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Many users automatically assume they need a Windows server to host their site
since that is the program they run on their personal computer. Actually, your
web hosting platform (Windows or Linux) has nothing to do with the programs
that run on your own computer. Therefore, if you are running Windows® 98,
Windows® XP, Windows® 2000 or using an Apple Macintosh, you can still
choose Linux or Windows as your hosting platform. Even if you plan to use Microsoft
FrontPage, it is still safe to choose either a Linux or Windows web hosting
plan.
To
help choose the platform for you, compare:
Website Needs
Price
Security
Server Access
Databases
Assess
the Website
The type of hosting platform you need for your website depends on the type
of site you plan to have. If your website will be very basic with no database
or “dynamic” components, then it really doesn’t matter which
platform you choose. If your website will be more complex, then the server
type will depend on the programming languages your website will be using. Complexity
usually means that your site uses database functions, processes purchase transactions
(ecommerce capable), serves up dynamic pages, etc. Programming languages include
ASP, .NET, PHP, Perl and several database types.
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Windows
The Windows web hosting platform was developed by Microsoft, the creator of
the popular Word and Excel programs. Its strength lies in its compatibility.
A Windows programmer can leverage existing knowledge and easily incorporate
COM objects and data access directly into web applications. Microsoft Access
and SQL Server are very easy to manipulate using ASP. The price to run
Windows is the major drawback as licensing fees are exorbitant.
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Linux
Linux evolved from Unix and is one of the most popular operating systems on
the Internet. Linux is considered more stable and less expensive to maintain
because most of the software the operating system uses is open source. In theory,
open source software is a more useful and flawless end product because it was
created through the collective work of many programmers all over the world.
In case you were wondering, this does not mean that your files are not secure
and protected; it just means that the software that runs the computer was developed
by many contributing programmers. Popular open source technologies you may
be familiar with include PHP, MySQL, Python, and XML.
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Price
Linux will be the less expensive option for any basic website. When considering
cost, it’s important to take into account the functionality of your website.
Only if you plan to use ASP, will your website require the Windows hosting
platform.
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Security
Both Windows and Linux come in equal as far as security goes. NetFronts continuously
makes modifications and updates software to ensure both platforms are secure.
All servers are maintained with the latest security and performance patches.
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Server Access
With either a Windows or a Linux plan, you will have FTP access to your files.
FTP allows you to transfer your files from your computer hard drive to the
web server. Only on Linux, will you have SSH access. SSH offers the ability
to
open a window directly to the web server and directly manage files using
Unix commands. Both Windows and Linux offer FrontPage extensions, which enables
you to use Microsoft FrontPage for website editing.
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Databases
Both platforms enable you to achieve a myriad of functions with databases.
The website developer should determine his or her technology of choice before
choosing a plan. Under a Linux plan, you can choose a PHP/MySQL combination.
With a Windows plan, an ASP/Access or ASP/MySQL combination would be used.
As you can see, the differences between
the operating systems are not very significant. NetFronts
suggests focusing more on the resources available in the
plan if the operating system is not an issue to you.
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for you? Click here.
A good website begins with a clever domain name.
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