Which hosting Unix / Windows ?

[activewebs]

Hi Guys

This may open a can of worms but --

Should I opt for Unix ( or variant ) or windows hosting , what are the pros and cons of each ?

Assume I wish to host a simple site, plain HTML, maybe a PHP form, and poss a bit of flash (Not Full flash site just decoration stuff ),I want a simple interface and simple FTP access.

What about security , any issues ?

Please be paitent with me , it seems like a simple question but I know it has far reaching repercussions.

Thanks
Rich

[jonra01]

The main difference between the two is price. At one time it depended on what language you were going to use for scripting. ASP was limited to Windows and PHP was limited to Unix/Linux. That has changed, but they still run best on their original platforms.

Linux/Apache has the biggest following. You can run Apache web server on a Windows machine, but generally they are running MS IIS. Apache has a huge opensource community supporting it and has the most free scripts and programs available as addons to your site. There is also more sources of support.

Those are good enough reasons to go with Linux/Apache, but there's one more - price. All of the really cheap hosting accounts you see out there are on Linux servers. Linux/Apache runs faster on less expensive hardware and almost all of the software the hosting companies need to get a server up and running is free. That allows them to offer hosting for a lot less than a Windows hosting account. Any really low priced Windows accounts will have limitations that you may find restricting as your site grows.

Linux used to be considered more secure than Windows, but that also has changed. A server running the latest version of Windows with all of the patches is just as secure as a Linux system.

[RockyB]

I'd personally say Linux all the way. For what it seems you want to do Linux is more than adequete. The only reason anyone should even contemplate a wondows based server, IMO, is if they need the special features which only windows based servers can provide.

And in the case of PHP and flash, you don't need windows, especially as Linux often ends up about 20% less than Windows.

[contactsonia]

Assume I wish to host a simple site, plain HTML, maybe a PHP form, and poss a bit of flash (Not Full flash site just decoration stuff ),I want a simple interface and simple FTP access.

Hi Rich,

As you mentioned that you site will be basically HTML based with simple PHP forms, I would suggest you to go with Linux Servers as everybody already said Linux Servers are more reliable and cheaper. Until and unless, you need any specific services related to Windows, I won't suggest for Windows Hosting.

Regards,
Sonia