THS Articles

Tackling the MS vs. Linux Question: It Depends...

By Sebastian Moser
US Technical Director, 1&1 Internet, Inc.

Just a few short years ago consumers still faced a bit of a challenge to find the right company to host their website. And, once they did, their platform options were just as limited - particularly for those on a limited budget. There was Linux/Unix and, well, Linux/Unix. And the choices were even less in the shared Web hosting market (where more than one customer share the resources of one particular server).

This all changed with the advent of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and the enclosed Internet Information Server 6.0 (IIS 6.0) which made it financially viable for Web hosting companies to actually start offering Microsoft-based packages at an attractive price.

While the emergence of the Microsoft technology obviously gave end users an additional choice, it has also created a dilemma. One of the most common questions new registrants ask customer service representatives at Web hosting companies is whether to choose a Linux or Microsoft hosting plan.

There's no easy answer, but probably the one most commonly given is: it depends!

One of the most common questions new registrants ask customer service representatives at Web hosting companies is whether to choose a Linux or Microsoft hosting plan.

Even the most uninitiated of new users seems to buy into the prevailing theory that Microsoft products are mostly touted for their ease of use, while Linux has traditionally been considered a technology for computer geeks. The challenge is to ward off these preconceived notions and educate customers that both hosting plans have their merits. Many feel compelled to go with a Microsoft package simply because they're using a Microsoft operating system on their computer, even though Linux is still a viable option. At the same time, MS Web services are generally more expensive than Linux (although the gap has closed considerably over the last two years).

Perhaps the best way to answer the Linux vs. MS question is too look closely at the people asking it. End users can generally be divided into three groups: those wanting very basic sites with static pages, possibly incorporating a feedback form; advanced users with sites that utilize databases and dynamic pages; and professional/corporate users with sites incorporating complex back office applications.

Generally speaking, the basic user group consists of Web newbies who want to be online but don't necessarily want to spend the time and money for a sophisticated site. Ease-of-use and pricing are the primary concerns here because server performance or features are somewhat foreign concepts and thus of little concern. If a customer already owns Microsoft Frontpage - which is quite common among this group - then it is highly advisable to go with a Microsoft based hosting plan. Frontpage is the software of choice for basic users because it's fairly straightforward and doesn't require any HTML experience.