Home Technology What are the Benefits of Windows VPS Hosting?

What are the Benefits of Windows VPS Hosting?

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Windows VPS Hosting

Shared hosting is a rather common server solution for many businesses. However, it is rather suitable for smaller businesses or newly created businesses, but as they grow and their website becomes constantly more popular, the further use of shared hosting may pose a problem. The reason for that is that shared hosting supposes, as you see from the name, that numerous users use the same physical server, sharing its capacities, resources, operating system, and IP address.

In many cases, especially with high traffic, this can cause troubles and errors, which are multiplied by the fact that if one customer’s website gets hacked, then the rest of the sites become threatened as well. Thus, switching to something different than shared hosting is by and large rather a question of time. One of the possible options you can switch to is  Windows VPS hosting. In this article, we are going to have a look at how Windows VPS works and in which case you should go for it.

What do you have to consider when choosing a VPS?

If you have made up your mind to switch to a VPS server for your website, there are basically two choices you have to make regarding which type of VPS you would like.

The first one is how you want your VPS to be managed, where you have two options: a managed (fully managed) or an unmanaged (self-managed) VPS.

A managed Windows VPS presupposes that the management of your VPS, that is maintaining the system, installing updates and software, fixing errors, support, etc. is offered by your hosting provider for an additional payment. This option is good for customers who are new to server management or don’t have an extra IT department at their company, or who just want to dedicate more of their personal time and resources to other aspects of their business, with the only drawback being a lack of control, which, however, is more significant to users that know well how to manage a server on their own.

An unmanaged VPS means that the mission of VPS management is handed to the customer themself. In this case, the only service offered by the hosting provider is the physical machine of the server. The consequence is lesser costs and full freedom for the customer to organize their server operation as they want. Respectively, this will need some more experience and savvy in server management from the customer or their team, which means that they have to know what they choose.

Another aspect that one has to consider when choosing a VPS, is the system to install on it, with two options: Linux or Windows. To the features, advantages, and disadvantages of the latter, we are going to dedicate today’s article.

Windows VPS VS. Linux VPS?

Choosing an operating system for your VPS is important since both systems aren’t equal and have their particularities, which make each of them better for particular customers. Today, Linux is a generally more popular system. The main reason for this is that Linux is completely free, which makes most VPS hosting solutions with Linux significantly cheaper than the ones with Windows – you only pay for the hardware.

Another aspect of Linux’s popularity is the fact that it’s open-source, which makes it easier to modify and easier for developing software for it.

However, apart from the financial aspect, there can be some significant reasons to choose Windows VPS as well. One of them is that certain software, useful for certain purposes, is supported exclusively by Windows. These include MSSQL database management or ASP.NET development network.

On the other hand, some software solutions are also much better suited for running on Linux: PHP, MySQL, servers like Apache, or Nginx. So, projects of a smaller scale, like blogs, are mostly better adapted for Linux VPS.

Another benefit of using Windows VPS may be the fact the operating system may seem much more familiar to most users – seeing such an interface can make it easier to start working with the VPS, especially when you aren’t that familiar with the command line. However, you should keep in mind that using an operating system for a PC and for a server is quite a different thing, and the latter involves some know-how, specific to server management only.

Apart from price, there are some other points where Linux might be a better choice for your VPS, than Widows.

First, Windows, being a corporate software, is more vulnerable to cyberattacks, since cybercriminals have had an opportunity to study it most carefully. Linux is not invulnerable In its turn, but being open-source its builds aren’t that centralized and the code can be reviewed by hundreds of developers from a vast community, so most bugs and weak points are fixed rather soon.

Also, a Linux-based system doesn’t need to be rebooted when updated. This is much less likely the case with Windows, which usually needs to be restarted, causing downtimes, which can make your site eventually less attractive.

The definite benefits of Windows VPS

With its mostly flexibility-related weaknesses against the open-source system, the corporate system has its specific advantages as well.

First and foremost, support: although Linux does have a vast community of developers, it doesn’t mean that it acts always operatively, and you never know, if the person helping you is savvy enough.

On the contrary, Microsoft provides its official channel of support agents, which are paid to reply to you promptly and give reliable answers.

Secondly, although Microsoft might lose ground for customers of smaller scales, it may be of real use for large corporations.

Since corporations consist of networks of hundreds of users which have to be connected in some way, the services of Microsoft come here into play.

The Active Directory service, provided by Windows, allows for authentification and control – two major components of corporate network creation.

Another useful function is represented by an ability to push policies to employees, which is a great way of improving corporate productivity and enhancing security.

The features mentioned above are present exclusively on Windows which makes this platform unique and efficient for its purposes.

Conclusion

When choosing an operating system for your VPS, you should take into account various points. Which system you use on your PC mustn’t necessarily affect your choice, since managing a server is quite a different story, and you will learn much anyway.

Generally, the difference between Linux VPS and Windows VPS is conditioned by a free and open-source nature of the first and corporate nature of the second, which provides that Linux is better suited for more independent users, while Windows suits best corporations. If this article was still not enough for you, then you can consult a specialist when choosing a VPS. Go and check out HostZealots United Kingdom VPS and you’ll definitely find what is best for your business! Take care and see you next time!