4 ms·

Ask HN: Why Linux over Windows Server from a technical aspect

3 points by sirjaz 2y ago

So my question why Linux over Windows Server from a technical aspect. Windows Server has the kitchen sink built in to it, without the need for external packages. Please don't say pricing or that Linux is just open source

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 2y ago
Smaller footprint. Faster reboot. Runs on more processors.
meiraleal 2y ago
That's the weirdest question I've seen in HN. Do you have experience in both? Yeah pricing and open source are two very important technical advantages of Linux. What do you mean by kitchen sink builtin? Is it somehow related to crowdstrike?
- sirjaz 2y ago
  I mean it seems every new project on HN works on Linux, but not on Windows Server. Even though, most of these apps are written in Go, python, java etc .. without any specific linux components. I have a deep experience with both from an Adminstration point.
  - meiraleal 2y ago
    Every project is in Linux, the most used OS in server which is absolutely free but you think Windows is better. Please, explain to us why do you think that.
    - sirjaz 2y ago
      Oddly, based on Statista Windows Server has 72% of the on-prem market and 50% of the overall cloud market. I digress, I am looking for the technical aspects of why to linux is favored, if all other things were equal.
      - solardev 2y ago
        By what metric? Dollars spent? Visitors? CPU minutes? Something else?
        sirjaz 2y ago
        Server footprint from different manufacturers. Since most call home now a days
        solardev 2y ago
        I don't think I would trust those numbers. They seem wildly off, TBH. I'm not sure what you mean by "server footprint", but I doubt most Linux installs are phoning home in a way that a third party like Statista can easily measure. Unless they provide some detailed methodology, I'd be very skeptical of those numbers.
solardev 2y ago
Microsoft licensing is prohibitive for small teams and indie/open-source projects, Windows runs on less hardware (it can run on Arm now, but x86 gets emulated), it has a smaller open-source ecosystem of command-line tools, it generally costs more in VMs, and generally just doesn't have the developer mindshare of the FOSS stuff. Pricing isn't something you can just ignore. Anyone can get started with a free LEMP stack in a few minutes. Windows Server starts at $500 and goes up from there, and you have to pay more the more instances you have. If you start with it, you get locked into it, and it can get very expensive at enterprise scale. Some enterprises still use Windows Server, especially if the rest of their stack is Microsoft and they can negotiate a bundled license with everything they need. But web startups typically want to avoid the Microsoft tax. Their apps' business value tends to be at the level of a webpage anyway, so the underlying stack doesn't matter as much – it's not like Windows Server gives them any significant advantages over spinning up a standard VM or some managed databases and CDNs, etc. Windows doesn't do anything especially worthwhile to justify that additional cost unless you're an all-Microsoft shop. And these days, when you're typically deploying to web + apps, Microsoft matters even less. .NET is popular in Europe, but in the US it's generally Electron or React Native, etc. As for external packages, it's a philosophical/historical difference. Microsoft has traditionally favored first-party monoliths (the "kitchen sink" approach) that they can sell as a whole solution at a high price. GNU/Linux is traditionally clobbered together from a bunch of small free utilities, each with different authors, and each managing only their own little sphere of concern. It favors modular utilities that can be piped together or little daemons that run on their own ports. It allows very fast iterations (since any one tool can be reinvented and modularly replaced), but yes, it isn't as batteries-included as a Microsoft stack. But at the end of the day, free matters a LOT. Microsoft is perfectly capable of making/acquiring popular tools as long as they're free, like VSCode or Github.
- sirjaz 2y ago
  I see your points, but if all other things were equal what technical advantages are there over Windows Server.
  - solardev 2y ago

3 points by sirjaz 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 2y ago

Smaller footprint. Faster reboot. Runs on more processors.

meiraleal 2y ago

That's the weirdest question I've seen in HN. Do you have experience in both? Yeah pricing and open source are two very important technical advantages of Linux. What do you mean by kitchen sink builtin? Is it somehow related to crowdstrike?

sirjaz 2y ago
I mean it seems every new project on HN works on Linux, but not on Windows Server. Even though, most of these apps are written in Go, python, java etc .. without any specific linux components. I have a deep experience with both from an Adminstration point.
- meiraleal 2y ago
  Every project is in Linux, the most used OS in server which is absolutely free but you think Windows is better. Please, explain to us why do you think that.
  - sirjaz 2y ago
    Oddly, based on Statista Windows Server has 72% of the on-prem market and 50% of the overall cloud market. I digress, I am looking for the technical aspects of why to linux is favored, if all other things were equal.
    - solardev 2y ago
      By what metric? Dollars spent? Visitors? CPU minutes? Something else?
      - sirjaz 2y ago
        Server footprint from different manufacturers. Since most call home now a days
        solardev 2y ago
        I don't think I would trust those numbers. They seem wildly off, TBH. I'm not sure what you mean by "server footprint", but I doubt most Linux installs are phoning home in a way that a third party like Statista can easily measure. Unless they provide some detailed methodology, I'd be very skeptical of those numbers.

solardev 2y ago

Microsoft licensing is prohibitive for small teams and indie/open-source projects, Windows runs on less hardware (it can run on Arm now, but x86 gets emulated), it has a smaller open-source ecosystem of command-line tools, it generally costs more in VMs, and generally just doesn't have the developer mindshare of the FOSS stuff. Pricing isn't something you can just ignore. Anyone can get started with a free LEMP stack in a few minutes. Windows Server starts at $500 and goes up from there, and you have to pay more the more instances you have. If you start with it, you get locked into it, and it can get very expensive at enterprise scale. Some enterprises still use Windows Server, especially if the rest of their stack is Microsoft and they can negotiate a bundled license with everything they need. But web startups typically want to avoid the Microsoft tax. Their apps' business value tends to be at the level of a webpage anyway, so the underlying stack doesn't matter as much – it's not like Windows Server gives them any significant advantages over spinning up a standard VM or some managed databases and CDNs, etc. Windows doesn't do anything especially worthwhile to justify that additional cost unless you're an all-Microsoft shop. And these days, when you're typically deploying to web + apps, Microsoft matters even less. .NET is popular in Europe, but in the US it's generally Electron or React Native, etc. As for external packages, it's a philosophical/historical difference. Microsoft has traditionally favored first-party monoliths (the "kitchen sink" approach) that they can sell as a whole solution at a high price. GNU/Linux is traditionally clobbered together from a bunch of small free utilities, each with different authors, and each managing only their own little sphere of concern. It favors modular utilities that can be piped together or little daemons that run on their own ports. It allows very fast iterations (since any one tool can be reinvented and modularly replaced), but yes, it isn't as batteries-included as a Microsoft stack. But at the end of the day, free matters a LOT. Microsoft is perfectly capable of making/acquiring popular tools as long as they're free, like VSCode or Github.

sirjaz 2y ago
I see your points, but if all other things were equal what technical advantages are there over Windows Server.
- solardev 2y ago