Linux and Windows are two of the most popular platforms for web hosting needs, and any one with internet know how must be well aware of this fact.
While Linux is the older and more popular platform between the two, Windows web hosting is also gaining popularity because of some of its unique features.
One of the main reasons for Windows’ increasing popularity is the ignorance of non-technical people about Linux functionality and support; they simply assume that they need Windows based hosting just because their local computers are running on the Windows platform.
But this is not true.
You can still use Linux Web Hosting even if your local computers are not running on Linux.
And even if both platforms have excellent features to make them ideal as web hosting platforms, you simply can’t use both of them.
You have to choose only one of them.
Some of the factors that can affect your hosting decision are as follows:
1) The most important factor is cost. Windows is patented software and no one can use it without a license. This leads web‑hosting providers to look for other options. Linux easily comes to mind. Linux is not owned or patented by anyone. It is an open source operating system that can be used without paying any license fees, whereas Windows requires you to pay the fees for a number of user licenses. This makes Linux more affordable than Windows.
2) Functionality and support: Most of the commercial web pages as well as personal pages consist of some sort of scripting that makes them dynamic and more accurate. These active pages are written using one of the various scripting languages like PERL, ASP, ASP Dot Net, etc. Linux platform supports all scripting languages except those which are Microsoft patented like ASP and ASP Dot Net. On the other hand, Windows based platform supports all Microsoft products like Ms Access, Microsoft BackOffice products, Front Page, etc. It would therefore be a good idea to use Windows hosting if you are using Microsoft products.
3) Reliability and Speed: Linux is the oldest market leader in web hosting market, while the Windows platform is relatively new. Apart from age, Linux enjoys proven performance and reliability. Linux based server’s downtime is less than that of Windows based servers. Another reason to favor Linux is the easy and virtually free availability of Linux based site maintenance development tools like many PERL Scripts, extension patches including FrontPage extensions, etc. Windows based hosting, on the other hand, is still limited to a specific target group of Microsoft products.
Even today, if we compare the market share between these two, Linux is indisputably ahead. However, Windows is a household name and everyone who has been around computers have heard and used Windows. Linux is not as popular among beginners and it is still mainly considered as an OS only for advance users. But many serious webmasters still consider Linux to be the best choice for web serving needs.
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Jason P.
AccuWebHosting.Com
Linux vs. Windows Web Hosting Provider
