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Unix Or Windows? Which Platform Should You Choose?

We are often asked which hosting platform one should choose, Unix or Windows. Below, we've listed the major differences between the two that you should consider in making your final decision. In the process, we have also tried to dispel any 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.

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, especially with a help of Brandblast's HSphere control panel.

Reliability

The industry consensus is that Unix is more reliable. However, Brandblast 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 and cheaper to maintain Unix servers than Windows®2000 servers for the same level of reliability and performance. You will see that our hosting prices do not reflect this, but a variety of hosts will charge you more for Windows hosting. Unless you specifically plan to use Windows®2000 platform specific features (ASP, Visual Basic, MSSQL Databases), you should choose the Unix platform due to its greater speed, reliability cost effectiveness.

Features
MS FrontPage 2000,2002
Flash
Shockwave
RealAudio/Video
Cgi-script
Perl
PHP
SSH (Secure Telnet)
MySQL
osCommerce
ASP (active server pages)
MS Access
MS SQL
Visual Basic Scripts
Windows Media
The following Brandblast-specific features are supported in both Unix and Windows®2000 platforms
-Control Panel – advanced web based hosting control -Mailing List -Weekly Webstats -Web Based Email
Technical information for advanced users
	Unix	Windows
Web Server	RedHat, FreeBSD	IIS (Internet Information Server)

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