Windows vs. Linux

The operating system that you use on your computer does not need to govern your choice of hosting platform. All Brinkster PHP hosting packages come with FTP access and a wide range of web page publishing options. If, for example, your computer runs on Microsoft Windows, you are not obligated to choose Windows web hosting.

Both technologies are suitable for beginners, professional web developers, and everyone in between, but it is essential to choose the technology that is more suited to your style of web building. Each technology has its own distinct advantages for users.

Microsoft should be your choice of platform if you plan on utilizing Active Server Pages or other Microsoft applications to design your web pages. This platform delivers reduced development time and better functionality for databases.

One of the main advantages for choosing the Microsoft platform is the ability to use ASP, ASP .NET, and Access databases to use in building your web site. ASP and ASP .NET provide a rapid, scalable, and efficient development environment to build your web site. These tools, along with MS Access will allow you to make your web site dynamic and interactive.

This platform is also a suitable alternative if you are developing static HTML based web sites, or sites that incorporate Macromedia Flash or other client-side scripting technologies.

We recommend you choose Windows 2003 as your hosting platform if you are using specific applications that require Microsoft Windows to run such as Access, ASP, ASP .NET, or Microsoft SQL Server.

Note: Microsoft FrontPage can be used on both the Linux and Windows platforms.

Linux is widely considered to be the best operating system for web hosting servers. Characteristically reliable, stable and efficient, Linux has been proven in the most demanding web and mail server environments.

If you plan to incorporate work that uses PHP, Perl or MySQL, Linux is the solution you should choose. Linux is also ideal for the kind of websites that display information as a brochure, in newsletter format or as data sheets. Linux works well for 'brochure-ware' sites that offer interaction via inquiry forms, online purchasing and other e-commerce functions.

Essential programs such as Microsoft FrontPage can also be successfully used with Linux technology. In fact, FrontPage Extensions are offered with Brinkster's Linux hosting packages. Linux is an excellent operating system that is well suited to meet your web hosting needs. Additionally, there are a huge amount of free applications available on the Internet for Linux and it uses less hardware resources than Windows 2003.

Please Note:
One of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to select the same operating system for your hosting account that you use on your own computer. That is simply not true.