Linux Based Servers
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Is A Linux Based Server Right For My Web Page?
Linux and Windows are the two most common and readily available operating systems for web servers, and there are many good reasons for using both. However, at 27Levels Web Solutions we only Linux based servers. While the differences between the operating systems is much less than you might think, you will need to make sure you can run the type of web page you design on a Linux operating system before you select a hosting company.

Accessing the Server
The first difference that most people notice with Web hosting operating systems is how you access the server. Both Windows and Linux offer FTP (File Transfer Protocol) access to your files, but only Linux will generally offer telnet or ssh access. FTP is a way of transferring your files from your hard drive to your Web server. Telnet and SSH are a way to open a window directly on the Web server and manipulate files right there, usually using Unix command line commands.

Writing Your Pages
Both Windows and Linux servers will serve HTML and CSS pages and JavaScript. Typically, Windows servers use files named *.htm while Linux servers use files named *.html, but there is no real difference between these names, just what you prefer. Linux servers are case sensitive, where Windows servers are not. Example, INDEX.HTML and index.html will be two separate files on a Linux system, but the same file on a Windows system. You will need to remember this when linking to a file or image in your web code.

FrontPage extensions are often cited as the reason to use a Windows server. But the Linux based servers at 27Levels Web Solutions offer this service as well.

Server-Side Scripts
The servers at 27Levels web solutions offer CGI, PHP, and Perl. The servers do not support ASP, which is more often found on a Windows based server.

Databases
If you're going to run a dynamically driven Web site, then you'll want a database. The two most popular are mySQL and Access. The servers at 27Levels Web Solutions support mySQL. Access is only available for Windows. Access is mainly used for office servers and not web hosting servers or web pages. 27Levels can configure your emails, as an option, to work with an office based Windows server using Access.

Security
Security is very important to your web host. Many people will argue that Windows servers have more vulnerabilities than Linux servers. But the reality is that they both have security problems. Security is more important at the hosting service's administration level than it is at the operating system level.

Summary
27Levels would recommend, when choosing a hosting server you find one that has the options you want, rather than worrying about what operating system they are running on the back end. For the majority of web page designs, a Linux or Windows servers will make absolutely no difference. However, if you will need ASP for your web design to work, 27Levels might not be the right hosting company for you.