Windows or Linux Hosting?

[eddy102293]

Which should I choose for vBulletin?

[Reeve of Shinra]

Linux is generally cheaper and you will find more support since more people (here) are using it.

[eddy102293]

Price is not a problem.

[Supramania]

You're going to get a lot more out of your hardware with a *nix based solution.

[Scott]

I've been running linux servers since 1996 and have no desire to get involved with a windows box. Why? Windows is closed source and from my experiences not as stable as linux.

If you choose linux and have the opportunity to order your own processor the Intel "Gainstown" series is great.

[ShyGuy82]

I will have to disagree. I have been running Windows servers for YEARS. I have sites in PHP and ASP.NET running side by side with not problems. Currently running Windows 2008 Web Edition with QUAD Core CPU and 8GB ram....it runs great, last time I had to reboot the server is when I installed windows update (about 9 months ago). Its a typical response from *nix people. I use Windows servers where appropriate. If I have to mix asp.net with PHP...If you have PHP only, I agree that you will get more support on *nix based servers because linux dominates when it comes to PHP. But if you have a mixed environment, Win 2008 with FastCGI is just as fast as linux. I see absolutely no difference in terms of speed or stability.

[Shamil.]

Microsoft have been putting a hell of a lot of performance and optimisations into running PHP on Windows Server. If you do decide to use Windows, use Windows Server 2008 R2 Web Edition. Why? Well, there are many reasons. PHP (FastCGI) + Wincache on IIS is faster than PHP (FastCGI) + XCache on Apache. In my internal benchmarking, I saw a performance of increase of up to 200%. I will be publishing results later. MySQL support is great, and it runs just as fast as Linux, if not faster. I have used the Web Platform Installer to set everything up, apart from MySQL.

In regards to stability, I have have to reboot my server several time, only becuase of the several software and OS adjustments I've been making. This server is running Active Directory services, Exchange 2010 server, Sharepoint 2010 server, and thus SQL Server 2010.

It is because of this, that I am migrating most of my PHP sites over to my Windows Platform.

With regards to support, yes there is a lot of linux support out there, but my first point of contact has been the Microsoft community. These guys are simply wonderful.

I suggest you try out a small Windows 2008 / 2008 R2 VPS before you come to any conclusion. Only you'll be able to tell the final difference before you make the final decision.

[Riasat]

I've been running linux servers since 1996 and have no desire to get involved with a windows box. Why? Windows is closed source

wow..that's real L A M E reason you got there.

omg..Facebook doesn't share their source code..i'll never use it.
wtf..i dont have the source code of google search engine..f 'em..boycott google.

have some solid argument next time.

[Shamil.]

wow..that's real L A M E reason you got there.

omg..Facebook doesn't share their source code..i'll never use it.
wtf..i dont have the source code of google search engine..f 'em..boycott google.

have some solid argument next time.

vBulletin is technically closed source.

[eddy102293]

I will be sticking to Windows

[motowebmaster]

Choose whatever you are comfortable with. Either way, you'll be dealing with a learning curve if you've never done it before.

[Mike Anime]

i go with *nix based webhosts why? because they are less likely to have a virus running about on the servers.


my old host let you choose what server you ran on he had to have the windows securety way much higher than he had to on the nix server and that also limited the scripts that would run and for how long they ran for.

[MikeF]

Ironically, my website is all about Microsoft Windows operating systems, but we still use a Linux-based solution for vBulletin and web hosting in general? Why? IIS is bulky to manage and I suppose it depends on the administrator. For awhile, I had been using a Windows Server 2008 Standard solution running Linux under VMWare Server to host CPANEL and vBulletin, and then switched to a managed hosting solution using Rackspace and Red Hat Linux when my site outgrew this methodology from both a bandwidth/throughput/and management perspective.

If you want to ensure 100% uptime for your clients, you should go with a managed solution at a dedicated co-location/hosting facility. Don't spend your money on Windows Server, spend it on the hardware and go with Linux. This is why most websites are still using apache and not IIS. When it comes to return on investment, this translates into a real expense. Why allocate time and money into getting a product that was designed natively under a Linux platform to work on Windows, and then manage that Windows Server set up, when you could feasibly use that investment on better hardware, bandwidth, and professional management.

This is why I would recommend running vBulletin in an *ix based environment. Even if your hands are untied with money, and money is not a cost factor, you can still allocate that money into better hardware and positioning for your site, and skip a Wndows Server solution altogether.

[nforums]

vBulletin is technically closed source.

I dont think it is?

I can see the source code just fine and modify it as needed

[Mike Anime]

hey if *nix based servers are good enough for microsoft isnt it good enough for you?