Why Linux & Which Version?
Sunday, 15 February 2009 03:29 | 
Written by NetworkNerd007 | 
This article covers why to use Linux distributions for your personal web server and comparisons to Microsoft Windows.
The first thing you will need to decide if you are starting a dedicated web server is what operating system to use. While being familiar with Windows makes Windows a preferred choice, it's often not the best for many reasons.
Microsoft Windows isn't free.
This can be a major drawback if the computer you are using doesn't have a license or the version that's on it isn't the one you want to use. If you're doing things legally, it will cost you at least $100 for a copy of Windows for your server, depending on what version of Windows you're getting. Linux has a wide variety of flavors available for free. Some distributions of Linux such as RedHat isn't free, but there's so many of them that are. They're basically all the same, just designed a little different to cater to different user needs. So far I've found Ubuntu being my favorite from the ones I've tried.
Windows loves gobbling your resources up
Unless you strip down Windows or use an already stripped down version, it's probably going to be using a lot of your resources including valuable RAM. Since many of us use an old PC, this can hurt the performance of your web server. The fact is, all the junk that comes with most versions of Windows isn't necessary and would be much better without it all running. Linux is far better tuned in this way!
Windows is as unstable as some ex's
Does Windows' stability remind you of a crazy ex you once had? If you've used Windows for very long, you've probably encountered the random freeze-ups, crashes, or problems in general with it not wanting to run correctly. Although these are greatly reduced by dedicating a computer to being ONLY a web server and not using it for anything else as well as installing a fresh copy of Windows prior to starting, they can still pop up. Once again, Linux's structure is far more stable.
Software for Windows is EXPENSIVE!
It's highway robbery! I built this website with one thing in mind. . . .FREE! Chances are, if you're considering starting your own web server, it's because you don't want to pay for hosting as it's an on-going expense. It's enough of an expense already to pay for your internet connection, so hosting only adds on to that and enough is enough. I do recommend you checking your Terms of Service agreement with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) before starting your own web server, because many of them strictly prohibit you having a server on your internet connection. I know Verizon Fios is one of these. But back to the subject.
There's a few really nice server software programs for Windows and I've tried mentioning them on the Windows section of this site. But more than likely, you will run into the instance where what you need is going to cost you money when it comes to Windows server software, such as maintenance and monitoring tools.
The awesome thing about Linux is there is an abundance of apps, many with advanced options and features, that are completely free to use and are open source. The only draw back is many of them do not have a GUI (Graphical User Interface) and require command lines to use/configure them. But there's still several that have GUI's available for them to make it easier to use for the average user and free is hard to beat. I do recommend donating to any of them if you have extra change to help out and show your appreciation so they can continue to develop it and it helps cover some of their expenses in making it available to you.
Windows doesn't make me feel very secure
When starting a web server, you expose your computer to even greater chances of being hacked and that's just how it is. There's always the chance even not running a server, but it's greatly increased when you decide to start running a server. Since Windows is designed to be more user friendly than secure, it's wide open to a wide variety of security vulnerabilities that Linux isn't. Things like spyware, viruses, trojans, etc. don't work on Linux because of the strict permissions Linux has.
Ok, ok, I want to try using Linux, but which version/distribution should I use? (There's just so many!)
This was one of my most frustrating things when trying to get started with Linux. Unlike Windows, where your options are very limited, there are tons of different versions of Linux available on the web. And since I'm no expert nor am I able to test them all, I can recommend a couple of them based on what I know.
I've played with basically two versions of Linux, Fedora 10 and Ubuntu 8.10 and so far I like Ubuntu the best. My impression with Fedora 10 was that it's more oriented towards people who are looking for something similar to Windows, because it's layout is closer to Windows than Ubuntu is. But it was missing a lot of the components I needed to do some of the stuff I was trying to do so I personally didn't care much for it. Ubuntu was much better designed for those wanting to start a server and the one I personally decided to use for my own server. However, I've learned Debian is the version most people highly recommend for a web server and so far I haven't had the chance to try it out. I will warn you it's a huge download too, about 12GB. But it's said to be very stable, which I'm not really sure how other versions are not the same.
Summary
So the conclusion for now that I've come to is Linux Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid) is the best choice to start with. It's interface is simple enough to use, it comes with plenty of features pre-installed, and the one I will be using for most of these tutorials for now.
Linux is a great OS and the fact it's free shows us just how ridiculously over-priced Windows is. As I read on Debian's website, software only costs something when it's first developed (someone's time and their pay) and then each copy they sell is 100% profit. It's no wonder Microsoft has a few billion in their bank accounts. The only expense beyond that is people's time for developing updates, which Linux has a huge group of people who donate their time and work together to make it all available to you at no charge.
Since I also share the same ideas by making this website available at my own expense, I found an extra bit of favor for Linux because of it.
So I will be working hard on developing the Linux section to make it as easy as possible for those of you who aren't familiar with Linux to take advantage of what all it has to offer and make it as easy as possible for those who aren't familiar with Linux.
| Comments |
|
|
|
!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."
 |  |  |  |
| This site does not run ads nor does anyone fund it. The owner and author is unemployed and pays for it himself, so if you're feeling generous, please make a donation of any amount to help out. Thank you very much. |
Countries
| 30.3% |  | United States |
| 8.5% |  | United Kingdom |
| 7.7% |  | India |
| 4.7% |  | Australia |
| 4.5% |  | Canada |
Visitors
| Today: | 37 |
| Yesterday: | 134 |
| Last Week: | 1145 |
| This Month: | 763 |
| Last Month: | 5006 |
| Total: | 52597 |