Mobile Phones and Unix

Windows, UNIX, Linux Servers: Outline What is a computer server? Introduction to major servers Windows UNIX Linux Windows Why do so many people use Windows? Advantages Ease of use Support Disadvantages Cost Lack of flexibility UNIX Advantages Scalability Portability Disadvantages Not as well-supported or easy to use as Windows for average user Still proprietary Linux Differences from UNIX Advantages and disadvantages of nonproprietary technology Windows, UNIX, Linux Servers In computing, a server provides the necessary support for the functioning of all a user's various applications, including but not limited to "email, web and even database hosting" (Edmund 2014).

Some of the most common servers are UNIX, Linux, and of course Microsoft. Because of Microsoft's ubiquity, it is often the default server that most organizations and private individuals choose. However, this is not necessarily the optimal system for all computing needs. Given the challenges of switching servers once one is selected, it is essential to select the best one for the organization or individual at the outset. Microsoft's Windows server provides support and updates in a hassle-free way.

Particularly for organizations which are not specifically IT-related, using outside support is considered to be less troublesome and thus less costly than having in-house expert staff. Also, the majority of individuals, including employees, are already familiar with using Windows based upon their home use.

"Majority of users utilizing the Microsoft server hosting utilize the Active Server Pages (ASP) technology" and users "can even develop a website utilizing the interface of Microsoft tools such as Visual Interdev, Microsoft FrontPage and Microsoft Access" with "Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL as the database" (Edmund 2014). Still, many IT professionals are not enamored with Microsoft. Windows is considered to be a cumbersome resource suck and as it is a proprietary technology, it can force users to rely upon Microsoft products exclusively.

As more and more organizations are using Macintosh products and attempting to move away from the Windows monopoly, this can be frustrating. UNIX, in contrast, is a non-proprietary technology and many IT professionals consider it superior. First and foremost, it is utilizes fewer resources than Microsoft. "UNIX uses its virtual memory efficiently. In UNIX user[s] can run many programs at a time without using most of its physical memory" and a "number of users can have account on one machine and even use it simultaneously.

Thus UNIX is a multiprocessing, multi-user system" that is more efficient than Microsoft ("Advantages and disadvantages of UNIX," 2014). Apple, HP, and a number of other major technology companies (other than Microsoft) favor it because of its "reliability" and "scalability" over Windows as well as the fact it can be used on both PCs and Macs ("Advantages and disadvantages of UNIX," 2014). While it does not offer Microsoft technical support, the system is considered to be easier to use than Microsoft by most independent analysts.

Input and output operations are simpler in UNIX than in Microsoft and UNIX "uses a hierarchical file system that allows trouble-free maintenance and efficient implementation. Everything in UNIX is file or a process" ("Advantages and disadvantages of UNIX," 2014). In other words, once the user becomes fluent in the technology, the greater independence and choice it provides, as well as its lower costs, makes it preferred. Despite the fact that most programmers consider UNIX superior to Microsoft, UNIX still has the disadvantage of being a proprietary technology, in contrast to Linux.

Linux was specifically developed to be a nonproprietary alternative to UNIX. While this cheapness and flexibility might seem to give Linux an obvious advantage of UNIX, this is not always seen as desirable, particularly for organizations without a large budget to devote to IT and for personal users who are not IT-savvy. "Different developers have developed different versions modifying elements as required. This often makes it difficult for developers to switch between versions or keep track of changes" ("UNIX versus Linux," 2016).

Because the basic version of Linux is nonproprietary, it does not offer as much built-in support service as Windows or UNIX; however, for users who prioritize flexibility and low cost above all else, it is the preferred system. Furthermore, users now have more options and proprietary Linux systems with support are currently available for both commercial and personal use. "Cheaper than the commercial versions, the paid versions offer support, training and consultancy services.

For Unix, a commercial license would need to be procured for deploying the software" in contrast to Linux, so even a proprietary version of Linux is likely to be cheaper than a proprietary version of UNIX ("UNIX versus Linux," 2016). For commercial use, UNIX still dominates, perhaps because Linux was not originally intended for business use.

However, it is still "more flexible than UNIX as it supports far many more file-system types than UNIX" and more and more commercial users are finding the fact that it supports all types of filesystem types to be an advantage, versus UNIX which is more limited in this regard ("UNIX versus Linux,".