What is a web server?
Regardless of the hosting company you choose, it helps to understand some technical details about their service. Every hosting company has many dedicated computers, called servers, always connected to the Internet and 'serving' pages when they are requested.
Whenever anyone clicks on a link to a certain web page, the request is sent to the particular server where that web page is stored.
The server responds by sending HTML data across the Internet. A web server absolutely must have fast connections to be able to serve pages quickly.
Better hosts have multiple high-speed connections for the greatest speed and reliability.
Practically all good hosting companies use reliable back up power supplies in case of power outages.
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UNIX vs Windows hosting
Two types of operating systems
When searching for a web hosting package, you will notice that some are based on UNIX (or Linux, which is a version of UNIX) and others offer Windows. Most bigger hosts even offer a choice of the two operating systems. What are the differences and which one is better?
It doesn't matter what kind of operating system you develop your website on or what you use on your own computer. Websites hosted on both UNIX and Windows servers are universally accessible because the data they serve is identical. The difference is only in the software serving that data.
Traditionally UNIX systems have a reputation of being more reliable. They are known to be extremely stable and can run for years without rebooting. Windows hosts are also very reliable and able to handle the demands of modern websites, but slightly less so than those based on UNIX.
The majority of web hosts use various flavours of UNIX like Linux and FreeBSD. These operating systems are free and reduce the costs of a hosting operation. Windows costs thousands of dollars therefore some hosts charge extra for Windows accounts when they offer both types.
Linux and the other UNIX varieties are open-source software - anyone can alter the source code and make improvements, updates, and additions. There are many dedicated enthusiasts who use their free time to work on this software. Windows, on the other hand, is Microsoft proprietary software and users are dependent on Microsoft to release updates. No individual user can modify the code.
The main difference between these two operating systems is the type of software each can run. Windows is suitable for Microsoft products: MS Access databases, ASP for delivering dynamic content, and VBScript for website enhancements. UNIX cannot accommodate these technologies.
If you absolutely need ASP or VBScript you should pick a Windows host. UNIX hosts deliver dynamic content by using PHP, CGI, and MySQL. All these technologies are also available on Windows hosts.
Windows is necessary for hosting Windows media files such as videos and audio. Other types of media such as MP3, Flash, Shockwave and Real can be handled by either UNIX or Windows. Websites created in Microsoft FrontPage (a graphical HTML development package) can also be hosted on either operating system.
Which is best?
Before deciding on the type of hosting to use for your website, consider carefully what technologies you will need. Do you need a dynamic site? Will you have multimedia content such as streaming video or audio?
Both UNIX and Windows can provide dynamic content with PHP, MySQL, CGI with thousands of dynamic scripts readily available. Multimedia can also be hosted by either type of server, although Windows media (WMA and WMV) need to be hosted on a Windows server.
If you need Microsoft databases, ASP, and Windows media you have to go with a Windows host. Otherwise most websites are probably better off with a UNIX host. The advantages of UNIX over Windows include greater choices in web hosts, slightly better reliability, and slightly cheaper hosting costs.