Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

December 17, 2010

The Advantages of Linux and Windows Hosting

Choosing the right web hosting plan for your future online endeavors can be challenging. One of the basic fundamental decisions that all webmasters have to make before choosing a plan is whether they want Windows or Linux web hosting. Although some of the differences between the two are obvious (like price), to the untrained eye the two services can appear to be indistinguishable because both types come with equal server resources.

When choosing an operating system for your web server, the most important aspect to consider is personal preference, as the ultimately will be the sole contributor to your decision. Rather than list the pros and cons of these hosting types, it may be more effective to describe some of the advantages of both Linux and Windows to give you an idea of which would be more suitable for your hosting requirements.

Linux Hosting  Advantages

The main advantages that Linux has over Windows is the fact that the operating system is open source, and therefore can be developed upon by anyone with the skills to do so. This makes Linux a more flexible and easily fixable solution in comparison to Windows (which depends on Microsoft for expansion and bug fixes). Another advantage that Linux boasts is its potential compatibility with Windows, as Linux created web sites can easily be converted to Windows web sites seamlessly.

Linux is also compatible with virtualization software, which even lets the user install Windows within the Linux operating system. The Linux operating system is completely free, which makes Linux a much cheaper solution than Windows hosting. Linux hosting is the most cost effective and reliable solution for webmasters that utilize PHP, MySQL, or Perl scripting languages and programming platforms. The Linux operating system is thought to be more secure than Windows by some industry experts as well.

Windows Hosting Advantages

Windows web hosting is mainly used by individuals that are currently using a Microsoft based programming language or web applications. For example, .NET technologies like ASP.NET and VB.NET must be utilized within the Windows operating system. For large businesses, the MSSQL database for Windows is ideal, however there are other alternatives for Linux as well. Microsoft Access databases are also only available within a Windows hosting plan. Microsoft Sharepoint and Microsoft Exchange Point are two other commonly used web applications that require Windows hosting. In basic terms. Windows hosting is perfect for people that are used t using the Windows platform, or that currently have online businesses that depend upon the Windows platform to operate smoothly.

Conclusion

Most industry professionals conclude that small businesses and personal web site owners should consider Linux because of its low cost and high reliability. Windows web hosting on the other hand is ideal for businesses that need to take advantage of all of the aforementioned Microsoft web applications. Linux hosting is cheaper than Windows hosting, and is offered by more hosting companies than Windows. This is because hosting providers know that there is an higher demand for Linux hosting than for Windows, even though Windows is the more popular operating system.

Tags: Windows hosting,  Linux hosting,  choosing hosting,  operating system,  web server,  open source operating system,  virtualization software,  .net,  asp.net