Which OS to opt for your VPS host?

Jul 27,2021 by Manoj Yadav

Once you have come up with the decision of selecting VPS hosting as your hosting plan, the very next decision is to select the operating system for your VPS host. We know it can be really confusing at times as one thinks that they need deep technological expertise to select that right one. But not to worry, till the end of this blog you will get a clear idea that which OS is the best for your website.

Cheap Windows VPS hosting comes in many forms and pricing plans and the major differentiating factor is its OS. Each of the OS for VPS hosting comes with its own set of specifications and distributions. Each of these distribution serves a different purpose and is suitable for a different kind of project.

To tackle with such confusion, first, make it clear that what is the purpose of your VPS host. After clearing it out it is important to present it to your cheap Windows VPS hosting provider. Although most of such providers have consultants or expertise to suggest you there is no harm in going pre-informed.

There are a set of things that you need to be pre-informed they are such as –

Kind of website
Coding platform of your website
Target audience
Ultimate aim of your enterprise
Budget at last

You might be thinking that what the worse could happen if you choose the wrong OS for your website. Things will get worse when the traffic will start to shoot and the wrong OS will not be able to handle such high traffic and this will result in low functionality, poor performance, etc. All of this will lead to frequent and elongated downtime. But a detailed study of the major OS for your VPS host will save you from going through all of this.

1. Windows Operating System–

Windows is one of the most commonly installed OS with a VPS host. You should not get confused between the normal Windows client edition you install on your local systems like Windows 10 or 8. Here we are talking about Windows server editions like Windows server 2019 or 2008 R2, etc. Widows client edition is designed in a way that can be used by an individual for its personal use. Whereas a Windows server is designed in a way so as to manage multiple users or programs simultaneously. Windows as an OS for your VPS host might cost you more as its license for installation is costlier than others. But it is still the best option if your applications are running over .NET.

A Windows server edition is very good at supporting powerful hardware. The very prominent distinguishing factor between a Windows server and a Windows client is its ability to support more than one processor. This feature of a Windows server is very beneficial for a VPS host.

A Windows server as an OS is preferable for some special occasions like-

For surfing web
For running roles and features
For running a website
For running a VPN server
For usage as a storage server
For usage as an update server
For applications that run 24*7

2. Linux Operating System–

Linux is an open-source platform and thus a preferred OS for your virtual private server. As Linux is an open-source platform it has more distributions as compared to other OS platforms. A Linux OS or more commonly known as Linux kernel and is so flexible that people can even change its code to create their own distribution. This has made Linux a very mass distribution platform. For a VPS hosting platform, its server edition is mainly installed.

Various distributions of Linux have various applications. Like for example, for web applications, CentOS and Ubuntu distribution is more preferred. Although Linux is considered to be best for applications written on the PHP platform but has other applications as well.

Here are some of the usages where Linux as an OS finds its applications

For running a website
For running a VPN server
For running a web-application
For running a backup server
For testing purposes
For running a mail server

Windows vs Linux

Windows VPS	Linux VPS
A Windows VPS needs a license that makes it costlier.	Linux is an open source thus is not that costly
With a Windows VPS, you will be allowed to use Plesk as it is more user friendly in a Windows environment.	With a Linux VPS, you will commonly get cPanel or Web Host Manager (WHM). But Linux distribution is more flexible.
An easy and comfortable user interface	Can be a little tough on the beginners
Not all Windows VPS deliver 100% uptime	Most off the Linux VPS servers promise to deliver 100% uptime.

We have already stated the major differences between the two but there are many other technical specifications that can be equally necessary for anyone while choosing one out of them. One issue you might find with a Windows VPS host is that it needs more frequent rebooting. Windows keeps on updating more often and each time you need to go through an update.

Now if we come to the budget part at last, so if you are lacking at it then Linux is the definite choice for you. But if budget is not an issue for you as it might turn out to be expensive. But don’t doubt the capabilities of a Linux VPS server by its cost. Linux VPS server provides you full access to the server, unlike the Windows VPS server.

Now we hope that more than half of your doubts have been cleared till now. Our ultimate agenda is that you must choose the best for your website.

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