Software Alternatives & Startups

ufw VS CloudLinux

Compare ufw VS CloudLinux and see what are their differences

ufw

Ufw stands for Uncomplicated Firewall, and is program for managing a netfilter firewall.

Rating
0 reviews
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, ufw seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 5 times since March 2021.

social mentions
5 vs 0
Firewall popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

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

ufw
CloudLinux
Website launchpad.net cloudlinux.com
Pricing —
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

ufw 5 features
CloudLinux 5 features
  • User-Friendly Interface
    UFW provides a straightforward, command-line-based interface that simplifies the process of managing firewall rules for less experienced users and administrators.
  • Ease of Configuration
    UFW offers an uncomplicated method to set up and maintain firewall rules, making the process accessible and efficient for users.
  • Pre-configured Profiles
    It comes with pre-defined application profiles for many common services, allowing users to enable or disable services with ease.
  • Integration with GUIs
    UFW integrates well with graphical user interfaces like GUFW, offering a convenient option for users who prefer a GUI-based management.
  • IPv6 Support
    UFW supports IPv6, enabling users to manage both IPv4 and IPv6 firewall rules seamlessly.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Advanced Features
    UFW is designed for simplicity, which means it lacks some advanced features and granular control available in other firewall tools like iptables or firewalld.
  • Less Control over Stateful Filtering
    While UFW simplifies stateful filtering, it offers less detailed control over stateful inspection compared to directly using iptables.
  • Potential Performance Overhead
    For very high-performance and high-security environments, directly managing iptables rules might provide better performance and tighter security control.
  • Limited Logging and Monitoring
    UFW provides basic logging capabilities, but users seeking extensive monitoring and logging features might find it lacking compared to more advanced solutions.
  • 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.

ufw
CloudLinux

Overall verdict

  • UFW is generally regarded as a good and reliable tool for managing firewalls, especially for users who prefer simplicity and ease of use over the full control provided by iptables. It is well-suited for regular users who need basic firewall functionality without delving into complex command-line operations.

Why this product is good

  • UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is a front-end for iptables, designed to simplify the process of setting up and managing a firewall on Linux systems. It's good because it provides a user-friendly way to handle firewall rules, making it accessible even for those who are not extremely technical. The tool offers an easy interface for basic firewall configurations, allowing for quick enabling and disabling of firewall rules, logging, and managing incoming and outgoing connections.

Recommended for

    UFW is recommended for Linux users, especially beginners or those who prefer a straightforward approach to managing firewall settings. It's ideal for personal users, small businesses, or anyone running Ubuntu or Debian-based systems who need a simple tool to enhance their network security without extensive configuration.

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.

ufw 2 videos + Add
CloudLinux 3 videos + Add

Linux Security - UFW Complete Guide (Uncomplicated Firewall)

More videos

  • - UFW Firewall (Uncomplicated Firewall) - Complete Tutorial

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
ufw
CloudLinux
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

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

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

ufw no reviews yet
CloudLinux no reviews yet

We have no reviews of CloudLinux yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

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

ufw 5 mentions
CloudLinux 0 mentions
  • Securing a linux server.
    You will now install Uncomplicated Firewall.. If you don't want ot add ufw you could follow this post and use IPTables This will only allow traffic on the ports you open. In your original terminal run the following commands. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Cannot install gufw in fedora37
    You may already know this, but gufw is simply a graphical front-end to the Uncomplicated Firewall (ufw) service. Fedora uses the Firewalld back-end service instead of ufw. I believe you would need to replace Firewalld with ufw entirely... Source: over 3 years ago
  • ufw --help is very bad
    I just started using ufw https://launchpad.net/ufw and I found that it only shows --help for the root command. Source: about 5 years ago

View more

Tracking CloudLinux since Mar 2021.

Alternatives to ufw and CloudLinux

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