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Windows vs Linux Hosting- Lots of people ask Best Free Web Hosting Sites what is the difference between Windows and Linux hosting. This Windows vs Linux Hosting article will help you understand the differences of Windows web hosting and Linux web hosting.

In choosing Windows vs Linux Hosting it’s important to know something about each server type, the software you need, and the other features of the hosting package. Research has shown that not every webhost runs the same server operating systems, or provides the same versions of software to run on it, and some make sharp distinctions in the disk space or data transfer offered on the two different servers. For this reason, deciding on Windows vs Linux hosting should be a considered decision made after adequate preparatory research in order to meet long-term needs, as well as short-term needs.

Microsoft is the maker of the Windows Server line, which are available in the following versions at webhosts:

• Windows Server 2003 and 2008

• Windows HPC (High Performance Computing)Server 2008

• Windows Server 2008 R2 which became available in 2009

Linux, by contrast, is a free operating system of the Unix-type, created initially by Linus Torvalds, extended by contributions of many others, and developed under the GNU (GNU’s Not Unix!) GPL (General Public License). Because a wide variety of versions of Linux are available, it is rare to find the Linux version specified in a webhosts feature list: it is more common to find the versions of key software, such as PHP and Perl listed.

The web server on which a website is run does not have to match the OS on either the computers of viewers. Viewers on Macs can see websites developed with on Windows machines and run on Windows servers, for example. If you have a previously built website that you are porting to a new webhost; developers who work on either the Windows platform or the Linux platform, but not the other; or are developing a new website that needs particular software that only works on one server or the other, then these factors are likely to be instrumental in your choice. It is important to know that there are now products from third-party manufacturers that can make is possible to use ASP on web servers that are not running a Microsoft operating system. FrontPage, the .NET environment, and the Access database, for example, however, are proprietary products of Microsoft, and are best incorporated on a Windows server. It may also worth looking into the so-called "hybrid platform" that Aplus.net has, which is capable of supporting a combination of Unix and Windows technology, although a sales person told me that "unix [sic] and linux [sic] are the same thing," so it will require more exploration to be sure of what operating system you’re getting.

Another factor to consider is the kind of servers offered by the webhost you wish to use, if you do not need one server or the other for the purposes mentioned above. The fact is, it’s easier to find a Linux server because they have the greatest share of the market. In September 2006, Linux was used by four-fifths of the ten most reliable webhosts. In February, 2010, Linux was on three-fifths, FreeBSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) on one-fifth, and Windows Server 2008 on one-tenth.

Other considerations include the fact that some webhosts, such as HostDime, provide much less disk space and bandwidth and fewere domains for a Windows server set up compared to a Linux set up. For example, for $7/month, you can have unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, and unlimited domains on a Linux server, while for $6.95/month, on a Windows server, you get 5 GB of disk space, 100 GB of bandwidth, and 1 domain for shared hosting. Reseller options have a similar inequality. For $25/month, you can have 50 GB of disk space, 1000 GB of data transfer, and unlimited domains, while on a Windows server for $24.95/month, you get 10 GB of disk space, 100 GB of bandwidth, and a limit of 15 domains. Because webhosts sometimes make it extremely difficult to compare different hosting options by putting them on separate web pages, rather than side-by-side, the best plan is either to print the pages in order to compare, or open two browser windows to be able to look at both simultaneously.

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