Comparison of Linux and Windows Systems

This article briefly introduces the comparative analysis of Linux  and Windows systems. 

Users can choose the system for deployment according to the actual situation.

1. Features

To choose the right system as a server, you first need to understand the differences between Linux and Windows.

Linux:

Free, safe, flexible, and highly customizable, it is the first recommendation for commercial servers, but it has high requirements and is difficult to operate (especially for programmers who are adapted to the Windows interface operating system).

Windows:

Graphical operation interface, professional system maintenance team (irregular patching), easy to operate and easy to learn.

2. Cost-effective

In terms of price/performance ratio, the advantage of Linux server is obvious. 

As a resource management and operating system, Linux is open source and free, while the genuine Windows operating system is charged, so Linux servers are better than Windows servers in terms of cost performance.

3. Stability

1) Since Windows basically occupies the entire market in the home and office, most viruses are also developed for Windows systems. For example, the wantancry ransomware virus in 2017 was aimed at some vulnerabilities in port 445 of the Windows system and produced huge destructive power. It is worth mentioning that except for some Linux systems being attacked due to the connection sharing with Windows, the Linux system itself has withstood the test.

2) The biggest problem for Windows servers in the enterprise is that it will update some patches. To make these patches take effect, the system must be restarted. Restarting the system means that shutting down the service, while Linux does not need to specify the file name mechanism because of the iNode number, which is also a very important point  for most companies.

3) Linux is a multi-user multi-process system, which means that Linux can handle a large number of running processes at one time, much more than Windows.

4) Windows Server is a graphical interface mode (although there is also a command mode now), and the industry generally believes that the stability of Windows Server is worse than that of Linux. From time to time, we have seen Linux servers that have been on standby for five or six years without rebooting, but rarely have we seen Windows servers that have been on standby for more than a year.

4. Performance

If an enterprise chooses to build a website with limited content and traffic, the performance of the Linux server with the same configuration is better than that of the Windows server, and the Linux server will occupy less resources.

More importantly, Linux servers can run for a long time without generating "system garbage" that can't be eliminated, causing the server to run slowly or crash, while Windows is highly customized, so it needs to be shut down and restarted after running for a long time. Eliminate "system junk", and Linux is better for professional and commercial servers.

5. Ease of use

Windows tends to be the easiest when it comes to integrating applications. In addition, Windows itself comes with a good access control mechanism, which can achieve effective access control without installing any plug-ins or patch packages.

Whether it's Windows or Linux, there are system patches, but it's much easier to patch Windows, and all patches come from Microsoft. The patch mechanism under Linux is much more complicated. There are patches released by software development organizations for a single software, as well as a collection of patch packages released by Linux distribution manufacturers. In addition, patching under Linux is a high-risk thing. While patching in Linux is somewhat difficult, there are several fairly powerful patch management tools among the powerful open source software. In a word, patching a Linux system is a very complicated thing, and it is not easy to install a patch without the courage and confidence. Under Windows, even a novice can install a patch to the system.

6. Security

1) Linux system and Windows system have their own security technologies. Linux's open source software development method helps to expose errors, gather the wisdom of everyone to solve problems, and update various patches quickly, which is an advantage that Windows servers do not have. Another downside to Windows is that many of its applications rely on remote procedure calls, which forces Windows to have less stringent firewalls than Linux. The Linux remote procedure call is restricted use.

2) The permission control mechanism of Linux is much better than that of Windows, so the cost of making a Linux virus is quite high. Therefore, there is no antivirus software under the Linux system.

• Linux is faster and more secure than Windows.

• There is a lot of software that only runs in Windows, and Linux-compatible software is in development.

• Linux is more stable than Windows.

• The operation of Linux is more complicated, and the operation of Windows is relatively simple.

It is recommended that professionals or large enterprises and users with special requirements for servers use the Linux system. The system kernel is stable, but the requirements for operation and maintenance personnel are also high.

If there is no professional operation and maintenance personnel, it is recommended to use the Windows Server system, which is easy to use and requires less operation and maintenance personnel. There are many good teaching materials on the market.