What is the difference between UNIX hosting and Windows hosting?

[addisoncave]

What is the difference between UNIX hosting and Windows hosting?

[donaldbren]

Do you mean Linux and windows?

[kasif]

There are two types of operating system in the world UNIX and Windows. It is difficult to say which is better choice but it's not difficult to answer. Most of the people use Windows operating system in the desktop. Most personal sites are created with MS frontpage and even although that is a Microsoft product, it can be hosted perfectly on a UNIX web server with frontpage extensions installed.

Stability
Performance
Scalability
Compatibility
Price
Conclusion

[alpa]

All websites today currently run on either a Windows web server or a Linux-based server (Unix). The vast majority of websites run on a Linux-based platform as Linux has a strong reputation for security and web server performance. With standard (static) HTML-based websites, the web hosting platform doesn't make much difference. When it does make a difference, however, is when the website uses a dynamic scripting technology such as ASP (A Microsoft based technology), or PHP / PERL (Linux based technologies). A Windows-based hosting solution will run a Microsoft Windows server with IIS (Internet Information Server), and is necessary to run an ASP / ASP.NET scripted website. A Linux-based platform is typically used for PHP, Perl, and most other types of websites. Basically, unless your website uses ASP (pages ending in the .asp extention), Windows hosting is not necessary.

[bidaddy]

No, you do not have to use Windows hosting if your PC uses the Microsoft Windows operating system. A Windows server is very different that a Windows desktop and most of your interaction with your web server will be through FTP or a web interface.

[manoharparakh]

Linux and Windows are two different types of operating systems. Linux is the most popular operating system for web servers. Since Linux-based hosting is more popular, it has more of the features web designers expect. So unless you have websites which need specific Windows applications, Linux is the preferred choice.

Windows Dedicated Servers can support additional Windows-specific applications. For some applications, you may need to purchase a license and install the software on your Windows dedicated server.

Applications that require a Linux-based server.

SSH
Scripts or applications that require specific Apache modules

Another difference between Linux and Windows servers is that Linux files are case sensitive while Windows files are not.

Windows servers and Linux servers use different control panels.

Although many people consider Linux hosting to be more secure than Windows, both operating systems are equally secure. Security really depends more upon the server setup and the administrators running the server.