Linux Vs. Windows - A Comparative Analysis Based On OS And Web Hosting

Both Linux and Windows have their own pros and cons. But when you have to choose one among the two, an in-depth analysis is required. To find out which among the two is the front runner, read on.

A web host provider provides the user a successful web presence. The operating system you use doesn’t decide the web hosting service you should pick. For example, if you are using windows operating system, it doesn’t mean you have to go for windows web hosting. You can choose any web hosting service among the various services provided.

Windows web hosting is a hosting solution developed by Microsoft that allows all Microsoft applications to integrate easily and efficiently. Windows serves as the base platform for those users who wish to create dynamic websites using ASP.NET framework. Smooth integration, application compatibility, single point of control and high level of security are some of its striking features.

Linux is a popular operating system on the web as it is cheap to install and easy to get started. Linux web hosting is found to be a stable, efficient and reliable system commonly used by web and mail servers. Linux is the best bet if you use PHP, Perl or MySQL. Comparing the two web hosting services from a broader perspective can help us pick one among the two.

Both windows and Linux offer FTP access to your files, but Linux uses Telnet and SSH access as well. Telnet and SSH helps you open a window directly on the server and manipulate files right there with simple UNIX commands.

You require a database to run dynamically driven web sites. The two most popular databases are MySQL and Access. MySQL runs only on Linux while Access runs only on windows. Linux operating systems are very stable and web site housed on this platform will have very high up-time. Linux provides low cost of ownership when compared with windows operating system.

A web site designed to be hosted on a Linux based web server can also be hosted on a windows based web server, whereas the reverse isn’t possible. The process of hosting and uploading is the same for both the cases. It is really difficult to pick the best web hosting service among the two.