UNIX Vs. Microsoft Windows – Which Platform is Superior?
Most of the webmasters prefer UNIX as their server platform. UNIX was developed specifically for servers and that is why it has everything that you might need, like multi user environments, security, encryption and much more. The fact that it is completely free and open source makes it all the more lucrative for server administrators. You can edit the source code in any way you like to match it with your requirements. You can easily edit the shell of operating system by opening it in the “VI editor”. Making simple modifications shouldn’t be a problem for any programmer. Each company has its own requirements and needs. The ability to modify the platform of your server is truly amazing. Thus, open source control also adds more versatility to UNIX platforms. Coming to varieties, the most common versions of UNIX are the ones which come from Linux and BSD. These again, come in various forms, like Red Hat Linux, Debian, SuSe, FreeBSD, etc. All of these varities are themselves open source. can be downloaded completely free. UNIX, moreover, has a design to maximize speed, security, versatility, control, and stability. No wonder every second web program prefers UNIX web programming environment keeping it unrivaled in the web hosting industry!
A close competitor of UNIX is the Microsoft Windows Server 2003. However, you can use it only after purchasing a license from Microsoft. This expense is very burdensome for many people. However, what you get for paying the price is an amazingly user friendly platform that anyone can handle, even those without professional experience with networking. But since Windows does not support open source control, its web server is therefore much less powerful than the UNIX equivalent. It is important to note, however, that several web scripting languages like Cold Fusion, ASP.NET, etc. work only with Windows server. Also, all Microsoft programs like Microsoft Access, MSXML, Microsoft SQL, etc. do not work in UNIX either. This is the only drawback of the UNIX hosting environment.
If you are thinking whether you should go for UNIX or Windows, you should take your level of expertise and requirements into consideration. If you need to use a DBMS like Oracle, or ASP.NET, or even Access, you will probably have to buy yourself a Microsoft server. This also holds if you are a newbie to web hosting or are someone from a non-technical background. Contrarily, for advanced techies, creative developers, et al, UNIX can prove to be a boon, when complexity is not an issue. Both Microsoft and UNIX, of course, are excellent operating environments in their own positions, and neither can be sorted off as “bad”. Though one might just be more beneficial to a particular client.
Looking for a quality wordpress hosting theme? Or perhaps some information on c class hosting? Our site on wordpress web hosting has it all!!
Processing your request, Please wait....
