What are the Differences between a Windows and Linux Web Site Hosting Provider?

Contributed by Walter Stevens

Windows and Linux Web Site Hosting

When you purchase web site hosting, you are storing your web site on an online server which like any computer uses an operating system such as Windows or Linux. Just as your computer will operate differently depending upon which operating platform you use, so will an online server operate differently depending upon which operating system is used by the online server. The two primary operating systems used are Linux and Windows for web site hosting, and of these two Linux is the most common.

What Are the Advantages of a Linux Web Site Hosting Provider Over Windows?

Linux is an operating system which is in some ways a combination of the Unix and Windows operating systems. It has the power and reliability of Unix, but has the ease of use of a Windows style operating system. Unix is a very difficult operating system to work, especially if you are not well versed in computers, so the Linux operating system was developed in order to combine this power of Unix with the user-friendly nature of a Windows style operating system.

It is this great reliability that makes Linux the most commonly used operating system for online servers. It has a 99.9% reliability rate, which means that it almost never crashes and will not result in downtime for your web site or even a loss of your web site if the system completely goes down. Windows cannot boast this kind of reliability, and thus it is less commonly used.

More »