Linux is a UNIX based open-source, freely distributed operating system that is popularly used by
web hosting providers. The other alternative operating system that is generally used is the Microsoft-owned Windows OS. Many of the hosting providers offer Linux as a default server in their
shared hosting plans.
Linux is the operating system in the LAMP configuration the other being Apache server, MySQL database, and PHP/Perl/Python scripting language. Linux gives access to FTP which enables the users to upload files to the server through their system hard drive.
Linux offers many advantages over Windows as it works out an affordable option for budget constrained businesses. Linux is more secure and does allow easy backups with many inbuilt tools. It is important for you to backup all your files for the safety of your business against loss accidently or by theft or some disaster.
Linux costs lesser in every way like set up, software costs, and monthly expenditure over the other operating systems.
Linux comes with many distributions such as CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu, RedHat, Fedora and more. Most of these are open source and robust servers. Linux uses the PHP, Perl, Python scripting languages. However, Linux does not support Windows products like ASP, .NET or MSSQL.