Blog

Like (almost) any site, this one is hosted on a server. In my case, a Linux server. But why Linux? I hope I can explain it properly to you.

License cost

When I use a Windows server I have  to actually pay for it. I need to have a license to run it. The cost of such a license is $726.00. Would that really be worth it for me as a (small) developer?

Server resources

When it comes to server resources, Linux can be quite light. I don’t have to run it with a GUI which can be a big deal. It costs a lot of resources to render the screen. I can’t imagine running a Windows server on just 256 MB RAM and run a wordpress site perfectly. Windows 8 servers will have the option to do it GUIless but it isn’t out yet.

What I run

Of cource I know that not everyone needs the same. In my case I need PHP and MySQL. I run Webmin and DTC to manage it without having to login through SSH. When you NEED ASP.NET, the most likely option would be a Windows server. You can, however, run it with MONO on Linux.

Conclusion

I think Linux has the edge here. It is more lightweight and it should run whatever you need. I personally haven’t used ASP.NET on Linux so I don’t know how well it runs. If someone has actually done it, please let me know how well it does.