Written by Jon Bergan on the 01/02/2007
Let me begin by stating that I could quite easily give you numerous reasons why choosing a web host based on open source software is the only way to go, however we'd probably be here all day. Seeing as we don't have all that much time, I'll focus on the two primary reasons - overall cost and reliability.
First and foremost, web hosts who use UNIX based operating systems or developer software packages such as PHP and MySQL will always be immensely cheaper than their Microsoft or Adobe alternatives. The reason for this is really quite simple. Open source software is free whereas the others aren't. When you use a web host that utilises open source software, you're only really paying for the server space and the traffic to/from the server. Hosts that use Microsoft and Adobe software often have to pay licensing fees for those software packages and you will eventually cop some if not all of that bill. Sure, these products are quite good to work with, but you'll find that there will almost always be an equivalent open source alternative that you could quite easily use.
If the reduced cost was not enough, then you have increased reliability. You want your website to be online whenever you or your clients need it and you shouldn't have to put up with downtime simply because the server needs to be rebooted or a specific service has failed. You'd like to think that the software that actually costs money is going to be a lot more stable than the free stuff but I'll tell you right now that it's not. How many times has your Windows-based PC crashed? I know that if I had a dollar for every time mine had, I'd be rolling in it right about now!
Don't get me wrong though. Servers running Microsoft Windows Server are not a bad choice and they do have their perks, however I'd rather put my extra change I'd save on going open source to something a little more worthwhile. As a small business owner, wouldn't you?
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