Cloud with Linux vs Windows: Which Cloud Server is right for you?

Linux vs Windows

When choosing a server, your choice of platform falls into broadly two categories - Linux and Windows. Most site on the Internet will tell you that both are good and that it doesn't really matter if your developers are familiar. In this article, we give you specific situations where one is better than the other and what considerations should guide you into choosing the correct Operating System for your server.

Contents 1 Linux 1.1 Features of Linux 2 Windows 2.1 Features of Windows 2.2 When to Choose Windows 3 GigeNET's Offerings

Linux

Linux is the open source operating system which currently powers most of the servers worldwide from a percentage point of view. Its appeal comes from the fact that it's free (there are enterprise offerings like Red Hat which offer professional customer service too) and has a robust set of programs that go with it. Most of these programs are free as well.

The Web Server that most Linux distributions run is called Apache and its closest rival is Microsoft's IIS servers. Actually the version of the Operating System may differ. The important aspect is that they're based on the Linux kernel. Linux is perceived as being less vulnerable to viruses and other forms of malware. Also, bugs are fixed rapidly by the online community.

Another benefit is that the hardware requirements for Linux have traditionally been lower than those required for a Windows Server and this is a big deal for some enterprises. When it comes to hardware support for Servers, Linux doesn't face the same issues that desktop computers face - namely problems with drivers. Linux is so widespread on Servers that every hardware manufacturer has released Linux drivers for server Hardware.

Features of Linux

Some of the important features of Linux are as follows.

Linux is an operating system that has what is called a monolithic kernel which presents a uniform interface to applications over the underlying hardware. All the other features in Linux are typically implemented using "packages". For example, if you have a GUI interface, it might be implemented using the X Windows system.

Linux is also open source and is supported by a large community. It has been noted several times that the support one finds on these forums often outdoes the support found with other professional customer support. There are also several Linux based operating systems for which customer support is sold. Examples are Red Hat and the Ubuntu Server.

Because Linux is so customizable, it has been used for many devices that don't have established operating system vendors such as hand helds, supercomputers, or any other non standardized or established hardware. Due to the large percentage of servers that run Linux, almost all server hardware includes Linux drivers.

Conversely, because of the widespread adoption of Linux on servers, most commercial server programs can run on a Linux OS.

Windows

A Windows server is the other major alternative to Linux. As it is produced by Microsoft, its development is strictly controlled and its documentation is superb.

Microsoft's real success with servers started with NT 4.0 which proved to be remarkably stable and whose kernel still provides the inspiration for the more advanced servers released by them today. The latest Windows OS is the 2008 R2 version which boasts one of the best web servers - namely IIS7. This latest iteration is squarely aimed at pulling developers away from Linux with its FastCGI module which Microsoft claims runs PHP scripts as well as under a Linux environment.

The share of Windows Servers in the market has been growing rapidly over the years and now stands at around 40% of the total servers in use. Microsoft's claim is that the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a Windows Server is lesser than that of a Linux Server. There are definitely some grounds for this claim as we shall see in the later sections.

The Windows platform is also home to the famous .NET framework - Microsoft's programming architecture which allows for Rapid Application Development (RAD) in a strictly object oriented fashion which makes use of enterprise class tools such as Visual Studio - a powerful draw.

Features of Windows

The most visible feature of a Windows Server is that it's not free. You need a license to run it on each processor. Microsoft also doesn't allow you to run it on an unlimited number of virtual systems. There are fairly complex licensing rules that apply and this can be a drawback.

However, the biggest advantage of running a Windows Server is interoperability with existing Microsoft Products. For example, suppose you have a portfolio of multiple projects and need Microsoft's Project Server, that software will run only on a Windows Platform. Other technologies such as Sharepoint, and MSSQL are also Microsoft specific. The advantage of using a database such as MSSQL again is that programming platforms such as .NET make database integration with MSSQL much easier.

So the benefits trickle down and get larger and larger the more you commit yourself to Microsoft products. For a large organization, this can result in significant synergies.

Microsoft Windows also has professional support and its documentation is excellent. Unlike Linux, Windows is released in a controlled and linear manner and so there are no confusing distributions to worry about.

Windows is also noted for its ease of use. Its GUI design is structured around easily getting tasks done and many administrators find this most convenient. Backward compatibility is also maintained so that older programs run on newer versions of the Operating System.

When to Choose Windows

All the advantages of a Windows Server come home when an organization is heavily invested into Microsoft products. Integration between services such as Project Server, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Outlook, MS Office and the rest, result in huge synergies and savings for large organizations.

In addition, companies reap the benefits of professional support and fantastic documentation. It is for this reason that Microsoft often talks about the Total Cost of Ownership (TCS) which includes customer support and provisions for various synergies. A Windows server is also easier to administer than a Linux server for a first time administrator because of the easy and fully functional GUI that has characterized Windows products.

There's also no doubt that the server has steadily improved over the years. The latest iteration specially - namely Windows Server 2008 R2 has tremendous improvements in terms of running PHP code (initially the bastion of Linux) as well as integrating a variety of features such as Media delivery services into its IIS7 Web Server.

Of course if you're a development company or a hosting company, a Windows server will enable you to run the impressive and free .NET framework which can handle compatible applications. The .NET framework is the latest in Web application development allowing full Object Oriented web programming as well as programming in multiple languages. Many find it easier to use than either PHP or Java and it's professionally supported by Microsoft.

In short, a Windows server is for you if any of your requirements hinge on Microsoft's technology. Sure, if it's only major offline products such as MS Office (though you can benefit with Windows Server for that too), then you can still avoid using Windows Server, but in case you plan to integrate further, you would really miss out on the synergistic opportunities down the line.

GigeNET's Offerings

GigeNET offers a very wide range of Operating Systems from which to choose from. If you decide to run Linux, GigeNET offers the following flavors:

* CentOS
* Debian
* Fedora
* Ubuntu

If you decide to use a Windows Server, GigeNET has the following available OSs:

* Windows Server 2003
* Windows Server 2008

Each OS mentioned above can be obtained for different versions and different licenses. For example, Windows Server 2008 is available in Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter editions. A Linux distribution example is CentOS which is available in version 4 as well as 5. Visit the software and services section of our GigeNET ordering page to get a full list of what we have available.