Linux hosting traces its birth from ‘Linux’, an open-source computer operating system based upon the concept of free software available to anyone to freely use, improve, modify and even redistribute. Windows hosting, on the other hand, relates to Windows operating system wherein the software is proprietary item of Microsoft.

Since being an open-source operating system, Linux hosting tends to be cheaper than Windows hosting. Besides, Linux hosting is considered as one of the main pillars of the LAMP server-software combination - Linux, Apache, MySQL and Php/Perl/Python. Popularity of Linux hosting among web developers can be judged from the fact that a great many open-source software have been created and are being continuously created for free use among discerning web enthusiasts. Whether one chooses Linux hosting or Windows hosting will to a great extent depend on what the webmaster proposes to do with his website. Here is a quick rundown of both Linux hosting and Windows hosting.

Linux Hosting

Linux hosting is a good choice if you consider that you have perpetual options of using open-source software for your hosting needs. Linux hosting would mean that the operating system is fully compatible with PHP, which is steadily becoming the most popular programming language.
It is important to remember that Linux is a breeding ground of practicing programmers all over the globe and innumerable applications are being authored, re-written and tested all the time. What this means in simple terms is Linux hosting will always keep the door open to let in fresh air of new discoveries. For an avid user, nothing beats Linux hosting in this aspect.

The other advantage with Linux hosting is that it is cheap. Why? Since most application software are free to install and use, the hosting cost is reduced to only maintenance of servers. Since proprietary software are not installed, many overhead expenses are avoided in case of Linux hosting. This enables hosting providers to pass on the cost-advantage to its customers of Linux hosting.

Here are some examples of popular open-source application software, mostly in PHP, that can be easily used in Linux hosting.

Ecommerce Shopping Cart : OS Commerce, Zen-Cart
Content Management System : Drupal, PHP-Nuke, Mambo
Blog : Wordpress, Nucleus CMS
Photo Gallery : 4Images, Coppermine

Windows Hosting

Windows hosting makes use of Microsoft’s proprietary Windows software for the host server. In contrast with Linux hosting, Windows hosting allows integration primarily with Microsoft’s own products and services. For example, if you plan dynamic web content, you have to use ASP (Active Server Pages) or the advanced ASP.NET as your programming language, both created by Microsoft to be linked to SQL databases.
Interestingly, if you choose MySQL as your database, you may opt for either Linux hosting or Windows hosting, but in case your choice for database is MS Access, your option is only Windows hosting.
Windows hosting has limited support for CGI / Perl, so if your favorite scripts are in Perl, it has to be Linux hosting for you. On the other hand, good news for FrontPage users is that though it is essentially a proprietary Microsoft-owned software application, many Linux hosting do support FrontPage extensions.

There is an argument that the user interface for Windows hosting is much simpler between the two. However, of late Linux hosting too has improved on this score.
Coming to cost analysis, Windows hosting is costly not only because of proprietary software, but also due to the fact that Windows servers as such are costly, compared to servers used for Linux hosting.

Summing Up

Glossing over, what emerges is that it is the purpose of your website and its future plan that are the determining factors between choosing Linux hosting and Windows hosting. To be sure, all serious hosting providers will, in varying combination, offer a choice of both Windows hosting and Linux hosting.

About the Author:Article by Josh - admin@hostingfrenzy.comJosh is the webmaster of www.hostingfrenzy.comVisit his site for a comprehensive web hosting directory, articles, tools, and much more.

Written by Josh.

First of all, some people are worried that they will not be able to use Linux hosting because they run Windows on their PCs. However, what operating system you run on your own PC is irrelevant to which web hosting environment you can use, because the latter is run remotely on a web server, where your website files will be uploaded.

Linux and Microsoft Windows are two different operating systems. Windows is a well-known household name and does not require much introduction. Linux is a new version of the Unix operating system. Both these operating systems make excellent environments for web hosting. However, there are some differences between them. To help you decide whether Linux or Windows hosting is better for you, we look at the following elements:

Cost

Linux is known as an “open source” operating system. i.e. there is no licensing fees to pay. Therefore, compared to Windows, Linux is very cheap. Starting with Windows XP, Microsoft has begun enforcing software activation. This means that a single copy of Windows can only be installed on one computer. With Linux, once you own a copy, you are free to install it as many times as you wish on any number of computers.

