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Windows Hosting versus Linux Hosting - Which
is right for you?
There are literally hundreds of thousands of
web hosting companies out there. Many of
these companies offer both Windows hosting
and Linux hosting plans. Windows plans
usually cost more because of the license
costs imposed by Microsoft. Knowing this,
how can you know when you need Windows
hosting and when Linux hosting will work
just as well or better? Keep reading to find
out.
Windows operating systems are found on
something like 95% of all personal computers
in the world. With such a total dominance,
Microsoft Windows is top of mind to most new
people looking for web hosting.
In the web server world though, Windows
based servers are behind less than 20% of
all websites on the internet. This is
according to the latest web server survey
from securityspace.com. By choosing a Linux
hosting plan, you will find yourself in good
company.
When do you have to use Windows Hosting?
1. .NET technologies including ASP.net are
not available on Linux platforms. If you
have a website built with Microsoft .NET
technologies you will have to choose a
Windows hosting plan. In fact, if you need
ASP without .NET features, most Linux
hosting plans do not offer support for it.
2. Access Databases are only available with
a Windows hosting plan. Access runs on a
Microsoft Windows platform and cannot run on
a Linux Operating system.
3. MSSQL is an enterprise class database put
out by Microsoft. If you need an enterprise
class database there are some alternatives
that run on a Linux platform but if you need
Microsoft's MSSQL database, a Windows
hosting plan will have to be your choice.
4. If you are using Microsoft's Sharepoint
services like some of the Sharepoint
features found in Frontpage 2003, a Windows
Hosting plan is your only choice.
What is the advantage to choosing Linux
Hosting?
All the major services you need to run an
enterprise class website are available on
Linux based systems for free. Linux, Apache,
MySQL and PHP are being used together to
provide the infrastructure behind some of
the most traffic intensive sites on the
internet.
PHP runs better on a Linux server than on a
Windows server. Having said that, unless you
are putting a heavy load on your PHP
scripts, this will not be noticable.
In general, Linux hosting plans are at least
20% cheaper than Windows hosting plans. If
you don't need any of the features mentioned
above, Linux hosting is a fine choice for
your needs.
For Microsoft specific technologies, Windows
hosting plans are usually your best bet. For
everthing else, Linux hosting plans will
usually do quite well. With the cost savings
usually found with Linux hosting plans,
Linux hosting is usually the right choice
for you.
This article was written by Joe Duchesne,
president of
http://www.yowling.com/, a web
hosting company that offers Linux Hosting
plans. Copyright 2004 Yowling. Reprint
Freely as long as you provide a clickable
link back to my website from this resource
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