Linux vs. Windows web Hosting, does it make a difference?
by Daniel Punch
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.
About the 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.
