How to Select a Server Platform and Web Server
December 7, 2009 by Alfred Johnson
Filed under Web Hosting
Be aware that if you are going to have a website then you are going to have a web hosting service or platform. These are services that you have got to have in order to go live on the internet. Now you are not forced to a specific company. There are many hosting companies out there and they all offer their own incentives. You will find they all have various prices and various packages. It’s important that you find one that you feel confident with, and that will be able to meet your specific needs. Learn the basics of web hosting before you go shopping for this service. If you do, then much of what they advertise will make a lot more sense to you. You will then be an informed buyer.
It really helps to know which are the most common and most favored platforms. So that when a web hosting company is informing you of the platforms they use, you will at least have some knowledge as to what they are referring to. There are lost of web servers out there such as Weblogics, Zues and others including SoneOne. The most popular however is Windows NT/2000 or Apache. This particular is a most favored one because of its many advantages. The Apache server is up by 60.17% with the Microsoft Windows NT/2000 at 30.78%. Unix and Linux running Apache web server, along with the NT/2000 were researched by Netcraft and found to be the most popular platforms and web servers currently on the market.
When we talk of a platform, it’s more like an operation system in computers. Web servers need these operating systems to enable them to run well and perform various tasks. But when talking of web servers, the operating system is known as platform. The most common platform is the UNIX, which is preferred by most web hosts who use FreeBSD, Linus, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 is another platform that is doing well in terms of market share and popularity as a web server platform.
One factor you should consider before deciding which platform for turn to, is the requirements of your website. If you are making a simple web site that will only need HTML to make and run, then you don’t have to be too particular about the platform to choose.
On the other hand if your requirements are going to be scripts like CGI, ASP,SSI,PHP or JSP then you are most definitely going to require the Unix platform. It is very capable for running dynamic content. If you are involved in this form of technology then chances are you are well versed in the functions and capabilities of platforms.
But UNIX may not be compatible with some applications which only Microsoft platform can run. These applications include ASP, MS Access, .Net, Cold Fusion or Microsoft SQL server. For you therefore to be able to run these applications well, you will need to go for a web server that uses Windows NT platform. If you don’t need to use these applications, then you can go for UNIX, which supports functions like PHP, MySQL and Perl.
UNIX is very well known for supporting lots of free programs, plus it is a lot cheaper than Microsoft. With just a little bit of planning when constructing your website you can save yourself some money by using applications that are supported by the less expensive UNIX. If you are innovative you may find it’s not so difficult to plan you site this way. You need to really take a look and see what your requirements are. Perhaps by conceding on some applications that you really probably won’t use, or won’t miss, you will be able to take advantage of UNIX. Then on the other hand, don’t sacrifice a much needed application for the sake of saving some money. You won’t be happy with the performance of your site if you do this. Then you need to end up changing it which would be time consuming and perhaps loss of money from your site not being operational while you made your adjustments.
Alfred Johnson is a web hosting expert, where his latest ecommerce project is selling contact lenses online.
