Linux Web Hosting vs. Microsoft Web Hosting

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Linux	Windows
Which server is right for you?

We are often asked which hosting platform one should choose, Unix/Linux or Windows®2003 Server. Below, we have listed the major differences between the two that you should consider in making your final decision. In the process, we have also tried to dispel any common misconceptions regarding these platforms.

Before reading all the details, we will summarize the issue for you in the beginning...

It doesn't matter what Operating System you use on your own computer and it won't matter that your operating system is different than your server
With the web-based Control Panel (Ensim), both Linux and MS are point and click
Linux is the Industry Standard
Linux is superior with regards to security
Linux is less expensive
If you are using other Microsoft products such as ASP, MS SQL, MS Access, etc, for your website, then the Windows platform would better suit you.

Important: One of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to run UNIX on your own computer in order for you to host your site on UNIX platform or you need to have Windows 2003 Server to use a Windows 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 a Windows operating system on your computer, you can still choose UNIX.

Operating System	Unix/Linux	Windows 2003
Key Features
Ease of Use	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑
Reliability	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑	☑ ☑ ☑
Speed	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑
Functionality	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑
Price	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑	☑ ☑ ☑
Integration with Microsoft Technologies	☑ ☑	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑
Free/Open Source Software	☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑	☑

Ease of use:
Over the years, many resources have been poured into both UNIX and Windows®2003 Server platforms to make hosting as easy as possible. Today, there are no real differences in terms of ease of use between these platforms. If you are an advanced user who prefers to work in shell environment, then UNIX is your choice. However, if you are a beginner, or using Microsoft technologies/interfaces you will find Windows a much better choice. MonsterDNS's Control Panel allows easy management of both systems.

Reliability:
The industry consensus is that UNIX is considerably more reliable. However, MonsterDNS has made sure that the reliability of the Windows®2003 Server platform closely matches that of UNIX's. What this means is that you can make your decision based on the differences in features rather than on reliability.

Speed:
There is no real difference in terms of speed between the two platforms. However Unix is slightly faster processing basic web page data.

Functionality:
This is where two platforms differ the most. There isn’t much that can be achieved in one platform that can’t be on the other. The main difference is how the end is achieved. For example, if you need a database driven web site, you can choose either PHP/MySQL combination under UNIX or ASP/MS SQL combination under Windows®2003 Server. The trend is for solutions to be supported in both platforms. For example, Microsoft FrontPage, one of the most popular web site editors out there, is supported on both UNIX and Windows®2003 Server. Please see below for the list of supported features.

Price:
Here, UNIX holds a slight edge due to the fact that most of the software licenses are free and that it is easier to maintain UNIX servers than Windows®2003 Server servers for the same level of reliability and performance. Unless you specifically plan to use Windows®2003 Server platform specific features (see below), it probably makes sense to choose the UNIX platform.

Supported Features
Features	Unix/Linux	Windows 2003
MS FrontPage	☑	☑
Flash	☑	☑
Shockwave	☑	☑
RealAudio/Video	☑	☑
Cgi-script	☑	☑
Perl	☑	☑
PHP	☑	☑
SSH (Secure Telnet)	☑
MySQL	☑
Miva	☑
ASP (Active Server Pages)		☑
MS Access		☑
MS SQL		☑
Visual Basic Scripts		☑
Windows Media		☑