Re-Introducing CloudLinux, Imunify360, and KernelCare for Cloud Computes

This might look like old news to some of you, and you’d be right. We have offered these products before! We recently updated our CloudLinux product lineup, and that seemed like a good opportunity to explain how you can use CloudLinux products and what benefits we’ve seen from them at Hawk Host!

If you’re familiar with Hawk Host’s shared, reseller, or semi-dedicated hosting, then you know we run CloudLinux as the OS on all those services. We were a very early adopter of CloudLinux, and our integration with their services has only increased over time. That includes offering the Imunify360 firewall, ImunifyAV for virus and malware protection, KernelCare for on-the-fly system patching, and very deep integration of the CageFS and user isolation technologies.

With our direct experience in using CloudLinux, we know firsthand the benefits of leveraging that technology within your hosting environment, which extends to a cloud compute. A cloud compute is your own private server environment with full root access, and compared to shared hosting, you can install, configure, modify, and use the system however you choose. Whether you’re an experienced sysadmin with years under your belt or a new user just looking for the most stable and secure environment, CloudLinux can be the answer for you.

What is CloudLinux?

CloudLinux is an operating system built for resource optimization and user isolation. It is also highly specialized in web hosting and services related to web hosting. In terms of cPanel-based systems, it provides the opportunity to isolate each of your cPanel accounts into their own “jail” with CageFS, meaning one cPanel account’s activity, malicious, resource intensive, or otherwise, cannot infect or impact another user on the server. This is highly beneficial when you have multiple customers on a server or some sites requiring higher resource limits than others, so your CPU or RAM resources on a compute can be best utilized. CloudLinux also offers other performance monitoring tools like MySQL Governor, which allows you to limit the amount of MySQL resources any user or account can access.

In addition to performance and security benefits, CloudLinux offers software features like HardenedPHP through their PHP Selector, which allows you to run EOL versions of PHP safely. While we don’t recommend that anyone rely on EOL versions of PHP, we know the real world often differs from ideal development practices, so CloudLinux makes PHP versions available all the way back to 4.4.9. That support extends to other languages and applications, including Python and Ruby, through their Python Selector and Ruby Selector interfaces.

What is Imunify360?

Imunify360, and by extension ImunifyAV, are security-focused products. Imunify360 is a full-suite firewall and traffic management system that allows you to filter, monitor, whitelist, and blacklist all traffic into and out of your compute. Their WAF rules can be configured to stop brute force attacks, malicious requests, injections, and denial of service attacks towards specific system services or attack vectors. This provides you in-depth insight into your system’s activity and traffic and which sites or users on your system might be the target of some unwanted activity.

ImunifyAV is an anti-virus and anti-malware program that continuously runs to monitor system file uploads and file modifications and looks for known malware signatures across the entire system and its stored files. CloudLinux can leverage its extensive network of systems and reporting to establish a massive database of known malware signatures and activity. Put another way, by running ImunifyAV and Imunify360, your system is getting the same protection that an enterprise host with thousands of servers would get, and you directly benefit from all the learning CloudLinux does across their entire network.

What is KernelCare?

KernelCare is a live patching system that allows you to apply kernel-level updates to your server without a reboot, which is traditionally required by a Linux system to patch a kernel. Not only does this ensure continued uptime for your servers, but KernelCare can often patch a zero-day exploit or vulnerability much faster than an upstream OS, meaning you’re protected within days, potentially even hours, of a new exploit being made public through a CVE. It is not uncommon for upstream OS vendors to take days or weeks to patch similar exploits, so you can immediately see the benefit of having KernelCare on your system.

How do I use CloudLinux products with a cloud compute?

We’re so glad you asked! CloudLinux is offered as a paid OS option through our order form on new compute. Through that process, you will also see the option to add KernelCare as an add-on. If you’re an existing cloud compute customer running AlmaLinux or any other RHEL variant, you can use the CLoudLinux conversion script to move your existing system to CloudLinux without a reinstall or having to migrate (though make sure you buy a license first!). As always, our sales team would happily assist new or existing customers with any concerns regarding their CloudLinux options. Don’t be shy about reaching out!