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Linux is a favorite among tech gurus. It’s not so famous among the average computer user, because it has a much steeper learning curve than an operating system such as Windows or OSX. Yet for web hosts, there is no better choice than a Linux distribution for keeping a website up and running.

The majority of emerging technologies are being developed on Linux, meaning those who opted for a Windows server will have a tough time getting the technologies to work. An example would be with PHP- the most famous open source web development language in the world. While it would work on Windows, it would take much configuring and frustration.

In a case where a web host had many clients on a shared server, Linux would be the ideal environment. Take the hypothetical case of a small Missouri web hosting service that had just over a hundred clients. It would not be practical to have two servers because of the costs. Instead, Linux would be the better environment because of the greater demand.

The same Missouri website host will also find that is is more time consuming to run a Windows server. An example is with the Linux command “yum update.” This command allows the administrator to update all packages and their dependencies in one command. Think back to what it would take on a Windows server!

So there you have it. Linux is more robust and has the favor of most web server companies. That isn’t to say that you for sure need Linux over Windows. If there is a certain technology such as ASP or a Windows program, you will need to of course use Windows instead. Windows and their server programs have great GUI interfaces to help you along if you are new to the server administration world as well.