Shared Windows Hosting
Shared Windows Hosting
Shared Windows web hosting services allow users to host websites which are based on Microsoft-only technologies such as classic ASP and ASP.NET in a shared hosting environment without the need to purchase a higher end form of web hosting such as Windows VPS server hosting and Windows dedicated server hosting. Although shared Windows web hosting may be more expensive than your average Linux shared web hosting package, Windows web hosting services are the only form of web hosting which people who have developed their websites using classic ASP or ASP.NET can use due to the fact that both are Microsoft technologies and will not function correctly on any other operating system. Windows shared hosting services also come with many advantages and access to features and applications which you can use to the make the most of your web hosting service, and such features may not be available on web hosting packages which are based upon another server operating system. As with any shared web hosting package a reputable web hosting provider will offer you control panel access so that you are able to manage the different aspects of your shared Windows web hosting account; the standard control panel used by most web hosting providers is Plesk, although to increase the reliability of their Windows shared hosting services some web hosting providers are now opting to use clustered setups that are based on the DotNet Panel Windows control panel. Windows web hosting services are very different to Linux web hosting services in many ways, and it is important for you to ensure that you choose the server operating system that meets your needs; for example it is pointless to use a Windows shared web hosting package to host a website which is based on PHP and MySQL as both programs are available on Linux, and are most likely to run better on Linux servers.
What makes Windows web hosting services different?
The main factor which helps to differentiate Windows shared hosting services from other forms of web hosting is its ability to run classic ASP and ASP.NET based websites alongside websites which have been coded using PHP and MySQL. Although classic ASP is no longer supported by Microsoft, both it and ASP.NET are powerful server side languages which are used by many web developers to create dynamic websites which can then interact with a database backend. Shared Windows hosting package also typically come with the ability to allow you to host at least one Microsoft SQL Server database, and if you have chosen to use Microsoft Access as your database backend then you can normally host as many Microsoft Access databases as you wish on a shared Windows web hosting account. You may also find the reliability of a Windows shared hosting account to be a little less than that of a cPanel based Linux shared hosting account, and although this may prove to be a disadvantage it is a common across most Windows web hosting services; if you want a more reliable Windows web hosting package then you should consider Hyper-V based Windows VPS servers. In summary, you will find that the following factors help to make Windows shared hosting services different:
- Hosting of classic ASP and ASP.NET based web pages – ASP.NET is a serious contender to PHP and is used by many web developers because of the advance features that it has to offer straight out of the box, along wth the fact that it is still actively maintained by Microsoft meaning that if there are any holes found in the software then bug patches will be released quickly – although classic ASP may be old and unsupported by Microsoft now, it can still offer beginners a place to start and is still used by quite a few web developers, hence why more recent versions of the IIS web server will run such pages
- Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access support – Windows shared hosting services are also the only web hosting services available that can host Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access databases – most database systems are normally used in conjunction with classic ASP and ASP.NET based websites and will typically act as the website backend so that all the data which the website requires to function correctly can be stored in one central location – both database systems perform the same function but Microsoft SQL Server databases are seen as much more scalable than Microsoft Access databases
- Reliability – the one thing which many users hold agains the Windows operating system is the fact that every time you install a new application on a Windows server you’re normally required to reboot the server once the application has been installed – it is for this reason that most web hosting providers try and delay the installation of applications and the update of the server until after hours so that any downtime which is caused by rebooting the server is unlikely to cause customers any kind of inconvenience as of course, most visitors will visit websites during the day.
The fact that Windows shared hosting services can host classic ASP and ASP.NET web pages as well as the ability to host Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access databases is what has made Windows web hosting services popular with regular users and web developers a like. However, in most cases Windows shared hosting services are only chosen because they’re the only services which people can use because of how their website has been coded.
Are there any disadvantages to using Windows shared hosting services?
As with any web hosting service you are likely to find one or two disadvantages to using shared Windows web hosting services, however different users are likely to find different disadvantages with shared Windows hosting. The main disadvantage to using shared Windows web hosting services is the price; due to the fact that your web hosting provider will have to pay for the Windows operating system license which the hosting server is using, they will have to increase the cost of their Windows shared hosting packages in order to meet this extra cost. When compared to Linux shared hosting packages you may also find that a Windows shared hosting package isn’t as good when it comes to value for money, since although you may be paying more for a base web hosting package the likelihood is that a Linux shared web hosting package will still have more disk space and bandwidth for the price. Windows servers are a lot more susceptible to attack and external viruses from external parties; although most web hosting provider have beefed their security up recently, there is nothing to stop a virus from infecting a Windows server. In summary, you may find that you’re affected by the following disadvantages with shared Windows web hosting services:
- Cost - although those who are looking at Linux shared hosting services may see the pricing for Windows shared hosting packages as unreasonable, you will find that web hosting providers have to pay for the right to use the Windows operating system whereas Linux distributions are free to use – however, most people only choose Windows web hosting services because they have to based on the grounds that their website won’t function correctly on any other web hosting platform because of how it has been designed, and in such a situation the price of Windows shared hosting services will be easily justifiable
- Value for money – it is certainly true that you won’t get much bang for the buck with Windows shared hosting as you may get with Linux shared web hosting services, and this is because Windows shared hosting isn’t the most profitable of all the forms of web hosting available meaning that web hosting providers also have to lower their resource assignments for basic shared Windows web hosting packages – if you feel that a shared Windows web hosting package can’t offer you what you need in terms of disk space and bandwidth then you should consider a Hyper-V or Virtuozzo based Windows VPS server
- Viruses and external threats - Windows servers and computers in general are much more susceptible to viruses and external attacks meaning that you should be wary of using a shared Windows web hosting package for the processing of personal data through your website unless you are going to be encrypting it and storing it in a database or are sure of the level of security being used by your web hosting provider on their Windows servers – if you feel that this might affect you in some way then you should consider using Windows VPS or Windows dedicated server hosting services.
If you are looking into Windows web hosting services then the likelihood is that you have a website which has been coded in classic ASP or ASP.NET meaning that you are unable to consider any other form of web hosting. The disadvantages that you could face with Windows shared hosting services are only likely to affect you if you decide to go with a web hosting provider that isn’t able to offer you a good deal and is inexperienced when it comes to security.
In conclusion, Windows shared hosting services offer a sustainable platform on which you can host basic websites that are based upon Microsoft technologies including ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL Server. The good thing which Windows shared hosting packages which many people forget is that you can also host PHP/MySQL based websites on a Windows server as well. If you are running a mission critical website then it is suggested that you make the most of dedicated hosting services by using Hyper-V based VPS servers or dedicated servers.
