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Creating a webserver. Apache vs. IIS ?

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I'm thinking about starting a small webserver for personal use. I'm debating between using a Win2k Server box running IIS (which i know moderately well) vs. Apache on Linux which i have no knowledge about what-so-ever. I hear great things about the Apache servers, and i've had good luck in the past w/ hosting providers that were using Apache on a *nix machine. If anyone has some pros & cons of running a IIS vs. Apache (or vise-versa) server i'd like to hear it.

Thanks,

- RJ
 
I highly suggest Apache. I was is both positions a while ago (but running it on win2k, linux I didn't want to deal with, and I would want another machine to play with it 🙂) and I chose to go with IIS. it was good, and *really* easy, but you need win2k/nt server to be able to run multiple websites, and there are a lot of security fixes that you need to install, telling you that there mnust be a lot still there...Anywho, IIS is pretty basic, and it will allow you to run a website, but in my opinion, it's a temporary thing. After a while, you won't be happy with running IIS, because, IMO, it sucks. When I realized this (yay, sounds like a story!) I downloaded apache to try it out. It is more complicated to setup than IIS, but it's DEFINITELY worth it. There are a lot of extra features that IIS doesn't even have the capability to offer. You have host as many sites as you want, really, really easily after you get the main part configured. I have been very happy with Apache.

One thing to note: There's apache 1.3.26 and 2.something.something. I don't know which to suggest, because I'm using 1.3.26 since I started out with 1.3.24, and 2.x.x didn't like PHP very well. I don't know the real differences, I only saw some UI changes, and diferences in the actual code, but, I don't know more than that. 2.x.x is fairly new, I think, and some people are holding off until it is completely stable, so, someone with more experience of 1.xx and 2.xx.

And, if you get apache, check out andromeda! (it's cool)
 
Another vote for Apache...Hell I'd say go all the way with PHPTriad, it installs PHP, Apache, MySQL, and PHPMyAdmin, both installing and setting up the environment. Worth the trouble in the long run.
 
i am using iis 5 / win2k serv and am very happy with it. i do use mine for personal use. with the win2k serv you can use multiple sites. if you go iis, make sure you d/l the url scan and also iis lockdown tool from the microsoft website.

danfungus: you can use andromeda with iis. it is available as asp or php. and you can configure iis to use php. here is my php andromeda site - http://muzic.sytes.net. all of the links have been taken out for demonstration purposes. i do agree that andromeda kicks a$$.
 
I would stay away from IIS like the plague. If you are not comfortable with linux/unix install apache on windows. I have used both in a webhosting environment and will never host a site on iis again.

jcrowe
 
If you want to host pages written in ASP/VBScript, then IIS is the obvious choice. For anything else use Apache.
 
mostly i'd base the decision on what languages you want to use on your site.

In general I'd go
PHP/Perl: Linux/apache
ASP/Coldfusion: Win/IIS

you basically have to be careful with either, there are boatloads of patches and fixes for IIS, like you can't even put it on a live network 5 full minutes before it'll get hacked (especially on a cablemodem or dsl connection). On the other hand with the recent exploits in openssh and apache, whatever distro you go with you're going to have to upgrade fast also.

If your goal is to get the site up and running, go with what you know (IIS) and just be careful.
If your goal is a learning project, linux/apache can do some amazing stuff. Stick with Redhat, follow the errata page, and follow the wealth of online documentation.

bart
 
Yeah, if you want to have your server crash and crap run IIS for fun 🙂 Otherwise dont ! I run apache and it's great.
 
Yeah, if you want to have your server crash and crap run IIS for fun
Click to expand...
That's a moronic statement.

Many HUGE enterprises use IIS, and I don't think there's a lot of "crash and crap" going on.

Like BuddhaBart said, either use what you know or use what you want to learn, or use what you have to to support the languages you need to use. Neither IIS or Apache is perfect. And IIS is a helluva lot easier to configure. So just use the webserver that fits your needs and budget.
 
Use apache and run Linux. It doesn't take a genuis to set it up either. I run Mandrake linux 8.2 and its copy of apache web server on a p233 pc. After copying the web files to the proper directory and configuring my firewall/router (p166 pc), my site is up and running and requires very little maintenance and is quite secure.

