of the problems related to web hosting and Dedicated Server utilization. We’re proud to offer CloudLinux at NAXHOST, and we wanted to outline some of the reasons a web host would choose to use it on their dedicated server.
1. CloudLinux Improves Server Stability
The primary benefit of using CloudLinux is the user resource limitation features it offers. Prior to CloudLinux, it was nearly impossible to allocate specific memory, CPU, and disk I/O limits onto shared hosting customers. CloudLinux breaks each user into a tenant, similar to how virtual private server’s function, by creating a file system for each user with resource limits that the web host defines. When a user maxes out CPU resources, their web pages will be gracefully slowed down for users rather than having to suspend the site. Should they max out on memory or disk I/O, web hosts have the option to set their own custom error page to alert users of the resource usage issues. This allows Dedicated Hosting customers to step in and optimize their site, or plan an upgrade. No longer are users able to overload a dedicated server, which means an incredibly stable hosting environment for users.
2. CloudLinux provides detailed usage tracking
A common concern for shared hosting customers is an understanding of exactly how much of the server’s resources they are using. Without CloudLinux, it is difficult to provide users exact details and graphs on their memory, CPU, and disk I/O usage. CloudLinux beautifully integrates into cPanel to provide users detailed graphs on exact usage of their applications.
This helps users plan upgrades to VPS or dedicated hosting by showing them a visual representation of usage and empowering them with the information they need to make informed decisions about their website hosting.
3. CloudLinux enhances server security
CloudLinux utilizes a technology called CageFS, which completely separates each user’s file system. This prevents users from seeing each other and viewing the sensitive information of other users. CageFS also protects users from a number of attacks, including most of the privilege escalation and information disclosure attacks. CageFS integrates seamlessly for customers, so there is no need for them to change their scripts or perform tasks differently.
4. CloudLinux improves efficiency and profits
One critical metric of profits for shared web hosts is the number of customers that can be placed on a server. It is important to have enough users on the server to be profitable, but having too many users causes your Dedicated Servers to slowdown and can cause resource problems. CloudLinux saves the day by allowing web hosts to evenly split up resources, allowing them to have many more clients on a server without sacrificing the user experience. This leads to increased profits and server resources are used much more efficiently. Many web hosts in the past have reported a concern that simply upgrading a server’s hardware wouldn’t resolve resource utilization because high usage users would end up overloading the server anyway. CloudLinux allows web hosts to purchase those larger Dedicated Servers and use the hardware to its potential.
Another way CloudLinux improves profits for a host is with the detailed usage information graphs we outlined earlier. Many web hosts gather information on their client’s resource usage and reach out to their high usage customers to offer them solutions more suited for their needs. This can generate additional products being sold to a customer like a VPS, or a shared hosting plan with additional resources. This provides alternative revenue streams for web hosts, and makes their customers more satisfied with the service at the same time.
5. CloudLinux is easy to use and trusted globally
CloudLinux is utilized in over 100 data centers, 2000+ web hosting companies, 25,000+ servers, and has been in development for over 5 years. This robust development cycle means a piece of software that is incredibly stable and well tested. CloudLinux offers hundreds of additional features to make providing web hosting easier. Check out the full feature breakdown at: http://www.cloudlinux.com/about.
