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Linux Webhosting Faq

Sunday, 01 May 2005

Our Frequently Asked Questions on Linux gives you insight on what you can expect when choosing a Unix or Linux platform to host your site. Also included is a comparison of Unix vs. Windows Web hosting.

If you plan to host the site yourself, and you own the web servers or the software on them, then Unix (or Linux) would definitely be a less expensive option.

Here is a short comparison of key features, and which are available for the Unix and Windows platforms. Below the table you will find the glossary of common words that are used in the web hosting business.

If you are simply looking for cheap web hosting options, please refer to our home page and there you will find comparison of some of the cheapest linux web hosting options available online.

Features

Unix

Windows

MS FrontPage 2000, 2002	X	X
Flash	X	X
Shockwave	X	X
Real Audio/Video	X	X
Cgi Scripts	X	X
Perl	X	X
PHP	X	X
SSH (Secure Telnet)	X	X
MySQL	X
Web-Based Control System	X
Anonymous FTP	X
Web Site Graphical Statistics	X	X
Web-Based Email System	X	X
SQL 2000		X
Miva/XML	X	X
Cold Fusion	X	X
ASP (Active Server Pages)	X	X
MS Access		X
Visual Basic Scripts		X
Windows Media		X

Glossary of terms:

Apache
Web Server software freely available for both Unix and Linux.

CGI
Common Gateway Interface. In Layman’s terms, a CGI program is a program that can be executed as part of a web server process.

Cold Fusion
Special software package that simplifies the creation of database driven web sites.

GNU General Public License
An agreement by the author of certain software to offer his or her software for free, and to abide by the stipulations of copyleft. Specifically, the copyleft philosophy stipulates that anyone redistributing free software must also pass along the freedom to further copy and change the program, thereby ensuring that no one can claim ownership of future versions and place restrictions on users.

Kernel
The kernel is the essential center of a computer operating system, the core that provides basic services for all other parts of the operating system.

PERL
Perl is a script programming language that is similar in syntax to the C language and that includes a number of popular Unix facilities.

PHP
In Web programming, PHP is a script language and interpreter that is freely available and used primarily on Linux Web servers.