I doubt Transition is running anything too important or sensitive to warrant a super secure website. IIS seems to just invite trouble. Besides you can't get much more stable and reliable than Linux.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone - i enjoy hearing everyones perspective on this. So far my experience with IIS in a corporate environment has been moderately crappy so to speak. IIS seems to have it's fair share of problems - i'm just worried about the learning curve using Apache on a Linux server. I tried installing Mandrake 8.2 (i think) on my PC and it ran like complete sh|t. Kept freezing, couldn't establish a connection to the internet, overall a bad experience (and keep in mind this was running on a 1.4ghz machine with 512mb RAM - i felt like i was using Windows98 w/ 16mb RAM all over again. Perhaps it was because it was on a partitioned drive? Anyway, i'm gonna find a dedicated box to do my hosting on - probably about a 500mhz machine.

Apache makes a webserver for windows?
 
Many HUGE enterprises use IIS, and I don't think there's a lot of "crash and crap" going on.

It's actually not as 'many' as some would have the general public believe. The curious portion of this is that you can find boatloads of small to large enterprises migrating to Red Hat. Probably can't count on one hand those that are leaving linux and going to windows.

There's a substantial amount of crash and crap going on in the IIS arena. As far as I'm concerned other than 3rd party software dependance which is becoming less and less an issue, there is absolutely no logical reason for an entity to choose Windows/IIS over Red Hat/Apache. Unless stability and uptime aren't important.
 
I am in the process of building a win2k server/IIS 5.0 server

where would i get the 'countless' amounts of updates/patches for IIS 5.0?

thanks
 
Originally posted by: N11
Many HUGE enterprises use IIS, and I don't think there's a lot of "crash and crap" going on.

It's actually not as 'many' as some would have the general public believe. The curious portion of this is that you can find boatloads of small to large enterprises migrating to Red Hat. Probably can't count on one hand those that are leaving linux and going to windows.

There's a substantial amount of crash and crap going on in the IIS arena. As far as I'm concerned other than 3rd party software dependance which is becoming less and less an issue, there is absolutely no logical reason for an entity to choose Windows/IIS over Red Hat/Apache. Unless stability and uptime aren't important.
Click to expand...

Actually there are a few reasons. If you want ASP scripting support, trying to get it to work with a 3rd party app under Apache is just stupid, and the results aren't very good. Also, there are some database applications (like Coldfusion I believe) that run better under Windows than Linux. Besides, Anandtech.com and the forums run off of Windows/IIS 5.0 and I don't see a whole lot of problems on my end (which is what a webhoster should care about).

The company I work for uses IIS because our web programmer likes to use ASP stuff, and we don't have any problems with security flaws, instability or downtime. That being said, if you are starting from the ground up, I'd say go with Apache/Linux. The combination is very powerful and faster than IIS 5.0 on a simliar system. But there are reasons you might want to run IIS instead, but if either would work, go Apache.
 
Actually there are a few reasons. If you want ASP scripting support, trying to get it to work with a 3rd party app under Apache is just stupid, and the results aren't very good. Also, there are some database applications (like Coldfusion I believe) that run better under Windows than Linux. Besides, Anandtech.com and the forums run off of Windows/IIS 5.0 and I don't see a whole lot of problems on my end (which is what a webhoster should care about).


It all falls under the same problem of third party software support which is becoming less and less of an issue. Coldfusion is not primarily developed for IIS... it is also developed for Apache, Iplanet and netscape.

The company I work for uses IIS because our web programmer likes to use ASP stuff, and we don't have any problems with security flaws, instability or downtime. That being said, if you are starting from the ground up, I'd say go with Apache/Linux. The combination is very powerful and faster than IIS 5.0 on a simliar system. But there are reasons you might want to run IIS instead, but if either would work, go Apache.

I do not understand how you are running IIS and you say that your servers have not had any problems with security flaws. Those patches you are applying every week or two are fixing known issues. Microsoft can't release an effectively locked down IIS server because locking it down requires stripping it of the features and intertwined nature that prevent other intertwined aspects such as OWA from functioning correctly.
 
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