Web Hosting : Linux vs. Windows  

use to do the kind of things that web servers do. You do not

need to know any real detail of either to make a decision as to

which you need but here a few guidelines.

Just because you use a windows desktop PC doesn't mean you have

to opt for Windows web hosting (and the reverse is true as

well). The operating system you use on your desktop has little

to do with your choice of web hosts. As long as you understand

how to use your FTP or web publishing software, your can use

either operating system.

But what is important is that you know what you want your

website to do and what you want to offer on it. This is what

will ultimately help determine the type of web hosting that will

work best for you. As mentioned earlier, interactive websites

usually rely on ASP, PHP, or Perl type languages.

Linux Web Hosting or Windows 2000 Web Hosting ? Make your Choice

!

When it comes to Web hosting, Linux has, for some time, been

widely considered the best OS for Web servers. It's typically

found to be the most reliable, stable and efficient system and,

as such, it's commonly used for the demanding environment of Web

and mail servers. Indeed,Most of the clients websites of aalpha

NET runs on the Linux OS precisely because of this traditional

stability.

The million-dollar question is what application are you looking

to use for your hosting? Consider the tools and scripting

languages you plan to use - if you use PHP, Perl or MySQL, Linux

is the way forward. If apps are Microsoft-specific, then Windows

is what you need.

If your site, like most web sites, is what might be termed

"brochure-ware" then Linux servers are ideal. By brochure-ware I

mean a site that offers the kind of information that in the past

might have been provided on paper in the form of brochures,

newsletters or data sheets. Brochure-ware sites will offer some

interaction through enquiry forms and can certainly incorporate

online purchasing and other routine e-commerce functions.

If however your site incorporates an online searchable database

or interactive chat facilities then Windows 2000 or NT will be a

better bet in most cases. It will cost a bit more but you'll get

that back in reduced development time and simply better

functionality.

The following are the advantages of using Linux based web server

compared to Windows based web server :

Stable: Linux/Unix operating systems has traditionally been

believed to be very stable and robust. A web site housed on a

Linux operating system will have very high up-time (of the order

of 99.9%). Of course, other factors such as power supply,

network admin skills, and network load etc. also matter when it

comes to maintaining the system uptime.

Low cost of ownership: The Linux OS comes free of cost (or at

very insignificant cost, usually cost of distribution). Also, it

has full fledged server, and desk top applications that comes

free along with the OS. These server applications (such as FTP,

Web Server, DNS Server, File Server etc.) being free, are also

very stable.

Ease of use : When it comes to web hosting, it is easy to host

on Linux web servers. The process of uploading and hosting is

almost same for both Linux and Windows web servers. If you want

to use a Windows based tool such as Front Page for uploading a

web site on to a Linux based web server, make sure that the

Front Page extensions are enabled. This is only required if you

are uploading using HTTP feature (http://www.yourwebsite.com) of

Front Page. Front Page also makes it possible to upload a web

site using FTP. You need to select ftp://www.yourwebsite.com for

up loading using front page FTP option. Note that if you select

"Front Page Extensions" during web site design, you must enable

Front Page extensions on a Linux web server also. These days,

all Linux web servers are coming with installable Front Page

extensions, and this should pose no problem for hosting on a

Linux platform.

You can use almost all types of file extensions (or scripts)

when using Linux web server. Commonly, the following extensions

are supported: .cgi, .html, .htm, .pl, .php, .shtml, .xml, and

others. Basically it means that you can host web sites that use

different types of server side scripts including .cgi, .pl,

..php, and .asp (with plug-in).

Easy to move between hosts : A web site designed to be hosted on

a Linux based web server can be hosted on a Windows web server

easily, where as the reverse is not always true.

Most widely used : Linux/Unix based web hosting is most widely

used compared to Windows based web hosting.

Scalability : A web site is dynamic. Usually, a web site starts

with a few pages of html and grows over a period of time to suit

the customers requirements. It is preferable to design a web

site keeping this requirements in mind. A web site designed for

compatibility with a Linux/Unix based web server meets the

scalability requirement easily without making any site wide

design changes.

On the downside, Linux based web server is not fully compatible

with Microsoft technologies. If you are using any specialized

applications or VB for development of your web site, it is

preferable to host with a Windows based web server.

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