Linux vs. Windows web Hosting, does it make a difference? Video Proof
One of the most confusing decisions someone new to web
hosting will have to make is which platform their server should be on.
There are a number of different choices out there but the main two are
Linux and Windows web servers. There are also a lot of sources of
information about hosting, but the majority of them are tainted by the
author's biased personal opinion unfortunately confusing the issue.
Having just put in some solid hours researching the topic I have come to
the conclusion that in general it quite probably does not matter which
server you use. For the majority of people it will be far more important
to choose a really good web host than to worry about the server-type
that they implement.
Microsoft developed and owns the Windows operating
system. Linux is open source and generally free. This means it can often
be more expensive to set up and run a Windows server. However, this
fact doesn't really affect you unless you are actually setting up a
server for yourself and if you're reading this article then I'm guessing
that it's safe to assume you're not. This article is going to offer
information for those trying to decide which hosting company to go with.
The cost involved in running a server does not affect the cost of a
web-hosting package as much as you may think. Despite the general
opinion that Windows servers are more expensive to run, buying a Windows
hosting package can often turn out to be just as cheap or even cheaper
than an equivalent Linux hosting package.
Some people naturally assume that because their PC
runs Windows they need to buy a Windows hosting package. This isn't
true. Access to your web account will most likely be through FTP or a
control panel and both servers support these methods. The main
difference is that some of the FTP commands are slightly different
between Linux and Windows and some FTP programs will be designed with
one or the other in mind. This means you may occasionally find that when
you try and get your FTP program to do something it returns an error
message, but it won't happen very often.
Your choice of server platforms should be dictated by
the use to which you intend to put it. The majority of web features run
fine on both platforms including PHP, mySQL, POP3 etc. If you intend to
create your site using ASP, FrontPage, the .NET environment, Windows
Streaming Media, Access, MSSQL, or any of the other Microsoft
proprietary technologies then you probably need to use a Windows host.
There is limited support for a number of these technologies in Linux,
but they can be expensive and are usually lacking in features. It is
probably worth considering the fact that if you use server specific
technologies and then change hosts you'll have a much harder time of it
than if you use technologies that can be run on any system. Having it
run generic technologies removes the need to focus on specifics and
allows you to focus on the quality of service itself.
The reliability and stability of the different
platforms have been the topic of many long arguments. The main reason
that Windows is seen as being insecure is that it is the most widely
used operating system for home PC's. People spend more time looking for
flaws in the most common system. With Linux being the most common server
type, it has a surprising number of successful hack attempts made on
it. In the end the security of both platforms comes down to the
competency of the system administrators. If you are security minded then
you'll do better to make sure that the hosting company is reputable and
highly skilled than to worry about the server they use.
In terms of performance there's not a huge difference
between the two servers. Linux reportedly performs faster because
Windows (as usual) attempts to offer an 'all in one' package instead of
the extendable Linux implementation. You'll generally not notice a
difference but if performance is of utmost importance to you then maybe
this will influence your decision.
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