Difference betweem Windows and Unix/Linux website hosting?

Many web hosting companies advertise different prices for Windows and (L)Unix web hosting. What is the difference between the two?





Thanks

Difference betweem Windows and Unix/Linux website hosting?
LAMP will give you the most bang for your buck... (Linux Apache MySQL PHP)





It's far more reliable, doesn't crash nearly as much, does not have all the security issues as Windows/IIS. Uses far less resources and you can virtual server far more sites on the same hardware as opposed to running Windows/IIS.





As for server side languages... I am biased to PHP. There's tons of premade scripts out there to get you started... things like WordPress for blogs to phpBB for message board.
Reply:Basically Windows servers will run IIS, probably support Asp or Asp.net and SQL Server whereas *nix servers will be running Apache, PHP and MySql. All of the *nix software is free, so it only costs them time and labor to set them up. The Windows stuff is not free, SQL Server and the Windows OS cost $. The more demand their is for Windows servers, the more money the hosting company has to spend on maintaining its services, and so this is probably where the disparity in cost comes from.
Reply:Linux is still in open source that is the reason you will find linux hosting are quite cheaper than window, this could be one of the reason you find the differences between two in prices.
Reply:Depending on the type of your website, as an experienced webmaster I suggest windows web hosting and one of the two following services: BlueHost %26amp; BlueFish. Both of mentioned services are Multi-awarded, offering a Full-featured service only $6.95 a month. Their service is really perfect, reliable and uptime.








You can go to BlueHost website, a Multi-awarded affordable Web Hosting, through the address below:


http://bluehost2008.atspace.com





Here I have copied and pasted its features from their website to see:





- Multi-awarded


- Free Domain Forever


- 600 Gigabyte Hosting Space


- 6,000 GIGS of Transfer


- Host UNLIMITED Domains


- 2,500 POP/Imap Email Accounts


- SSH (Secure Shell), SSL, FTP, Stats


- CGI, Ruby (RoR), Perl, PHP, MySQL


- 2000/2002/2003 Front Page Extensions


- Free Site Builder


- 24/7 Superb/Responsive Sales/Support





OR





Go to BlueFish hosting, a Multi-awarded Business Web Hosting, through the address below:


http://bluefish2008.atspace.com





Here I have also copied and pasted the features of mentioned service from their website to view:





- Multi-awarded


- 6 GB Storage Space


- 100 Gigs Data Transfer


- Unlimited Email Accounts


- Detailed Website Statistics


- Unlimited FTP Accounts


- Easy Web Builder Utility


- Shared or Dedicated SSL


- Business Site Templates


- OS Commerce or Agora


- Simple PayPal eCommerce (beside other credit cards)


- MS FrontPage Extensions


- Unique IP's Available


- PHP %26amp; 5 MySQL Databases


- phpBB, Blog %26amp; Chat


- CGI-bin Access %26amp; Scripts


- Register A Free Domain (like www.Yourname.com) or Use An Existing Domain.


- $6.95 a month





No-Risk Hosting


You have 30 days to test their service and if you choose to cancel you will receive a full 100% refund. No cancellation fees or other hidden charges.





Real Customer Support


Expect a helpful Phone Call from them when you sign up! They want to make it easy for all levels of customers to keep their websites running smoothly. So they provide a toll free phone line and plenty of one-on-one help at the start when you need it most. Their customer support representatives will call you shortly after sign-up to help you get started and answer any questions you may have.





Good Luck!
Reply:The difference is what server side language and database will you be able to use.


Before you look for hosting you need to know what databases(Acces, SQL Server or MySQL) will you use.


You also need to know what server side languages to use: ASP, PHP or JSP.
Reply:Linux is free... Windows is not.
Reply:Windows and UNIX are in fact two different systems and of course we are referring to computer systems. A web host uses computers, (we shall refer to them as servers, just computers, but sometimes larger) to host websites, and all computers need a operating system, so Windows and UNIX are the operating system. The Windows used is normally Windows NT or 2000 and of course as you know Microsoft charges for it's software, while UNIX is an open source operating system, this means that the original creators of the system have given up the rights and anyone can use it, change, improve or do anything they want with, free of charge.





But Windows servers have also it's positive sides, they are compatible with Microsoft applications, and fully support Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft Access and MS SQL, they also offer advance-programming environments and features such as Active Server Pages (ASP), the ASP.NET framework, Visual Basic Scripts, MS Index Server, Macromedia's and Cold Fusion.