Comparison of Linux and Windows web hosting

When come to web hosting, I’m sure lots of people will suffer on making this decision on choosing which web hosting to purchase. There are also a lot of sources of information about hosting, but the majority of them are tainted by the author’s biased personal opinion unfortunately confusing the issue. Having just put in some solid hours researching the topic I have come to the conclusion that in general it quite probably does not matter which server you use. For the majority of people it will be far more important to choose a really good web host than to worry about the server-type that they implement. Below is some general web hosting available in the market currently which use by most people or business.

• Linux
  Linux is one of the more popular operating systems on the Web, mostly because it is so cheap to install and get up and running.
• Macintosh
  Macintosh hosting servers are very uncommon. In fact, if you want to host your site on a Macintosh server, you’ll probably have to look into hosting it yourself.
• Unix
  Unix is very similar to Linux, but not as common on Web hosting services, usually because it is more expensive and the hardware is more specific.
• Windows
  Windows is another popular operating system for Web hosting providers because it has a lot of support.

But what we discuss here is major on Linux and Windows operation system which probably confuse the users on choosing it. Below is some comparison among Linux and Windows:

Platform
Ease of Use
Reliability
Speed
Functionality
Price
Integrated with both Solutions
Free / Open Source Software

Ease of use
Actually there wasn’t much difference between the ease of use for Linux and Windows operation system. Both provide user friendly interface and as well as a convenient control panel for your file management purposes. If you are a advanced user who prefers to work in a shell environment, then Linux is your choice. If you are a beginner, both operating system is ok for you as well.

Reliability
Most industries consensus that Linux is more reliable due to its well performance of software, stability of operating system which won’t down easily compare to windows operating system.

Speed
Actually there is no much difference in terms on speed for the operating system if both are using interface operating. But if Linux is using text-based operating, it will reduce large amount of usage on RAM and decrease of process delay in the system. But i think not many users is going to use text-base in terms of graphical operating system for their hosting management.

Functionality
This spec is where two platforms having difference the most. There isn’t much that can be apply in one platform that can’t be on the other one. The main difference is depends on the requirement from a user. For example, if you need a database to drive your website, you can choose either PHP/MySQL combination under Linux or ASP/MS SQL combination under Windows operating system. Beside that, there are more differences between both platform, look for the supported features below for more related information.

Price
Linux would probably be the winner in price and expenses spend on the operating system because Linux operating system is an open source platform which consist of zero expenses for setting up and run it compare to window’s operating system which having the same level of reliability and performance. I probably encourage you to choose Linux instead of Windows operating system unless you require others unique features.

Supported Features

I think you had gain some ideas for yourself on choosing web hosting from the reseller and provider. Plan before purchase according on your needs, but i always suggest and encourage to purchase Linux operating system platform web hosting for your website if you didn’t use ASP base website.

Another important thing to bare in mind:
One of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to run Linux on your own computer in order for you to host your site on Linux platform. That is not true! Which operating system you run on your computer is irrelevant in making your decision. This means that if you are running Windows XP or Windows Vista on your computer, you can still choose Linux to host your website.