When beginning your foray into the world of webhosting, one of the first major decisions you make is one that you may not have even considered: Under which operating environment will I be hosting? 99% of web hosting is done under either Microsoft Windows or a UNIX environment(or UNIX-based system, such as Linux, FreeBSD, etc.). Both of these choices have their merits, but there are a few very important differences that could require one environment or the other.
A lot of the decision between Windows and UNIX systems boils down to stability/security vs. ease of use. A UNIX system is typically more stable than a Windows-based one, able to go months or even years without necessitating a reboot. Most updates to the operating system and other applications can be done without disturbing web and other services functioning on the machine.
However, UNIX typically is a command-line based system (think MS-DOS) which does not lend itself well to a new web hosting experience. Windows Server, however, acts and feels similarly to the Windows operating systems with which many users are already familiar. A lot of processes are somewhat automated, and one can get up and going fairly quickly.
There are some things, however, that can narrow down the choice considerably. If you’re programming your site using Microsoft’s ASP.NET or Adobe's ColdFusion language, you will almost always want to use a Windows-based server. The ASP.NET language is used to create dynamic web pages and “fancier” sites, and, while it can be run on a UNIX-based system, the Windows operating system performs better using it. Conversely, if your site is written in PERL, PHP, or similar languages, those are better run under UNIX, although Windows servers can support all of these as well. If you wish to utilize Microsoft FrontPage, and FrontPage Extensions, Windows is generally the better choice for performance and configuration reasons.
If your site runs using a database, note which database server it uses. If it’s a MS SQL Server or MS Access database, it has to be running via Windows. If it’s a MySQL database, it’s generally better to run it using UNIX, since MySQL maintains better performance in UNIX.
If a site makes use of a particular type of multimedia, usually the operating system will not matter, as most types are universally supported. Of special note, however, are the Windows Media Audio (.wma) and Windows Media Video (.wmv) types, as those are supported solely by Microsoft Windows.
The decision between Windows and UNIX is one mostly of preference, unless you require components only supported by one operating system or the other. When making the decision between the two, it is best to write out all the requirements our site will need and determine which environment best supports all your needs.
Also See:
Web Hosting Terms Glossary
What is FTP?
Shared Hosting or Dedicated Server?
