Most people think of the Internet as something that exists only in a virtual world called cyberspace. While it's true that you can't exactly reach out and touch the Internet, the infrastructure that makes Internet access possible is very real and physical. For example, there are network operations centers at your local utility company. There are high speed data wires strung along poles and buried underground. There are satellites orbiting miles above the Earth. There are routers, switches, modems, gateways, access points, and other pieces of networking hardware. All this stuff is necessary to enable web browsing. And of course, to have something to browse, there must be web servers to host all the websites you love so much.
Web hosting as an industry was virtually nonexistent 20 years ago. It is now a multi billion dollar a year business, one that is growing despite a generally slow economy. The massive demand for web hosting services, spurred on by the growth of the Internet, has resulted in a lot of choices for the prospective customer. If you've arrived on this page chances are you're looking for more information about web hosting, specifically regarding Linux and Windows as they apply to web hosting servers. Indeed each web server needs an operating system, and there is much debate over which OS is superior. Below we will examine some of the respective benefits of Linux and Windows and determine which one is right for you.
First, an important note: the advancement of web hosting technology over the years has led to a widespread state of user-friendliness and general ease of use of these technologies. I point this out because unless you have particular technical requirements of your web server, the operating system that the server is running really won't have an effect on your experience as a webmaster. As an example, let's say you've purchased a domain to use as a Wordpress blog for your small business. All you plan on doing is installing Wordpress and making a few blog posts, nothing highly technical or customized. The fact is that you can do this on a web server running Linux just as well as on a server running Windows. If this is the case, don't worry about factoring the operating system in to your choice; just select a hosting plan that fits your budget and your needs.
The differences between a web server running Linux and one running Windows are technical, and apply to specific web design and coding concerns. Below are some of the primary concerns that would warrant choosing one over the other.
Benefits of Linux Hosting
Benefits of Windows Hosting
Again, unless your website's design or coding invokes one of the specific concerns listed above, the operating system on your chosen web hosting server is not worth worrying about. Furthermore, the developers of each of the respective operating systems are constantly working to make their software more competitive with the other. But if your website does use some of the specific design and coding functions listed above, you would do well to choose the recommended OS above. In addition, if you are highly familiar with one OS over the other, that would be a perfectly valid reason to choose it. Either way, be sure to check out our plans and find the one that's ideal for you.