Linux or Microsoft. Which one is best for you?
The following discussion gives insight into our opinions regarding which platform should be used for web hosting. For Linux, we use Redhat Linux Enterprise operating system. Unlike Windows, Linux comes in many different flavors, such as Solaris, Suse, and FreeBSD. This article examines the difference between these two operating systems from various perspectives, all of which should be considered when determining which platform you should use for shared hosting.

User Friendliness
Over the years, many resources have been poured into both Linux and Windows® platforms to make hosting as easy as possible. Today, there are no differences in terms of ease of use between these platforms. If you are an advanced user who prefers to work in shell environment, then Linux is your choice. However, if you are a beginner, you will find both platforms user friendly, especially with a help of Gearworx control panels.

Reliability
The industry consensus is that Linux is more reliable. However, Given the background of Linux, which dates back into the early 1960's versus Windows birth in the 1990's, Linux has had far more time to improve in efficiency and stability. However, in the past few years the Microsoft Windows platform has become extremely stable for the multi-user environment making it a sensible choice for web hosting. Gearworx has made sure that the Windows 2003 servers match closely with the Linux configuration for Reliability. This means is that you can make your decision based on the differences in features rather than on reliability.

Speed
There is no difference in terms of speed between the two platforms.

Functionality
This is where two platforms differ the most. Many open source applications which have gained tremendous popularity, such as PERL, PHP, and MySQL were developed for Linux operating systems under the GNU license. The main difference is how the end is achieved. For example, if you need a database driven website, you can choose either PHP/MySQL combination under Linux as well as Windows or ASP/MS SQL combination under Windows 2003 server. The trend is for solutions to be supported in both platforms. For example, Microsoft FrontPage, one of the most popular web site editors out there, is supported on both Linux and Windows 2003 server.

Price
Because Linux holds a slight edge due to the fact that the most of the software licenses are free under the GNU license and that it’s easier to maintain Linux hosting prices are going to be cheaper than Windows hosting. You will see that our hosting prices reflect this. Unless you specifically plan to use Windows platform specific features (e.g. ASP, ASP.NET), it probably makes sense to choose the Linux platform.

Security
Many people will argue that Windows servers have more vulnerabilities than Linux servers. But the reality is that both operating systems have security issues. Security is more important at the hosting service's administration level than it is at the operating system level. If you have good administrators, your server will be more secure - regardless of OS.

MySQL in Linux vs. Windows
Find out the difference of MySQL in Linux and Windows operating systems. Although MySQL has been proven to be stable in the Windows operating system there are a few subtle exceptions. You may view these few exceptions by visiting the MySQL website.

Summary
Recent advances in operating systems, and especially in the areas of inter-operability, have brought the available feature sets of Windows and Linux based website hosting offerings much closer to each other. Where in the past there have been cut and dry advantages to one over the other for particular applications, these differences have now diminished to the point where the choice of operating system a hosting service company makes is frequently not a concern to the client. With a few exceptions, as noted above, you can often make your choice of hosting packages based on the available feature set and factors concerning the company themselves, rather than the operating system they have chosen.