Linux Hosting vs Windows Hosting

When hosting an online application or website on a VPS or dedicated server, most cloud providers offer users the choice to pick their preferred operating system (OS) on top of other hosting products. The 2 hottest selections are Windows and Linux. While Linux is more widely used, there are situations for which Windows is best suited.

This text provides a comprehensive overview of all the pieces it’s worthwhile to consider before making a choice when comparing Linux Hosting vs Windows Hosting. 

Linux Hosting involves hosting web sites or web applications on a server running the Linux operating system. Linux is the preferred server operating system, with a market share of over 70%. It’s an open-source OS, so that you won’t need a license to put in it in your servers. That is certainly one of the explanation why it’s more popular than Windows.

The Linux server OS is normally used to run web sites and apps which are built using languages like PHP and Perl and databases similar to PostgreSQL, MariaDB, and IBM Db2, to call just just a few. There are many other language and database options to select from if you happen to install Linux in your server.

Just like the desktop version of Linux, the server version also has several distros (distributions) that users can select from. The favored Linux distros for servers include the next;

• AlmaLinux
• Ubuntu
• CentOS
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)
• Debian

Windows Hosting refers to hosting an internet site or web application on a server running the server version of the Windows operating system. Unlike Linux, Windows shouldn’t be open source. It’s a server OS built and supported by Microsoft. 

Selecting between these editions largely relies on the features you would like and your budget for hosting. The DataCenter version has all of the features Microsoft offers, and it’s the perfect selection for big organizations with relatively big data centers. Most notably, it offers the flexibility to create virtual machines (VMs).

These are a number of the advantages of selecting Linux as your server OS:

Linux is an open-source server operating system, and anyone can install it on their server free of charge. This makes it the perfect alternative for small businesses and startups that is probably not able to pay the monthly fees for a server operating system.

Since Linux is the preferred OS, it has far more community support than other server operating systems. The big community support of Linux turns out to be useful once you face challenges in the course of the installation or management of your server. Most server OS-related questions on platforms like Stack Overflow and Quora are frequently about Linux hosting. It is usually easy to seek out free YouTube tutorials and courses for Linux Hosting.

By design, Linux is a way more secure operating system than Windows. One in every of the design selections that make Linux safer is the way in which it handles user permissions. Linux doesn’t process executable files without permission from the user. The server admin must input their password before any application is installed on their server. Consequently, hackers must use sophisticated social engineering techniques to trick the admin into installing malware on their server.

Through the years, Linux servers have been known for his or her reliability and stability. Linux servers are less liable to random crushes and downtime when put next to Windows and other server operating systems.

One other advantage of using Linux hosting is that Linux Servers are highly scalable, allowing developers to simply beef up the server’s resources as their website or web application grows.

Linux is compatible with more software and technologies than Windows and other server operating systems. Such technologies include control panels; scripting languages similar to Perl and PHP; and databases similar to PostgreSQL, MariaDB, IBM Db2, and Oracle Database. 

In case you don’t need to face issues with software compatibility, Linux hosting needs to be your selection.

Windows is the preferred desktop operating system, so most individuals are acquainted with it. For the on a regular basis one who uses a Windows machine, installing Windows on their server could make their life much easier. They will start doing things instantly without having to undergo any learning process.

Linux servers are also mainly controlled using commands, whereas Windows servers have a graphical user interface (GUI) that’s way more intuitive and easier to make use of. In case you don’t need to undergo the trouble of learning Linux commands, then go for Windows hosting.

If the web site or app you propose to host relies on Microsoft technologies, similar to ASP.NET, MSSQL, and Visual Basic, Windows hosting is all the time the perfect selection. A few of these technologies will not be supported on Linux machines. 

Windows servers also integrate with other Microsoft products like SharePoint and Exchange, making it an excellent selection for organizations that use these tools.

If you subscribe to any of the Windows Server OS plans, you might be entitled to customer support from Microsoft. As a substitute of going to forums or watching tutorials, you just need to contact Microsoft’s support team, which often offers timely and more reliable solutions than forums. Microsoft also rolls out regular updates for the Windows Server.

In case you intend to run games in your server, selecting Windows hosting needs to be a no brainer. Because of NVIDIA Virtual Machine Image (VMI), users can quickly access a virtual gaming machine running Windows Server OS. Other server operating systems barely have gaming support.

Listed below are the aspects that you need to consider when selecting between Linux or Windows Hosting;

Before hosting your website or app on a cloud server, you need to first determine the technologies and tools you propose to make use of. Consider the databases, control panel, scripting languages, and other app integrations. Your life can be much easier if you happen to select a server OS that supports all of the technologies and tools you propose to make use of to run your website.

In case you are unwilling to pay the licensing fees for Windows, Linux hosting needs to be your obvious selection. Linux is open-source and the perfect option for businesses with a limited budget to spend on website hosting.

It is best to decide on a server OS that you just and your team can easily operate without going through a lengthy learning process. If your organization has an IT team, you need to consider their opinion before selecting the OS to put in in your server. In case you don’t have the expertise, you may go for Managed Windows Hosting or Managed Linux Hosting.

Linux often offers barely higher performance than Windows in the event that they are all running on similar hardware. This is especially because Linux is lighter and way more efficient than Windows. It is usually easier to scale up your Linux server at any time when you would like more performance in your site. So, if you desire to squeeze probably the most out of your server hardware, you can be higher off with Linux than Windows.

With Linux, all of the support comes from the community. This will not be as reliable and timely because the support from an official vendor like Microsoft. Windows hosting is the perfect selection for you if you happen to need timely and reliable support.

It’s possible you’ll also need to contact your website hosting provider to seek out out the operating systems they support and people they recommend for various use cases. The excellent news is that almost all mainstream website hosting providers support Windows and Linux hosting. It’s rare to seek out a hosting provider that doesn’t support each platforms.

This text comparing Linux hosting vs Windows hosting has discussed all the vital details essential for making a selection between the 2 platforms. Each have benefits and downsides that have to be considered before making a choice. It is suggested to guage the necessities of what you are promoting after which determine which of the 2 server operating systems is the perfect fit to your needs.

Contact Liquid Web today, and certainly one of The Most Helpful Humans In Hosting® can be glad to reply any questions you might have.