anat — Thu, 01 Feb 2001 08:03:37 +0000

I can tell you that from the user's point of view, I needed both types. Part of my site uses ASP + Access, another part uses PHP + MySQL.

So far, the NT/ASP site is a real pain. It's not very stable as users need to work within the sessions time limit. I get support requests from users everyday...

X-treme — Sat, 27 Jan 2001 03:10:42 +0000

I also agree with the cost issue of NT over Linux. I would add that in my opinion Linux based or BSD systems are much easier to set up and maintain than NT or Win2k's. I have tried both O/S's and have stuck with Linux based. It really depends on your clients needs and your tech supports knowledge to really determine which one is "better". They both have their goods and bads. But I do think Linux has the edge as of right now.

X-treme

Justin S — Thu, 25 Jan 2001 20:13:02 +0000

Yep. The reason is it costs a lot more to maintain and run an NT server, compared to a Linux server. For example, Linux is open-source, thus making it free, while Windows 2000/NT costs $250. Then there's the Windows 2000/NT server, which is another $800. And that's just getting started!

Hartmann — Thu, 25 Jan 2001 18:10:18 +0000

Has anyone else noticed the trend that most NT hosts are more expensive than Unix/Linux hosts?

Maverick — Thu, 25 Jan 2001 17:45:41 +0000

Chad is the person that needs to jump into this thread since his company does both NT and Unix hosting. He can probably offer more exact figures on the higher cost of maintaining an NT server over a far more stable Unix box.

anti — Thu, 25 Jan 2001 15:03:56 +0000

Good points, but one big advantage ifor a hosting company is
total cost of ownership.

What do you pay for NT for a 200 node (small) system centre ?
What does it cost you to keep it running ?

I can't tell you the exact numbers (internal use only),
but NT averages at abou 250 times the cost of linux and
it gets worse for larger sites.

anti
ps:
One advantage I could see is that you can get very cheap NT "admins", while linux operators cost a lot more.
(School-Kids vs. Pros)

Justin S — Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:47:31 +0000

More stable? Maybe. Actually, NT is much easier to hack into than Linux. So I guess you could say "running NT is a security risk."

Also, two reasons people would want to use NT is 1) it is the "home" environment of ASP, and 2) it allows Access databases.

Hartmann — Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:35:10 +0000

Linux: You can use PHP as an Apache Module (faster) and ASP as a CGI module (slower).

NT: You can use ASP (which is built into NT, faster) and PHP as a CGI module (slower).

A personal opinion - Linux Rules!!!

[Edited by Hartmann on Jan. 25, 2001 at 09:43 AM]

Jaiem — Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:17:12 +0000

With the current state of the technology, overall Unix/Linux/BSD/etc is generally more stable than NT.

mjames — Thu, 25 Jan 2001 00:54:33 +0000

I believe if you want to use ASP, you have to have a NT server, not UNIX, so that is the major advantage over UNIX.