A website or more generally any connected application must be hosted on a machine whose main characteristic is to provide high availability both in terms of software and hardware.
The choice of hosting for its site, whether it is a dedicated server, VPS or a shared solution, must raise the question of the operating system of the corresponding server.
Window hosting the UK now offers two main operating systems for servers: Linux or Windows, Microsoft’s operating system. If these two software has many common points, differences exist nevertheless and they are not negligible. We will detail in the rest of this article, the specific features or the advantage of opting for Windows hosting.
Before that, we must remember why the operating systems based on UNIX, of which Linux is the best representative, is chosen for 67% of web servers against 33% for Microsoft technology, according to w3techs. This statistic may seem paradoxical when you know that 75% of Internet users use a Microsoft operating system to navigate, according to w3schools.
Administrators and web developers mainly choose Linux for cost reasons. When Windows asks to buy a Microsoft license, Linux is free. For “small budget” projects, this choice is even more supported with the larger offer of free software for Linux.
Windows hosting is particularly suitable for businesses
Businesses, who can get past the budget problem, are particularly willing to use Microsoft web servers. Especially since they find with this operating system and more particularly with its server versions serious advantages.
Microsoft servers, such as the latest Windows Server 2016, guarantee security deemed superior to that of Linux.
Windows servers are easy to secure
Microsoft has integrated many tools to facilitate configuration and control of security. Server 2016 integrates for example Defender – to fight against malware, Bit locker – to encrypt data stored on hard disks, Control Flow Guard – to prevent attacks of memory corruption, or Device Guard, to authorize only execution trusted programs. Besides, user management is simpler on Windows servers than on Linux machines.
Finally, the complete administration of a Windows server can be carried out very simply via a graphical interface. Linux administrators must go through a command-line terminal.
Windows servers take advantage of the latest technology
Computer hardware manufacturers often favor the deployment of their products on machines equipped with Windows. Users of a Microsoft operating system are therefore often privileged and therefore the first to be able to install new technology. Linux users often have to wait several months before being able to implement new technology.
If Microsoft servers are considered to be the most consuming of machine resources, it should be noted with Server 2016 a significant optimization of the use of the server with the possibility of creating “Nano Servers”, servers where the number of components is limited. This feature also actually promotes maintenance since fewer updates are made.
A Windows server can easily integrate into a company’s IT infrastructure
Companies with a computer park made up of Microsoft machines have every interest in opting for a Windows server. The organization can thus benefit on all its machines from its exclusive Microsoft software. Also, the vast majority, if not all, of the free software available for Linux is available for Windows. Finally, a Windows server can be produced with ASP.NET technology.
Note that a company can opt for a Microsoft server even if it has computers running Mac OS X or Linux. Despite the differences in the operating system, users will be able to access the server without any difficulty.
Microsoft provides software maintenance and support
If Microsoft licenses have a significant cost, they provide access to services expected by companies: software maintenance and support. Software updates provide rapid remediation of security breaches or performance optimization. The support guarantees that there will be no deadlock. Some bugs can be eliminated after several months in the Linux universe, where the software installed is mainly from the open-source world. As for support, it is mainly provided on Linux by the community, notably through forums.
Microsoft facilitates website development with WebMatrix3
Microsoft offers a free development tool allowing professionals to create and manage websites easily and quickly. This software called WebMatrix allows among other things to build websites in the cloud using technologies like ASP.NET, PHP, Node.js or even HTML5. Many features, such as the integration of the versioning and collaborative work tool GIT, or the deployment facilitated by FTP, have already attracted many experienced developers.
windows hosting uk and Programming Languages
Windows servers provide access to all programming languages available on Linux but also to the proprietary language ASP, Active Server Pages, or more generally to ASP.NET, a technical solution proposed by Microsoft for the generation of dynamic web pages coded in different languages. Like APS, JScript or even, for example, Visual Basic.
ASP.NET is particularly appreciated in the development of web applications because of the quality of software provided by Microsoft but also for the numerous pre-developed modules, the obligation to compile the code and therefore to detect a maximum of bugs upstream of the production and also for the performance of .NET, framework of which ASP.NET is a part.
Microsoft SQL Server databases
Windows hosting allows you to use the Microsoft SQL Server database management system (DBMS). One of the main attractions of SQL Server is to natively offer the possibility of performing queries between several databases. Also, the use of Microsoft SQL Server can be obvious for companies that already have databases based on this DBMS and even more when they have licensed software allowing their designs and their maintenance.
The use of Microsoft SQL Server, although possible since 2016 on Linux operating systems, is proposed for shared hosting only when they use Windows as the operating system.
Conclusion
If Windows web hosting costs more than a comparable offer where the operating system is chosen is Linux, the profits can be substantial for a company. If the support offered by Microsoft and the integration into an existing IT infrastructure are serious advantages, securing the server is by far the most certain advantage of Windows hosting. The relatively simple configuration of security rules and all the software integrated into the operating system best protect companies from the ever-increasing number of hackers’ attacks.
What infrastructure is behind Windows server hosting?
Your windows hosting uk provides optimal performance for your web content on the most advanced systems. To do this, the Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a central element whose load is distributed in different data centers. CDN increases the performance of your Windows server hosting. Via the Cloud, users search for your site from the nearest servers. These are distributed in more than 20 data centers all over the planet. While the advanced offers are already equipped with the CDN, you can order this optional feature in the basic offer. Thanks to Windows server hosting, websites that contain many photos take advantage of the “Mirage” function. It recognizes the screen of the user and the connection speed of the device. Thanks to this information, the resolution of the images adapts to guarantee an ideal balance between quality and speed of loading.
Our Web Space-Explorer is also a practical interface for downloading data to your server. You open it very comfortably via your browser and you are no longer redirected to FTP programs, which are often bulky. Another equally enjoyable option for setting up data for your ASP server is WebDAV. You use the tool as a network drive and coordinate your data in the folder structure. You make the basic settings (e.g. settings for contact details, content administration) for your Windows server hosting via the Control Center. The resolution of the images adapts to guarantee an ideal balance between quality and speed of loading.
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Make the basic settings (e.g. settings for contact details, content administration) for your Windows server hosting via the Control Center.
