Nowadays Linux is quite beloved by all. There are various reasons for this popularity. It is affordable, secure and much more to tell. It is a platform with numerous facilities & hosts file is one of them. Host file has its own importance while hosting.

The hosts file is a file present in computer & used by an operating system to plot hostnames to IP addresses. The hosts file is an unadorned text file and is typically named hosts. In the beginning, a file named HOSTS.TXT was for the hostnames and address of hosts as contributed for insertion by organizations. The Domain Name System, primary described in 1983 and implemented in 1984, computerized the journal process and provided immediate and lively hostname ruling in the quickly increasing set-up. In current working systems, the hosts file remains a substitute name resolution method, configurable frequently as a part of amenities such as the Name Service Switch as any of the key method or as an emergency method.

The hosts file is one of more than a few system facilities that lend a hand in addressing network nodes in a computer network. It is a universal part of an operating system’s Internet Protocol or more commonly called IP implementation and serves the function of translating human-friendly hostnames into numeric protocol addresses, called IP addresses, which make out and place a host in an IP network. In some operating systems, the stuffing of the hosts file is used preferentially to other name resolution methods, such as the Domain Name System or better known as DNS, but many systems put into practice name service switches, like nsswitch.conf for Linux and UNIX, to endow with customization. Distinct remote DNS resolvers, the hosts file, is under the direct command of the local computer’s administrator.

The hosts file encloses wording consisting of an IP address in the first text field followed by one or more hostnames. Each field is separated by white space; tabs are often preferred for chronological basis spaces are also used. Comment lines may be included, and they are indicated by a character hash in the first position of such lines. Entirely blank lines in the file are ignored. For example, a typical host’s file may contain special characters or a simple word. It totally depends on an individual’s choice. It only contains entries for the loopback addresses of the system and their host names, a typical default content of the hosts file. The point up is an IP address may have multiple host names that may be a localhost and loopback. A host name may be mapped to both IPv4 and IPv6 IP addresses.

Linux is not limited to host file; there are much more uses of Linux. Today, Linux hosting is an automatic preference for an individual for initial web hosting services. All he needs to create maximum revenue from his hosting business is available with Linux hosting. With it also comes free WHM, including powerful security tools like SSL certificates, Cpanel & WebsitePanel, etc. These features usually come at a nominal price affordable to everyone. File hosting, image hosting, blog hosting, video hosting, email hosting are some of the hosting services furnished by web service providers.