Linux Servers vs Windows Servers in Web Hosting

There are several operating systems for server web hosting like Linux and windows. Linux is the system that run the servers, it is one of the most popular operating solution on the web, because it is so cheap to install and running. Windows is another popular for hosting solution due to the great support. Generally, both of them are common and available for many reasons.

One of the differences is that; it is clearly observe in operating systems to how you access the server. Windows and Linux offer FTP acess to your files, but Linux offer telnet or SSH access, it is possible to set up telnet access on Windows. Windows and Linux serve HTML pages and JavaScript. Windows servers use files (*.htm), Linux servers use files named (*.html), there is no difference between the names, it is what you like. CGI and Perl are run on Windows and Linux servers, but it is more on Linux. There are many hosting systems offer PHP, ASP and ColdFusion. PHP is found on Linux systems, while ASP is on Windows. ColdFusion can be found on both of them.

When Running a dynamically driven Web site, you need a database either mySQL or Access. mySQL runs on both Linux and Windows, but more often on Linux. Access is only for Windows. Many people think that Windows has vulnerabilities rather than Linux. In reality, both have security problems. Security is very important for servers hosting administration than at the operating system. If you have good administrators, your server will be secured regardless the operating systems.

Linux is free, Windows is not, for desktop or home use, Linux is very cheap or free, and Windows is expensive. For server use, Linux is very cheap compared to Windows. Microsoft allows a single copy of Windows to be used on only one computer.

Starting with Windows XP, they use software to enforce this rule (Windows Product Activation at first, later Genuine Windows). In contrast, once you have purchased Linux, you can run it on any number of computers for no additional charge. Linux is customizable in a way that Windows is not. So when choosing a web hosting provider, it is more recommend to choose a webhost server more than the operating system that is running behind.

Good post, one of the most confusing decisions someone new to web hosting will have to make is which platform their server should be on. The main reason that Windows is seen as being insecure is that it is the most widely used operating system for home PC's. 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.