Considerations of Linux versus MS Windows to Resellers

When it comes to meeting the needs of your customers, evaluating the various options on the marketplace can help your adapt to demand trends. In recent years, Linux based servers have become more popular for their flexibility and open source software contributions.

On the other hand, there are high demand pools for Microsoft servers among certain legacy business clients. Depending on your customer acquisition goals, targeting a combination of these server types can provide a more effective business model. This guide aims to help resellers understand the major distinctions between running a hosting company offering Linux from what is required to offer Microsoft IIS services.

While larger hosting companies offer both Microsoft and Linux servers for their customers, there are different specifications for each server. As a result, smaller companies will have to ensure their technical support representatives are trained on both server platforms.

This can mean your technical resources may be limited to start, so many hosts begin by offering Linux servers and later add a dedicated team for Microsoft servers. This guide provides an overview for early stage hosts to understand the features, options and configurations for each major type of server on the market today.

Comparing Linux and Microsoft Hosting Features

The single most popular development stack for modern applications is Lamp (Linux Apache mySQL and PHP.) With the growth of the open source community, there is a large development community, set of development libraries (including Javascript resources), as well as frameworks (Zend, Cake) as well as software for Linux (Drupal, etc.) For these reasons, many users opt to develop a LAMP stack for their initial foray into reseller hosting. The continued growth of PHP and Ruby on Rails has made Apache servers the primary choice for a growing number of users.

While ASP.net has its own strengths, including Microsoft’s emerging Biz Spark development program (which provides low cost development tools including Visual Studio, for startups), server configuration requires an understanding of IIS. One common example is configuration of search optimization for Microsoft servers – while Linux can be modified for clean URLs through .htaccess files, Microsoft servers require more extensive file tree configuration that can be difficult for first time users. Overall, Linux-Apache servers provide a more open platform.

If you’re running your own dedicated servers, then the licensing costs from Microsoft will be much higher than building out your own LAMP stack. As a result, Linux is a more open, nimble approach for entry level hosting companies to begin building their own hosting infrastructure.  It’s not only easier to recruit experienced Linux engineers, but your fixed hardware costs are much more affordable when working with Linux (rather than Microsoft-based platforms).

Finding LAMP technicians is relatively easy compared to finding ASP.net experts, since there are countless PHP and mySQL programmers who can easily step in as a reliable support engineer for your company.  From both a technical, resource and investment perspective, Linux is a better choice for moving in the right direction. Building up your Linux stack can provide an agile way to get your hosting company on the right path.

Links

• Top 10 Reseller Hosting Companies