Reliability and Performance

If you are worried about the reliability IIS offers vs. Apache, then your concerns are a bit outdated.  IIS 6.0 offered a process model able to reliably host applications and monitor them for health and responsiveness.  The main draw of this feature was its ability to proactively detect and recycle unhealthy applications.  IIS 7.0 took the process model one step further by creating a dynamic architecture for the Windows platform, making it a high-performance, multi-threaded server that enables secure isolation of websites by default.  With IIS, the Windows platform is agile enough to quickly respond to poor health conditions and recycle applications in a more efficient manner.

The Issue of PHP

If you are worried about IIS performance when running PHP vs Apache, then your concerns are definitely warranted.  Until recently, there where two ways to run PHP in the Windows environment: the slow way with CGI, and the unreliable way with ISAPI.  Because many PHP scripts are specifically written for Apache and Linux, running them on the Windows platform with ISAPI may cause them to crash and strip the IIS process serving the applications.  On the brighter side of things, Microsoft’s partnership with Zend has brought forth answers to many of these issues in the form of compatibility and performance fixes.  One of the most notable improvements is achieved through FastCGI, a feature that enables an IIS web server to deliver fast and reliable PHP hosting.

Ease of Use

One area in which IIS has always shined in comparison to Apache is user-friendly administrative tools.  IIS 7 keeps up the tradition by providing a new management tool that is extremely powerful yet simple and very ease to use.  Now feature-focused, the tool allows you to simply click on a web server, website or application to individually manage each element.  It supports remote administration via HTTP, making it possible to maintain the server locally or over the internet.  It also has configuration settings that make it easy to delegate administrators to specific websites and applications.  The new IIS administrative tool is completely module and built on a highly extensible framework that allows it be enhanced with ease.

IIS 7.0 is a breath of fresh air in comparison to previous Microsoft web server applications.  It offers rock-solid security along with the exceptional performance and reliability needed to run in demanding hosting environments.  In addition, it delivers some powerful management and extensibility capabilities that exceed Apache.  Both make an excellent choice, but IIS is growing more popular by the day.  Even if you already have Apache installed on your server, you can check out what IIS has to offer as it integrated into versions of Windows Vista as a desktop application.  If you are like most users, you will surely appreciate its power.

Free Web Hosting

There are many different types of web hosting available but all revolve around two basic models: free and paid.  Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) offer these services to customers at no charge.  Whether it is provided by an ISP or another company, free hosting is essentially only suitable for running a simple homepage and it is not recommended for running a business.  Why?  Because of all the disadvantages.  Let’s start with the domain name.  With free hosting, you get a long and complicated name that literally ties you to the provider.  The name is generally difficult to remember and composed in a manner that limits your potential.  Another drawback to free services is the presence of third-party advertisements.  Many of these companies don’t have the financial resources needed to run a professional web hosting business so it is revenue from third-party ads that keeps them afloat.  While this is all good for someone who doesn’t want to pay for hosting, it equals bad news for the individual trying to establish themselves online.

Paid Web Hosting

Paid hosting is an alternative that frees you of the restrictions that come along with the free version.  With this type of arrangement, you can express individuality with your own domain name and don’t have to deal with any advertisements.  Whereas free hosting leaves you limited in terms of features, paid hosting opens up the gamut with options that allow you to drastically enhance your web presence.  Some of these features include email accounts, databases and building tools that enable you to create a professional site even with little experience.  Those who are proficient with web technologies can truly excel with support for development tools such as PHP, Python or Microsoft’s Active Server Pages.  The best thing about professional hosting is that even though you have to pay, service is affordable for the most part.

The Price of Web Hosting

Although the price varies among companies, you will find that cost of web hosting is usually competitive within certain niches.  With traditional hosting, more commonly known as shared hosting, you can easily find yourself a nice feature-rich package for under $10 a month.  However, the price starts to go up when factoring in advanced technologies such as virtualization and dedicated servers where you lease your own hardware.

Conclusion

The web hosting business is an integral part of the internet and one of the most successful online industries in existence.  These services are relied on heavily by the individuals, small businesses and enterprises who constantly serve the fast moving internet world.