Linux web hosting (often referred to as LAMP – Linux, Apache, MySQL & PHP) solutions are suitable for webmasters who use Linux hosting features, such as Perl programming, PHP programming and MySQL database. Windows Web Hosting gives a company the capability of designing web sites using the ever-popular Windows Operating System. This allows development using technologies such as Active Server Pages (ASP), COM, and the newer .NET infrastructure.
Some Major advantages of using Linux based web server compared to Windows based web server are given below:-
1.Stable:-
Linux operating system is very stable and robust.A web site hosted on a Linux operating system will have very high up-time.
2. Low cost of ownership:-
Linux OS comes free of cost.Also, it has fully fledged server, and desk top applications that come free with the OS. These server applications (such as FTP, Web Server, DNS Server, File Server etc.) are also very stable.
3. Easy to move between hosts:
A web site designed to host on a Linux based web server can be hosted on a Windows web server easily, where as the reverse is not always true. .
4. Most widely used :
Linux/Unix based web hosting is most widely used compared to Windows based web hosting.
5. Scalability:
A web site designed for compatibility with a Linux/Unix based web server meets the scalability requirement easily without making any site wide design changes.
Disadvantage:-
Linux based web server is not fully compatible with Microsoft technologies. If you are using any specialized applications or VB for development of your web site, it is preferable to host with a Windows based web server.
Both these web server are used by users for different purposes and the selection of the web hosting depends upon the nature of the website or business. Linux server administration and Linux server management has been more effective for complex websites, where as Windows servers are used for sites which needs different configuration.