UNIX vs. Windows by: Jason
So, your ready to pick a web host for your site. You
need the site to be fast, effective and you want
administrating the server, or hosting account to be easy
and even, dare we say it, fun! You have to decide if
your going to get a server, or hosting account on a
Microsoft Windows (NT, 2000 or XP) server or a UNIX
(Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, etc...) server.
The first thing you should consider when making this
decision is if you are looking for stability, or easy of
use. This, unfortunately, is one of the trade offs you
sometimes are forced to take when making this decision.
UNIX based servers are primarily superior in the up time
and stability departments than their Windows based
counterparts. On the other hand, while they may need to
be rebooted more often, Windows servers are much easier
to administer and use.
With the stability and security of UNIX in mind, some
of the cons of the OS are that it is daunting for new
users to understand. UNIX utilizes a command line
interface for administration. This interface, which is
similar to the original MS-DOS interface, can be
difficult to understand to a novice. In addition, in
order to maintain a stable UNIX machine, one must update
the kernel and software regularly, a process which is
significantly more difficult than its Windows
counterpart task.
Once you have decided if you feel you are capable of
administering a UNIX server, or would prefer the ease of
use of a Windows server, take the next step and decide
how you want your site to be structured. Will you be
using scripting? If so what kind? For example, if you
will be using a dynamic site, and decide that you want
to go Perl as your language of choice then UNIX should
be your operating system of choice. This holds true for
languages such as PHP, and Pythlon also. On the other
hand, if you choose to go for an ASP based site then you
should choose Windows. Choosing the native platform over
a cloned interpreter is always the wiser move (some UNIX
systems can run ASP scripts, and vice-versa however the
quality of the script execution can be lesser.)
Keep in mind that if you choose a Windows-based web
server (this does not apply to hosting accounts as the
host should take care of it for you) you will need to
update the software with security patches from
Microsoft's web site almost weekly to prevent your site
from being exploited. UNIX administrators will only have
to do so monthly or so as UNIX is more secure by nature,
and needs fewer patches and software updates.
In the end, if you do everything just right, a UNIX
hosted web site and a Windows hosted web site will
function relatively equally, and both should keep you
happy... Be sure to keep operating costs and maintained
in mind when making your decision and you won't regret
it.
* Find a UNIX Host * Find a Windows
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