Software Alternatives & Startups

Cowboy VS CloudLinux

Compare Cowboy VS CloudLinux and see what are their differences

Cowboy

Small, fast, modular HTTP server written in Erlang.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
CloudLinux

Making Linux secure, stable, and profitable for thousands of hosting providers and data centers worldwide.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Cowboy seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 6 times since March 2021.

social mentions
6 vs 0
Web And Application Servers popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Cowboy
CloudLinux
Website ninenines.eu cloudlinux.com
Pricing
Open source
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Cowboy 5 features
CloudLinux 5 features
  • High Performance
    Cowboy is a small, fast, and modern HTTP server for Erlang/OTP, known for its high performance and low latency.
  • Erlang Ecosystem
    Being built using Erlang, Cowboy benefits from Erlang's robust ecosystem, such as fault tolerance, concurrency, and distributed computing capabilities.
  • WebSocket Support
    Cowboy offers built-in WebSocket support, making it easy to build real-time applications.
  • HTTP/2 Support
    Cowboy supports HTTP/2, allowing for performance improvements like multiplexing and header compression.
  • Extensibility
    Cowboy is designed to be modular and extensible, allowing developers to customize and extend its functionalities as needed.

Possible disadvantages

  • Learning Curve
    Developers unfamiliar with Erlang may find Cowboy’s learning curve steep compared to other web servers written in more common languages.
  • Community Support
    While Erlang has a dedicated community, it is smaller compared to communities around more popular languages like Python or JavaScript, which could impact the availability of third-party libraries and support.
  • Documentation
    Although Cowboy has official documentation, some developers might find it less comprehensive and harder to navigate compared to more widely-used platforms.
  • Single-thread Performance
    Cowboy is optimized for handling many connections in an asynchronous, non-blocking manner, but depending on the workload, it might not perform as well as other servers in single-threaded scenarios.
  • Enhanced Server Stability
    CloudLinux uses its lightweight virtualization technology (LVE) to isolate each tenant on a shared hosting server, preventing any single user from consuming excessive resources and crashing the server for everyone else. This ensures consistent uptime and performance.
  • Improved Security with HardenedPHP and KernelCare
    CloudLinux offers HardenedPHP, which patches old and unsupported PHP versions against known vulnerabilities, and KernelCare, which provides live kernel patching without requiring server reboots. These features significantly enhance server security posture.
  • Resource Limit Management
    Administrators can set granular resource limits (CPU, memory, I/O, number of processes, etc.) per user account using LVE Manager. This makes it easy to manage shared hosting environments and ensure fair resource distribution among tenants.
  • CageFS File System Virtualization
    CageFS creates a virtualized file system for each user, preventing them from seeing other users on the server, viewing sensitive configuration files, or exploiting server vulnerabilities. This adds an important layer of isolation and security.
  • Wide Compatibility with Hosting Panels
    CloudLinux integrates seamlessly with popular hosting control panels such as cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin, making it straightforward for hosting providers to adopt without overhauling their existing infrastructure or workflows.

Possible disadvantages

  • Additional Licensing Cost
    CloudLinux requires a paid monthly or annual license on top of the base server cost. For smaller hosting providers or individual server owners, this additional expense can add up and may not always be justifiable compared to free alternatives.
  • Limited to CentOS/RHEL-Based Systems
    CloudLinux is built on top of RHEL/CentOS and does not support other Linux distributions like Ubuntu or Debian. This limits its adoption for hosting providers who prefer or already run non-RHEL-based environments.
  • Learning Curve for Configuration
    While CloudLinux provides powerful resource management tools, properly configuring LVE limits, CageFS, PHP Selector, and other features requires a solid understanding of the platform. Misconfiguration can lead to users being unnecessarily restricted or resources being poorly allocated.
  • Potential Performance Overhead
    The additional layers of virtualization, resource monitoring, and file system isolation introduced by CloudLinux can impose a slight performance overhead on the server compared to running a bare, unmodified Linux distribution without these controls.
  • Dependency on CloudLinux Ecosystem
    Adopting CloudLinux means relying on their ecosystem for kernel updates, PHP patches, and security fixes. If the company experiences delays in releasing patches or changes its pricing/licensing model, hosting providers may find themselves locked into a dependency that is difficult to migrate away from.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Cowboy
CloudLinux

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Cowboy is considered a good web server.

