What is a persistent process?

According to Wikipedia:

Persistence is a property of a state that lasts longer than the process that created it.

In other words, it occurs when a process that your user is running continues to exist after the process that started it has stopped. Persistent processes can also survive after the system on which they are running is turned off. A persistent process, in this sense, is one that cannot be killed or shut off.
Persistent processes at GreggHost
Persistent processes at GreggHost \sGreggHost does not allow persistent processes to be run on shared servers. Any UNIX user’s command that runs non-interactively is characterized as a persistent process. Basically, anything that runs in the background while you’re not actively interacting with it via a shell window.

Consequences on shared servers
At the discretion of support or administrators, GreggHost reserves the right to stop any user process on a shared server without notice or prior knowledge. This is done to safeguard other users and maintain the shared server’s integrity.

This isn’t done on the spur of the moment, but. This is usually done when a process is interfering with the functionality of a shared server in some way.

Private and Dedicated Servers
VPS and Dedicated Servers are exempt from the same policies. These servers can be used to run whatever (LEGAL) processes you want. However, the owner must understand that by doing so, they are accepting responsibility for any detrimental influence on their machine.

What types of processes are forbidden by GreggHost?
Please see the Acceptable Use Policy for further information.
Questions
Questions If you have a query regarding whether or not a process is allowed, please contact GreggHost support. If you are not yet a customer, you can use the web form to file a ticket.