We have listed the major differences between
the two that you should consider in making your final decision. In the
process, we have also tried to address many common misconceptions
regarding these platforms.
Important:
One of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to run UNIX on your
own computer in order for you to host your site on UNIX platform. That
is not true. Which operating system you run on your computer is
irrelevant in making your decision. This means that if you are running
Windows98 or Windows®2000 on your computer, you can still choose UNIX.
| |
UNIX |
Windows |
| Ease of use |
    |
    |
| Reliability |
    |
    |
| Speed |
    |
    |
| Functionality |
    |
    |
| Price |
    |
   |
| Integration with
Microsoft solutions |
  |
    |
| Free/Open Source
Software |
    |
 |
Ease of use:
Over the years, many resources have
been poured into both UNIX and Windows®2000 platforms to make
hosting as easy as possible. Today, there are no differences in
terms of ease of use between these platforms. If you are an
advanced user who prefers to work in shell environment, then UNIX
is your choice. However, if you are a beginner, you will find both
platforms user friendly.
Reliability:
The industry consensus is that UNIX is more reliable. However,
Hostway has made sure that the reliability of the Windows®2000
platform closely matches that of UNIX's. What this means is that
you can make your decision based on the differences in features
rather than on reliability.
Speed:
There is no difference in terms of speed between the two
platforms.
Functionality:
This is where two platforms differ the most. There isn’t much that
can be achieved in one platform that can’t be on the other one.
The main difference is how the end is achieved. For example, if
you need a database driven web site, you can choose either PHP/MySQL
combination under UNIX or ASP/MS SQL combination under
Windows®2000. The trend is for solutions to be supported in both
platforms. For example, Microsoft FrontPage, one of the most
popular web site editors out there, is supported on both UNIX and
Windows®2000. Please see below for the list of supported features.
Price:
Here UNIX holds a slight edge due to the fact that the most of the
software licenses are free and that it’s easier to maintain UNIX
servers than Windows®2000 servers for the same level of
reliability and performance. You will see that our hosting prices
reflect this. Unless you specifically plan to use Windows®2000
platform specific features (see below), it probably makes sense to
choose the UNIX platform.
|
Supported
Features
|
|
Features |
UNIX
|
Windows
|
| MS FrontPage
2000,2002 |
|
|
| Flash |
|
|
| Shockwave |
|
|
| RealAudio/Video |
|
|
| Cgi-script |
|
|
| Perl |
|
|
| PHP |
|
|
| SSH (Secure
Telnet) |
|
|
| MySQL |
|
|
| Miva |
|
|
| ASP (active server
pages) |
|
|
| MS Access |
|
|
| MS SQL |
|
|
| Visual Basic
Scripts |
|
|
| Windows Media |
|
|
|
The following
AXEO-specific features are supported in both Unix and
Windows®2000 platforms
|
-Mailing List
-Weekly Webstats
-Web Based Email |
|
Technical
information for advanced users
|
| |
UNIX
|
Windows
|
| Web Server |
Apache
|
IIS (Internet Information
Server)
|
|