Reliability

Linux is reputed to be very stable and reliable. This means that a Linux server is much less likely to crash than a Windows server. Subsequently, a Linux server will mean more ‘up time’ for your website.

Experience

Linux has many more years of experience than Windows in hosting.

Speed

There is no real difference in speed between Linux and Windows, but Linux is slightly faster in processing basic web pages.

Functionality

Windows support ASP (Active Server Pages), a Microsoft programming/scripting language, which allows you to build dynamically database-driven web pages by connecting to a Microsoft database such as SQL Server or Access. Linux does not support ASP nor Microsoft databases, but uses MySQL database instead.

If you use Microsoft Frontpage to create your website, it doesn’t mean that you have to choose Windows hosting. All Linux accounts come free with Frontpage extensions, which allow you to upload your Frontpage website to your web space on a Linux server.

Scripts

There are many CGI programs available on the Internet. The majority of these are Perl scripts and have been developed on Linux / Unix web servers. So they tend to install more smoothly and operate more reliably on a Linux server. Moreover, many Perl scripts are downloadable from the Internet free of charge.

To summarise, most users find that Linux hosting is easier to use, more reliable, provides free, open source software and is much cheaper than Windows hosting. So unless you particularly need to use Windows specific features such as ASP and an Access database, it is probably a better choice to choose Linux over Windows. For more information on Linux hosting, visit .

Written by Matt Bacak.

If you would like to choose a web hosting you might ask, “Windows or Linux?” This should be an easy question to answer, but it needs quite a lot of considerations. In this article I will help you to comprehend when to use Windows or Linux hosting by giving you the differences on both of them. Hopefully by reading this article, you will never be confused again to choose a Windows or Linux hosting.

Price of server software

Linux server is a lot affordable than Windows server. This is because Linux is based on GNU license which is free to use, and Windows has commercial license. The Linux hosting providers do not need to pay the software. This is the key reason why Linux hosting is a lot cheaper than Windows hosting. Server’s History

From the very beginning of internet, Unix has been the one and the only option for server. Starting from data server to internet server, most of the people around the world use Unix. Then, what it has to do with Linux?

Linux is the “successor” of Unix. It has all the capability of Unix combined with a user friendly graphics for end user. Windows is not very famous on server history. Only starting from Windows NT, Windows has emerged to the server world.

Even until the moment this article is written, when some people are asked they will directly answer that Linux is more appropriate than Windows for server without thinking.

Programming Language

If you are designing a static website, you will need no programming language except HTML. HTML is offered on both Linux and Windows hosting. JavaScript is also available on both hosting.

However, if you or the one you hire is planning to make a dynamic website, you will need to consider the programming language capability. Those who use Windows hosting normally need ASP or ASP.NET support. Those who use Linux hosting normally need PHP, Perl, or Python support.

This is not a hard fact because Windows hosting may have sufficient support for PHP language. You have to ask your programmer and your hosting company to make this matter clear.

Web Hosting Competition

Linux hosting providers are numerous around the world. The number of Windows hosting providers is smaller if you compare them with Linux hosting provider. This numerous providers of Linux hosting will generate competition between themselves. This is good because you will get the cheapest price available.

Intranet and Internet integration

Some companies need to mix their internal offline data with the ones in the internet. For example is the banking industry. Normally this can be done seamlessly with ASP.NET. Therefore, the need of Windows hosting.

E-preneur support

Whether you are presently starting an online business or have been the heavy hitter, you will find that many free but good quality software and scripts offered out there is in PHP or Perl. Take for example the famous BLOG script WordPress, it is written in PHP. Sometimes you can even have the resell rights for the software. If you are using Windows hosting you will definitely lose this benefit.

Summary

If you are just starting out, always seek to have a Linux hosting as the first option in your mind. Cheaper price may be the major reason behind this. Why should you pay more for all the features that you do not require? If you are going to integrate intranet and internet data of your company and you really need the ASP.NET then, choose Windows hosting. Normal dynamic pages can be built using PHP or Perl. You have to change your programmer if he/she insists on using Windows hosting with no exact reason. Again, always try to have a Linux hosting as the first option in your mind. After all, abundant choices of Linux hosting allow you to shop around for the best price.

Written by Sumanto M Chayadi.