By Gail Seymour
If you have a Web site hosted on the Internet, the computer your files are housed on needs Web server software to enable it to process requests for information and deliver it. Chances are the Web server software it is running is either Apache or IIS.
Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP server is an open source Web server application developed by the Apache Software Foundation. The server software is freely distributed, and the open source license means users can edit the underlying code to tweak performance and contribute to the future development of the program.
Although Apache will run on pretty much any operating system, it is frequently used in combination with the Linux operating system, which is also open source. These two combined with MySQL and PHP database and scripting language comprise the popular LAMP Web server solution.
The main advantages of Apache and LAMP server systems are:
- Lower costs, since there are no software licensing fees
- Programming flexibility due to the open source
- Enhanced security. Since Apache was developed for a non-Microsoft operating system, and the majority of malicious programs have traditionally been written to take advantage of vulnerabilities in Windows, Apache has always enjoyed a reputation as a more secure option than Microsoft's IIS.
Microsoft Internet Information Service
Microsoft's IIS is the second most popular Web server software. It consists of a series of services including File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and others that enable a Windows machine to manage Web sites. The latest version also includes various modules for security, caching, logging, compression and diagnostics.
Because IIS is provided for Windows systems only, the choice to use IIS necessitates the choice of a Windows Server, and therefore increases running costs. Windows is also prone to more malware attacks, and has a reputation as a less secure server option. So why might you consider an Windows/IIS option over a LAMP system?
- Windows and IIS are supported by Microsoft, whereas Apache is supported only by the user community
- IIS supports Microsoft's .NET framework, and ASPX scripts
- Media pack modules are available to enable audio and video content streaming
Summary
If cost is your primary consideration, the LAMP combination will work out cheaper as there are no licensing costs. Where security is concerned, Apache is widely acknowledged as the more secure option. If you want to run anything other than a Windows operating system on your servers, you not be able to run IIS. However, if you want to run a script that relies on ASPX, you will be tied to the IIS on Windows platform.
About the Author
Gail Seymour has been a Web site designer for more than 10 years. During that time she has won three Sitesell design awards, and has provided the content and copy for dozens of Web sites and more than 50,000 Web pages.