Don’t you just love technology? Everyone with any type of business can choose any operating system they like. But with more options comes more confusion. Like when Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory couldn’t decide between Xbox One or PS4; how frustrating. Both are great options but with different yet awesome features.
That’s how it is when you want to start a new business and need the best hosting services but can’t decide between Windows hosting vs. Linux.
No worries; in this post, we will get to the bottom of Windows and Linux hosting, and by the end, you will figure out your best hosting OS.
Definition of Hosting in A Nutshell
Imagine a furnished villa that would be an excellent place to relax, cook meals, write books, do yoga, or do any other activity that feeds your mind and body. Some of the things in this gorgeous villa are essential, and some of them are preferences.
Now, hosting is like a tech villa filled with all the storage and computing resources you need and desire for growing your business. To set up your website, you need a hosting service to provide the proper infrastructure so you can make it your own by assigning a domain name.
You can choose from many types of villas based on different criteria; view (garden view or ocean view), square feet, duplex, distance from the city, etc.
The same goes for hosting; you can choose dedicated hosting, shared hosting, VPS hosting, or cloud hosting. If you want to put an extra layer of security on your hosting server, it’s best to use VPS, as it is the most budget-friendly choice for data protection.
To all Windows fans, you don’t need to pay hefty VPS fees to secure your servers against cyber-attacks; check out the best windows VPS providers 2022, and you’ll find one that fits best.
How Windows Users Defend Windows Hosting
Windows is popular because it provides users with the utmost user-convenient. But that’s not all. Most business owners_company or home-based_prefer Windows hosting because of the .NET framework compatibility.
Let’s list the features of the .NET framework and see what each feature can do:
Visual Studio Community
Use case: Create free and paid apps
Visual Studio Code
Use case: Edit and debug source codes
NET Core 3.0
Use case: Create and run Windows desktop apps
Code Access Security (CAS)
Use case: Set restricted user access and ban untrusted codes
Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
Use case: Software development (Write, test, and debug codes)
Common Language Runtime (CLR)
Use case: Manage the execution process of different versions of the same application on the same computer
Portable Class Library
Use case: Write and share codes across different platforms simultaneously.
Garbage Collector (GC)
Use case: Optimize memory quota without manual interference
Language Integrated Query
Use case: Direct access to the data source for receiving structured data
.NET framework supports popular languages such as C#, C++, Python, IronRuby, F#, and Visual Basic.
Given all these fantastic features, it’s no wonder that the developers have marked the .NET framework as the most reliable software development solution.
Who Would Benefit from Using Linux Hosting?
Small to medium-sized businesses usually don’t have enough capital to invest in Windows hosting. But Linux is a free and open-source operating system, and hosting websites on a Linux server is a much more budget-friendly option. The only drawback of Linux hosting is that it requires you or your team to have some technical knowledge and skills in writing command lines.
Suppose you can find an expert developer, maybe a college buddy or former co-worker familiar with Apache or NGINX. In that case, you can ask them to help you with the configuration and customization of Linux.
You must choose Linux hosting if you want to use website builder platforms like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla. WordPress is a great and easy tool to set up your website quickly. The faster you get your website up and running, the faster you can start selling.
The bottom line is that Linux is a great hosting OS if you know how to work with it, and even if you don’t, you can find someone who does and pay them to deal with all the techy stuff. (Much more cost-effective than paying for a Windows license)
Let me put it this way:
Windows hosting= Upstate New York, great view at expensive rates (Exceptional technical support + hefty License fee)
Linux hosting= Long Island, rich in resources but tricky to use (Total control in Linux resource management but needs basic coding knowledge)
Best Hosting OS: Linux vs. Windows
There is nothing like a comparison table that can highlight key differences between two popular hosting operating systems: Linux vs. Windows.
| OS | Support | UX | Software compatibility | Database support | Beginner-friendly | Cost of Hosting |
| Linux | Community-based | Command line | PHP/Perl, ROR, Java, Python, SSH, CGI, FrontPage Extensions | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite | ❌ | $+1 |
| Windows | Expert agents | Graphical User Interface | ASP Classic, ASP.net, MySQL, C#, VB Development | Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL, SharePoint | ✅ | +$4 |
Linux Hosting Advantages
- It doesn’t come with a license fee.
- Linux OS doesn’t drain resources such as disk space, memory, and CPU.
- Linux is the perfect option for high-traffic websites.
- More privacy options compared to Windows 10
- Faster performance because of no internal registry
Windows Hosting Advantages
- Supports ASP (a popular framework used by businesses) and ASP.NET
- Advanced admin panel options
- Regularly upgraded CPanel
- Automated updates (which means less admin monitoring)
- Seamless database integration
Summary
Whether you choose Linux hosting or Windows, you still face security risks. Maybe you read on Quora that Linux is the most secure operating system; that may be true, but it is not secure enough to battle cyber-attacks.
So, if you handle sensitive or classified information and want to protect your customers’ critical data, you need to implement some tough-to-beat security tools, such as hardware/software firewalls, antivirus software, or the most pocket-friendly option, VPS.
Investing in a reliable VPS is the perfect way to guard your data against hackers, malware, spyware, and all types of malicious software.
Side note:
It’s best to choose a VPS provider that offers money-back guarantees and 24/7 expert support so you can test their product to ensure your business’s safety and ask for help should you encounter any unforeseen problems.
