Students Of Success

So you’ve decided to create a website? The most obvious thing
that you need is of course web hosting. Among other things, like
cost and features, you’ll need to decide which server you’ll
need: Windows (NT, 2000 or XP) or Unix (Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD,
etc.). Both have their merits, so the first thing you should
think about when making this decision is if you are looking for
stability, or ease of use. UNIX based servers are generally
superior in the site up-time and stability areas than Windows
systems. However, while they need to be rebooted more often,
Windows servers are generally easier to administer and use. Many
beginners to web hosting will be confused over the pros and cons
of the different operating systems. While, Unix is more stable
and secure it uses a command line interface for administration.
This interface, which is like the original MS-DOS interface, can
be difficult to understand to a website newbie. Also, in order
to keep a UNIX machine stable, one must update the kernel and
software regularly, a process which is more difficult than
Windows. This however, can be made just as easy to do if your
web host has good administration software.

Another thing to consider when choosing which operating system
to use is whether you will be using scripting. If so what kind?
For example, if you will be using a dynamic site, and decide
that you want to go Perl as your language of choice then UNIX
should be your operating system of choice. This is also true for
languages such as PHP, and Pythlon. On the other hand, if you
choose to go for an ASP based site then you should choose
Windows. However, to complicate the matter further some UNIX
systems can run ASP scripts, although the quality of the script
execution can be lesser.

Bare in mind that if you choose a Windows-based web server (this
does not apply to hosting accounts as the host should take care
of it for you) you will need to update the software with patches
from Microsoft’s web site almost weekly to prevent your site
from being exploited. UNIX administrators will only have to do
so monthly or so as UNIX is more secure by nature, and needs
fewer patches and software updates.

Unix operating systems are generally the preferred operating
system, however, in the end, if you do everything correctly, a
UNIX hosted web site and a Windows hosted web site will function
somewhat equally, and both should make you happy. Be sure to
keep operating costs and maintained in mind when making your
decision and you won’t regret it.