Article Written By: Eric Corley
One of the challenges in making decisions on issues that relate to technology is having too much information. Myths and irrelevant information abound and these do not serve to help anyone. This is so even for those who are sourcing operating systems for their web hosting. One of these myths is that your operating system for hosting needs to be the same as the one you use on your computer. This is not true and serves as an example of the abundant falsehoods of this debate. Those who are for Linux have their reasons why they consider it the best while Windows too has its followers. There are situations to use or not use either of these systems as per their strengths. We shall try and do an impartial assessment of these two and try to establish where to apply either of these and why. The choice is especially difficult for those who are looking for business web hosting because their decision will not only have an impact as a cost but it will also have revenue implications. As with all other resources, your choice must always be guided by need. The website you want to host will be a significant factor that influences you choice. If your website is basic, small and is not commercial, then Linux hosting will be best for you. Cost is the main consideration here. The interesting thing is that on the other extreme end where you want to host a website that will run a high number of processes and also have high traffic, Linux is again the preferred choice. Linux is also preferred by advanced users or those who are sourcing their services from a managed dedicated server host service provider. For beginners, Windows hosting is the preferred choice. Its friendly user interface is one of the main reasons it is preferred. Windows servers will also readily work with Microsoft products. The cost of Windows hosting is however one of it's main disadvantages. Apart from buying the operating system, users must also be prepared to pay for all the additional software needed. Your choice of programming application for developing your website could also see you tied to either of these OS. Microsoft applications such as ASP will tie you down to using Windows hosting. There are however other applications such as PHP which are applicable to both Windows and Linux hosting. With a competent administrator you can host on either of these systems without compromising performance. Since Linux offers better stability even with heavier loading, it is the first choice for websites that are high on traffic. A Linux dedicated server host will cost much less as compared to a similar one that is running Windows. Your hosting needs will in some situations not be fully met by running Linux. Windows will be the best choice for you in such situations.
This Article Has Been Published on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 and Read 110 Times