Many people that are new to web hosting ask what the difference is between hosting their account on a Unix or Windows server. Unix comes in many flavors. The most common operating system for web servers is Red Hat Linux. Though others may use Mandrake Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD or the like. Windows Hosting typically uses Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows 2003 Server edition.

The primary benefits of Unix hosting are stability and cost. Unix operating systems are open source – meaning that the kernel code and all revisions are well documented and distributed freely. This means that any security holes or bugs will likely be identified and repaired quickly. Because Unix is administered from a command line (similar to MS DOS), it runs quicker and requires less server resources than computers running Windows operating systems. The pros and cons of Unix-based operating systems are as follows:

Pros

• Usually cheaper than Windows hosting plans
• Very stable
• Very secure if updated regularly
• Works better with many web-based programming languages such as Php, Perl, and Python

Cons

• Difficult to understand for the novice user
• Does not work well with ASP programming environment (must use a Windows OS for scripts to function properly)
• Kernel and other software must be updated regularly by the administrator

In the end, it depends largely on the nature of your site and the programming used by your site. If you will not be using ASP, .Net or any other Microsoft programming environments, you would be better served with choosing a Unix-based hosting plan. They are typically cheaper than Windows plans since the web host does not have to pay the high licensing and user fees for running the Windows operating system. While Windows is significantly easier to use than Unix, you will likely not notice a big difference as it pertains to uploading and editing web files. The bottom line – Similar performance, but Unix is usually the cheaper way to go.