Cheap Web Hosting Unix or NT

Shared cheap web hosting is most commonly offered in UNIX and Windows NT operating systems. When you go to retain a cheap web hosting provider, you will have to choose which platform your site will run on. Here are some things to consider when making your decision:
Windows NT servers are configured to be compatible with Microsoft applications, such as FrontPage, Access and MS SQL. NT servers also offer programming environments such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Visual Basic Scripts, MS Index Server and Cold Fusion.
NT allows those with little or no experience in web development to get advanced features working very quickly. By using software such as Microsoft's FrontPage, you can have a fully functional site up in a short amount of time.
However, along with Microsoft's powerful features and user-friendly environment, comes a cost much larger than similar features compatible with UNIX. Microsoft's NT operating system has another drawback. It's very hard on web servers and may require additional resources if stability is to be maintained. Even with additional hardware implemented, NT servers will have to be rebooted regularly. So it is very important that the support staff for an NT host be knowledgeable and reliable.
Given that NT servers provide excellent levels of support and integration for Microsoft products, you should select NT if you will be using a Microsoft-based service with your hosted server.
UNIX is the other common operating system. It is extremely vigorous and designed to handle heavy Web traffic and server load. Most UNIX systems with heavy traffic can provide a 99 percent uptime guarantee. This is because UNIX has been around for much longer than NT, and is now very developed and stable.
Many web server applications available on the Internet are intended for use with the Unix OS. So UNIX has come to be a very flexible platform in regards to programming/application compatibility. Most hosting plans include a wide amount of features such as, Perl, JAVA, PHP, Miva, Shell Access (remote access to your server through any online connection), and much more.
For the downside, there are some types of server applications, mostly those offered by Microsoft, which will not be supported. These include Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP) and Microsoft's SQL database software. However, several companies have already developed software that will allow these applications to run on UNIX. So these issues may not be around much longer.
Overall, it is safe to say that if you know what sort of programming and applications you will use to run your web site, and they are compatible with a UNIX platform, then you should go with a UNIX plan.