Why this product is good

  • Cowboy is a small, fast, and modern HTTP server for Erlang/OTP. It is widely appreciated for its performance, low latency, and ability to handle a large number of concurrent connections efficiently. Cowboy adheres to standards, offering complete support for HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, and Websocket protocols. Developers often praise its reliability, robustness, and straightforward architecture.

Recommended for

    Cowboy is recommended for developers building Erlang-based systems who need a lightweight yet powerful web server. It's especially suitable for applications that require handling many simultaneous connections, such as real-time web applications. Its design makes it a solid choice for microservices architectures and projects that demand high performance and low resource consumption.

Overall verdict

  • CloudLinux is a well-regarded, mature Linux OS distribution and toolset specifically designed for shared hosting and multi-tenant server environments, offering strong isolation, resource management, and security features that make it a solid choice for hosting providers.

Why this product is good

  • Provides LVE (Lightweight Virtual Environment) technology for per-tenant resource isolation, preventing 'bad neighbor' effects on shared servers
  • Enhances server stability and security by isolating users so that one account's issues (crashes, resource spikes) don't affect others
  • Offers extended lifecycle support (longer than standard CentOS/RHEL support windows), which is valuable for legacy systems
  • Includes tools like CloudLinux OS Shield, Imunify360 integration, and hardened kernel options for improved security
  • Compatible with popular control panels like cPanel and Plesk, making it easy to integrate into existing hosting stacks
  • Backed by an established company with a long track record in the hosting industry and responsive support
  • Offers granular control over CPU, memory, I/O, and other resources per user account
  • Provides PHP Selector and multiple PHP version support, useful for hosting providers serving diverse client needs

Recommended for

  • Web hosting companies running shared or reseller hosting environments
  • Hosting providers needing to isolate customer accounts on the same physical server
  • Businesses requiring extended OS support lifecycles beyond standard RHEL/CentOS EOL dates
  • Enterprises using cPanel or Plesk that want tighter security and resource control
  • Hosting companies looking to reduce support tickets caused by noisy-neighbor resource contention
  • IT teams managing multi-tenant infrastructure who need governance and monitoring tools built into the OS layer

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Cowboy 6 videos + Add
CloudLinux 3 videos + Add

COWBOY 3 REVIEW: Why I shipped my Cowboy 3 e-bike back.

More videos

  • - COWBOY BIKE - Bad Bike from Belgium | E-BIKE REVIEW
  • - COWBOY, the electric bike TESLA or APPLE could have made: review
  • - COWBOY vs VELORETTI vs VANMOOF! Which bike should I chose?!?!
  • - NEW COWBOY REVIEW - Spin & Cash Generation Explained - TDS Badlands Update
  • - COWBOY 4 Review - Design E-Bike im großen Test

When To Use Cloudlinux On Your Virtual Private Server (VPS)

More videos

  • - CloudLinux OS+ in a minute: Explore Features
  • - How CloudLinux Plans to Keep CentOS 6 Alive

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Cowboy
CloudLinux
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Cowboy and CloudLinux. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Cowboy 6 mentions
CloudLinux 0 mentions
  • A First Look at the Phoenix Framework
    Plug is both a specification for composable modules between web applications and an abstraction layer for web servers (like Cowboy or Bandit. The core concept is a unified connection (the %Plug.Conn{} struct, similar to HttpContext in... - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Does the Heroku Ruby Stack use Log4j?
    According to the 'Server' response header, Cowboy is the customer facing web server Https://github.com/ninenines/cowboy. Source: almost 5 years ago
  • How to create an Erlang rebar3 release derivation with dependencies?
    ===> sh(git clone -n https://github.com/ninenines/cowboy .tmp_dir636214859401) Failed with return code 128 and the following output: Cloning into '.tmp_dir636214859401'... Fatal: unable to access 'https://github.com/ninenines/cowboy/':... Source: almost 5 years ago

View more

Tracking CloudLinux since Mar 2021.

Alternatives to Cowboy and CloudLinux

When comparing Cowboy and CloudLinux, you can also consider the following products.