Pros & Cons of Windows Hosting Servers

A lot of webmasters are actually confused on why they should or should not use the Windows OS on their server. The Windows web hosting background operates on the same server your content is kept, caring for necessary events involved for your website to run efficiently.  From a glance, Windows looks the same to the user, but it’s actually quite different.

Sometimes beginners in web hosting ask if the operating system of web hosting is significant, and if they should select a Linux or Windows web hosting. This article will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using Windows for your web hosting. There are numerous advantages to opting for the Windows operating system platform, and also some cons to Windows hosting.  I will discuss some reasons you may want to use this OS and some reasons you may not want to use it.

Windows Hosting Pros

◉ Windows web hosting is consistent and flexible when it comes to website hosting resolutions. Windows permits you to host several websites from a sole tab. Windows web servers generate sub-domains that can run websites that are database-friendly (SQL Server (MS SQL) and expands server-segment utilities on your website.

◉ Windows hosting entails.Net Framework which makes it an excellent choice for websites that are created using.Net, Active Server Pages (ASP) and the Visual Basic Language. Visual Basic,.Net Framework and ASP enables your website to work faster and is obviously less complicated to use, for those developers that are familiar with the platform.

◉ This operating system comes with different settings at are automatically disabled right out of the box.  So, this gives you an added piece of security.  In contrary with the Linux OS server platforms, you have to toy with the settings to disable many settings on your server.

Windows Hosting Cons:

Just like a double edge sword, Windows web hosting comes with its limitations. These limitations include:
◉ Compatibility.  Since Linux is used by more host, you could possibly run into some compatibility issues.  However, fewer developers have run into this problem over the years.  You’re not just limited to ASP, and it can support PHP and Perl.  IIS is much better to run for PHP and Perl as opposed to ISAPI.

◉ The price of Windows servers is higher than any other web hosting server. This is because Windows web hosting is not free-licensed software making other web servers an affordable web hosting solution.  Companies have to pay a licensing fee as opposed to the Linux OS.

◉ The security of Windows web server is average, and it loses its stability the server if malfunction and hence making the windows server to operate slowly and even attacked by malware and viruses. When the windows web server require frequent rebooting when it’s used for a long duration to avoid the server from hanging.

Clearly, it makes no difference if you want to use the Windows or the Linux OS.  It’s up to your server technician on which one they are more comfortable using.  You should keep in mind that migrating from Linux to Windows (or vice versa) does take some extra work.  You’ll need to consider the cost of migration if you want to make the switch for your business.