Why Unix Web Hosting?

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Many people believe that since they run version of Windows operating system on their home computer they must choose a web hosting company whose servers run on Windows 2000. This is far from true, just as it is untrue that a Mac user cannot host on a Windows server. The operating system you run on your PC has absolutely no bearing on your dealings with a host's web server.

The basis of the popularity of the Unix operating system is its reliability. Built with stability and efficiency in mind, the OS uses text-based commands instead of a graphical user interface. The resulting operating system doesn't waste memory or disk space on frills and is able to do a lot more with a lot less resources. A Unix box with 32 or 64 MB of RAM can still run multiple programs with perfect stability.

In addition, since Unix is an open source operating system it is freely available to anyone who wants to add to or improve it. As a result, not only have there been a massive number of fixes, features, and developments over the last couple of years, but these developments are available to the home user who has a spare machine, allowing the developer to test the site before uploading it. For this reason, among others, many professional programmers and designers prefer to work with clients whose web sites are hosted on a Unix server.

Those hosting on a Unix server will also have more freedom within their account on the server than those hosting on other operating systems. With Unix-based SSH connections, customers can do a lot more themselves configuration-wise, including easily managing files and directories, changing file permissions, and debugging programs.

Disadvantages. Many new users simply aren't comfortable with command line systems. While most could run their sites on a Unix server without ever learning a single thing, those wishing to build more advanced sites would need to learn some of the basic Unix program commands - a task many aren't willing to undertake.

There are also several types of server applications, mostly those authored by Microsoft, which cannot be supported by Unix. These include Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP), Microsoft Access and SQL databases.

Unix Hosting FAQ

Why do I see "Directory Listing Denied" after I uploaded my web site?

Where is Perl, and which version?

Where is Sendmail?

Do you have any third-party CGI scripts I can use?

Can I use any other scripts?

Do you support third-party CGI scripts?

Why do I see "Directory Listing Denied" after I uploaded my web site?
There is no recognized index (home) page in the files in your www directory. There are two common reasons for this:
  1. You uploaded your files into the wrong folder. Your index file needs to be in the www folder on the server.
  2. You have an index file named something the server doesn't understand. Try naming your index page the standard "index.html".
Where is Perl, and which version?
/usr/bin/perl
Perl Version 5.6.1
Where is Sendmail?
/usr/sbin/sendmail
Do you have any third-party CGI scripts I can use?
We do not carry any scripts for use, but highly recommend several.
  • Formmail - For sending a form's information to an email recipient.
  • Guestbook - A simple guestbook script.
  • Text Counter - A simple text-based hit counter for your site.
  • WWWBoard - A simple bulletin board.
Can I use any other scripts?
Certainly! You can create scripts of your own in Perl or in PHP. Depending upon which plan your site is hosted under, you may or may not have access to a database.
Do you support third-party CGI scripts?
While you may use any script, support for those scripts needs to come from the authors of those scripts.