Linux vs. Windows Web Hosting, does it make a difference?
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.
I've come to the conclusion that unless you are specifically using
features that are unique to one platform or another your time will be
much better spent looking for a really good quality host than a really
good quality server. Developers are constantly improving both Linux and
Windows so they should be fairly close in terms of features, security,
and reliability for a long time. It's the people implementing them that
you should be basing your decision on.Author:
Daniel Punch
M6.Net Web Helpers
http://www.m6.net
Daniel Punch is a writer working at M6.Net: 'The web-hosting company
for humans.' M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the
power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share
their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime Terms:Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
Source: www.articledepot.co.uk
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