Windows or Linux for Web Hosting

An important web hosting question is which operating system (os) should I use? The two main choices are Windows (Server 2003) or Linux (RedHat). Each have advantages and disadvantages. One thing you can do in windows that you can’t in linux is run .asp/.NET applications. These types of applications/web sites are common in business/industry. Linux has a lot of advantages for blogging and other application hosting web sites. There are a lot of cool things that can be done on wordpress when on a Linux server (relating to search engine optimization) that are much more difficult to do on Windows. I will discuss this in a later post.

One cool feature of Windows Server 2003 for web hosting that cause me too choose it over Linux was remote desktop connection (RDC). RDC allows me to directly connect to the computer, and use it as if I was sitting right in front of it. I think this made it much easier for me to learn how to use the server and learn about web hosting/server administration.

Windows Servers run something called IIS - this is something that linux servers don’t have. Windows servers can do everything linux servers can (Apache) + IIS stuff. Linux servers can onl do Apache stuff.

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November 11th, 2007 - Posted in Web Hosting | | 0 Comments

Dedicated Vs. Shared Servers

Dedicated vs. Shared servers is one of the first things you need to consider when you decide that you want to purchase web hosting. You need to ask yourself how many websites you want to host, and what you want to get out of your web hosting. If you are a “home” user who wants to host one small simple website then I would recommend going with a shared server. A shared server is one dedicated server that is shared by numerous people who have very limited access to the server (through some sort of control panel software like Plesk or CPanel). Shared servers are usuall extremly slow, because they are overloaded with too many websites but are okay for home users.

A dedicated server is where you get an entire server all to yourself. You can log into the server through SSH (if it is Linux) or through remote desktop connection (RDC) if it is a windows server. I will speak mainly for Windows/RDC combo because that is what I use. With RDC you are able to log into the server as if it was right in front of you, and virtually use the server using your own keyboard and monitor as if it were hooked up to the web server. Dedicated servers give you full control over every aspect of your web hosting and they are extremely fast. But they are also expensive.

If you are looking for something in between, I would recommend a third option that is often not mentioned- a virtual dedicated server. Some web hosts have software that allows them to take one dedicated server, which is overkill for most users, and break it down into a few mini-servers. This allows a few users to use one dedicated server. Virtualization software isused to make it seem as though each user has the entire server to themselves though. The advantages of this are that it is less expensive than buying your own dedicated server, but still gives you tonnes of speed and control.

In my next post I will talk about choosing an operating system and explain why I chose Windows Server 2003 instead of Linux.

November 9th, 2007 - Posted in Web Hosting | | 0 Comments

My New Tech Blog

This new blog will include technology reviews, like the new Apple iPhone and other cool devices such as the iPod Touch. I also plan on talking about other technology related activities such as web hosting, web design, server administration and photography.

I will start off with telling you a bit about this site. It is powered by wordpress, a free blogging software. Wordpress is running on a dedicated server which I purchased from a web hosting company located in Waterloo, Canada. I purchased a virtual server from them which means I am sharring a dedicated server with some other people, but it feels as though I have my very own server. The server I am using runs Windows Server 2003 R2 and uses Plesk control panel software. Thats a bit of an intro; if you are looking to get your own website the best place to start is finding a good web host. Always remember that you get what you pay for- I went through some bad experiences before I ended up with Inspiratica, my current web hosting company. Once you have picked a web host, then you need to look into choosing dedicated vs. shared server and choosing an operating system, which I will discuss next time

November 8th, 2007 - Posted in Web Hosting | | 1 Comments