Difference betweem Windows and Unix/Linux website hosting?

Question

Many web hosting companies advertise different prices for Windows and (L)Unix web hosting. What is the difference between the two?

Thanks

Answer 1

LAMP will give you the most bang for your buck... (Linux Apache MySQL PHP)



It's far more reliable, doesn't crash nearly as much, does not have all the security issues as Windows/IIS. Uses far less resources and you can virtual server far more sites on the same hardware as opposed to running Windows/IIS.



As for server side languages... I am biased to PHP. There's tons of premade scripts out there to get you started... things like WordPress for blogs to phpBB for message board.

Answer 2

Mac is UNIX. Registered UNIX systems: * AIX * HP/UX * Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server * Reliant UNIX * SCO * Solaris * Tru64 UNIX * z/OS * NCR UNIX SVR4 * NEC UX/4800 * SGI IRIX 6.5 Linux is made to work like UNIX, but is not UNIX registered. It is among a group of OSes called "UNIX-like". Many people get confused by the similarity in spelling and pronunciation, so they think Linux must be a type of UNIX. Not so. Apple used an OS (version 1.0 to 9.2.2) that was not even closely related to UNIX from 1984-2001, and that keeps many people from realizing that OS X uses the X for three reasons: X=ten, X for UNIX, and X for NeXT. Windows is not even closely related to any of the UNIX or UNIX-like OSes. It was originally designed as an overlay for MS-DOS, and still has many of the details of the DOS system. It is designed for BIOS compliance, a huge limitation that Microsoft has been trying to walk away from for the past ten years, but it seems the dozens of PC makers won't go along with the change to EFI that allows Mac OS and Linux (when installed on an EFI system) to out-perform Windows in most measurements. It would take a thousand words to explain the fine details that make these different. Some general concepts are: -- Most Linux OS varieties are available free. That is a big attraction for some people. Mac OS costs US$29.95. Windows costs around US$200 -- The largest number of apps are available for Windows OS. The next largest number are for Mac OS. Fewer are available for Linux. Very few home use applications are designed for UNIX systems except the Mac system. Most UNIX use is for government, educational facilities, and scientific research. As far as what people install, it seems most people do not install anything. They buy a computer that has an OS already installed. They don't question it. If the OS stops working, they take the computer to a shop and pay to get the same or an updated version of the same OS installed again. They already have a system DVD that came with the computer, so they see no need to buy some OS DVD tey are not familiar with, erase their documents, and install a whole new experience. The computer is a tool, not a toy to them, so it isn't fun as a piece of hardware. The Internet is fun, movies are fun, but not the hardware or the OS. There is an old saying that a computer nerd uses a computer to use a computer. The number of geeks using computers is far less than the non-geeks. The geeks just make a lot more noise, so we think they represent most people. I am sure if shops started selling only computers with Linux installed, most of their customers would go elsewhere to buy a computer. The average person has no use for Linux, because it can't play most games, can't run Microsoft Office, can't synch to an iPod, can't synch to an iPhone, can't play QuickTime movies, and can't play Shockwave Flash. There are hack-style ways to get around a couple of these limitations such as running another OS in Wine, but the average person has no interest in bending over backward to make Linux work almost as well as Windows or OS X. That's not to say Linux isn't a powerful, flexible, secure system. It just is a nitch system that the average person has no interest in. That's why it hoovers around 1% of the home market.

Answer 3

Windows and UNIX are in fact two different systems and of course we are referring to computer systems. A web host uses computers, (we shall refer to them as servers, just computers, but sometimes larger) to host websites, and all computers need a operating system, so Windows and UNIX are the operating system. The Windows used is normally Windows NT or 2000 and of course as you know Microsoft charges for it's software, while UNIX is an open source operating system, this means that the original creators of the system have given up the rights and anyone can use it, change, improve or do anything they want with, free of charge.



But Windows servers have also it's positive sides, they are compatible with Microsoft applications, and fully support Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft Access and MS SQL, they also offer advance-programming environments and features such as Active Server Pages (ASP), the ASP.NET framework, Visual Basic Scripts, MS Index Server, Macromedia's and Cold Fusion.

Answer 4

Basically Windows servers will run IIS, probably support Asp or Asp.net and SQL Server whereas *nix servers will be running Apache, PHP and MySql. All of the *nix software is free, so it only costs them time and labor to set them up. The Windows stuff is not free, SQL Server and the Windows OS cost $. The more demand their is for Windows servers, the more money the hosting company has to spend on maintaining its services, and so this is probably where the disparity in cost comes from.

Answer 5

Depending on the type of your website, as an experienced webmaster I suggest windows web hosting and one of the two following services: BlueHost & BlueFish. Both of mentioned services are Multi-awarded, offering a Full-featured service only $6.95 a month. Their service is really perfect, reliable and uptime.





You can go to BlueHost website, a Multi-awarded affordable Web Hosting, through the address below:

http://bluehost2008.atspace.com



Here I have copied and pasted its features from their website to see:



- Multi-awarded

- Free Domain Forever

- 600 Gigabyte Hosting Space

- 6,000 GIGS of Transfer

- Host UNLIMITED Domains

- 2,500 POP/Imap Email Accounts

- SSH (Secure Shell), SSL, FTP, Stats

- CGI, Ruby (RoR), Perl, PHP, MySQL

- 2000/2002/2003 Front Page Extensions

- Free Site Builder

- 24/7 Superb/Responsive Sales/Support



OR



Go to BlueFish hosting, a Multi-awarded Business Web Hosting, through the address below:

http://bluefish2008.atspace.com



Here I have also copied and pasted the features of mentioned service from their website to view:



- Multi-awarded

- 6 GB Storage Space

- 100 Gigs Data Transfer

- Unlimited Email Accounts

- Detailed Website Statistics

- Unlimited FTP Accounts

- Easy Web Builder Utility

- Shared or Dedicated SSL

- Business Site Templates

- OS Commerce or Agora

- Simple PayPal eCommerce (beside other credit cards)

- MS FrontPage Extensions

- Unique IP's Available

- PHP & 5 MySQL Databases

- phpBB, Blog & Chat

- CGI-bin Access & Scripts

- Register A Free Domain (like www.Yourname.com) or Use An Existing Domain.

- $6.95 a month



No-Risk Hosting

You have 30 days to test their service and if you choose to cancel you will receive a full 100% refund. No cancellation fees or other hidden charges.



Real Customer Support

Expect a helpful Phone Call from them when you sign up! They want to make it easy for all levels of customers to keep their websites running smoothly. So they provide a toll free phone line and plenty of one-on-one help at the start when you need it most. Their customer support representatives will call you shortly after sign-up to help you get started and answer any questions you may have.



Good Luck!

Answer 6

Linux is still in open source that is the reason you will find linux hosting are quite cheaper than window, this could be one of the reason you find the differences between two in prices.

Answer 7

The difference is what server side language and database will you be able to use.

Before you look for hosting you need to know what databases(Acces, SQL Server or MySQL) will you use.

You also need to know what server side languages to use: ASP, PHP or JSP.

Answer 8

Linux is free... Windows is not.