This article are about the comparison between web servers which are Linux and Windows NT. If you’ve been looking at the various web mastering sites and newsgroups, you can see a lot of discussion about web servers. More importantly, which one is better: the Apache or the Internet Information Server (IIS) such two web server systems can be seen as being really functionally equivalent?
Let’s compare on the features of security, efficiency, ease of use, customization, operating system integration, Domain Name System (DNS), email and search engines.
Security
IIS’s security model is one of the best ever developed, based on NTFS (the Windows NT and Windows 2000 security model). This model is far superior to anything for non-Windows systems that Apache offers. Of course, Apache can use NTFS on Windows too.
Lately, IIS has been plagued with a number of vulnerabilities and these are a concern. Patching IIS at least monthly is common, and installing a new service release (a collection of patches) twice a year. Apache (prior to version 2) worked out most of the bugs a long time ago. Obviously, you should expect a range of security and other vulnerabilities to emerge with the introduction of version two of Apache and these are a natural part of the life cycle of a product.
Efficiency
The IIS is more efficient than the Apache according to several reports. But in static pages, as we check for the two’s performance is roughly the same. You can see that according to many sources, the PHP (the server side scripting framework that is used on Apache) appears to be more powerful than ASP (the server side scripting system for IIS).
Ease of Use
IIS is much easier for the novice since it can be maintain by operators from easy to use screens and forms. On the other hand, Windows 2000 costs more than other operating systems, such as Linux, FreeBSD and Unix. Straight Apache needs an immense learning curve to learn how to work and administer. Everything is set up in extremely obscure text files, and these configurations are done by hand (although you can purchase add-on utilities to allow much of this information to be enter from screens and forms).
Customization
IIS does not have the equivalent of HTACCESS. Apache’s HTACCESS file is use to configure virtual sites (web sites) separately, without restarting the web server. You however have a very versatile configuration system on IIS with ISAPI filters and other similar methods. Both methods (HTACCESS and ISAPI filters) are for advanced webmasters and are very obscure.
Operating System Integration
IIS and Windows 2000 are a more “integrate” environment than Apache, since the operating system is specifically target at IIS. This has the advantage that the GUI and controls of IIS look and feel exactly the same as any other Windows tool.
On the other hand, for just about every platform you can find Apache like Linux, Unix, BSD, and even stuff like OpenVMS. If you need to switch between platforms, then Apache is a great option.
DNS
DNS is far, far superior to anything usable under Unix or Linux on Windows 2000. Bind (he DNS for Unix and similar systems) has historically suffer from a huge number of vulnerabilities in security) and is very involve in maintaining them.
DNS servers show a dedicated box of DNS software is the best solution. These are cheap (for a business), easy-to-configure, and much safer than either the Windows 2000 or Unix edition.
SMTP on IIS is usable but basic. This is because only allowing scripts and such to send email from server is available. If you need further email assistance, Outlook or some other email system should be used.
Apache does not support SMTP (send mail) although the target system usually includes a version. The email solution provide is fully functional-but to make sure your device isn’t an insecure relay, you must be very sure to check the setup.
The IIS SMTP module is configure via the regular Windows 2000 entry system. While Send mail includes editing of the configuration files. To handle IIS SMTP is absolutely trivial send mail can be a challenge.
Search Engines
There is no difference between Apache and IIS (or any other web server, for that matter) as regards search engines.
