Compare Windows vs. Linux

TurnKey Internet offers both Linux and Windows Server 2008 (R2) operating systems to choose from for your hosting needs on our dedicated servers and virtual private servers. Choosing the right operating system is important to insure you have the specific performance, security and applications that your business will need. TurnKey Internet backs up all our servers with full management, so no matter which operating system you select you will have a winning combination of software, technology and support backed by our team of experts always ready to help.

Monthly Specials Hosting Plan Overview 10 Key Questions Dedicated Server Benefits

  • Which Operating System is Right for My Hosting Needs?

    • Just because you use a Windows desktop PC in your office, does not mean you necessarily should use a Windows-based operating system for your hosting server (and the reverse is true with Linux). The operating system you use on your desktop has little to do with your choice of server operating systems. You can use either operating system equally as well for your hosting server, as long as you understand how to use your administration interface and web publishing software (such as FTP, or Microsoft Front Page).

    When it comes to Web hosting, Linux has been widely considered the best operating system choice. Linux is typically found to be the most reliable, stable, secure, cost effective and efficient system and is the most popular choice for the demanding environment of Web, database and mail servers. The real question that will help you decide which Operating System is right for you is to examine the applications you plan to use on your server such as the administrative control panel, specific scripting languages you plan to use, what type of database your specific applications are written to work with, etc. While Linux is the preferred choice by most (because there is far more compatible open source (free) software available for use such as web forums, blogs, mail tools, and more), Linux lacks complete support for Microsoft specific applications such as Microsoft SQL Server, ASP, VB, Front Page, and IIS (Microsoft Internet Information server). If you need any of those specific Microsoft software technologies then you should select Windows Server 2008 as your operating system. Both Linux and Windows Server 2008 can run the most popular web-enabled technologies such as PHP, Perl, MySQL, Apache, etc., but you typically have to manually install those applications on Windows Server 2008, unless using the Parallels® Plesk Panel premium control panel on your server. Linux is considered the best for hosting PHP, Perl, MySQL and Apache-based web sites since those technologies are embedded in the server and optimized from the start. You need to examine which technologies your web site(s) need, and what you may need in the future as the basis of choosing the right Operating System for your hosting server.

    Operating System Application Support Comparison

     

    Windows

    Linux

    Internet Information Server
    (Windows Web Server)

    Apache Web Server

       *

    Apache with Mod Rewrite
    (popular for most PHP applications)

      

    cPanel web hosting control panel

      

    Plesk web hosting control panel

    Microsoft® FrontPage Extensions
       *

    Perl 5.x

       *

    PHP 4.x & 5.x

       *

    ASP (Active Server Pages)
    ASP.NET Framework
    VB (Visual Basic)

    MySQL 4.x & 5.x

       *

    MS Access

    Microsoft SQL Server Database

    Microsoft Dot Net (.NET)

    ColdFusion
    Server Side Includes
    Client-Side Javascript

    Items marked with * may require additional administration, setup, support and may not be fully compatible for some applications compared to the Linux version.

  • What makes Hosting Your Linux or Windows Server with TurnKey Better?
    • The real difference, beyond the quality, performance and service that TurnKey provides, that we include everything without hidden fees. We include a generous amount of RAM, CPU, disk, and bandwidth with every low-cost plan, while competitors may try to trick you by offering very low allocations of resources for your web site(s) only to surprise you later with extra fees, over-usage bills and new surcharges. Be sure to avoid competitors using industry buzz words like "burstable" -- they are often trying to advertise cut-throat up-front introductory low rates to over-sell and over subscribe their network and will typically cause your web site(s) to experience quality-of- service problems until you are willing to pay them extra. Most competitors pad their service fees with many add-on charges, such as $50 more a month for disk backups, $30 a month for an Administration Panel, extra hourly fees for support, $50 more a month for firewall services, and even more every month just to keep your software up-to-date! TurnKey believes you not only deserve all these features, but you should not have to pay extra for them! TurnKey includes these features with our FREE Server Management plans for Servers. All these value-added services are included in our low-cost monthly packages.

    TurnKey Internet hosts all servers on the highest quality carrier-class business servers from Dell with the latest and most secure Linux Red Hat Enterprise operating system. Competitors often will use pre-owned server parts, or lower quality servers in an effort to appear to offer a lower cost of service to you; but when performance problems and hardware down time become frequent due to these lower quality servers and parts, you quickly see why TurnKey can offer its 100% Satisfaction Guarantee and 100% Network Uptime Service Level Agreement.

    TurnKey Internet owns and operates its facilities (network, computers, infrastructure, fiber optic circuits, etc.) and maintains its own dedicated local (not outsourced) staff. TurnKey Internet is not a reseller, or a sales agent for another datacenter or web hosting company. By owning our own infrastructure we are able to offer the most competitive pricing and service offerings backed by unmatched quality and support. In fact, many of the competitor offers you may find on the Internet today are from resellers that operate on our network, servers and within our data center facilities.