Question

The client-server network at Scoops, a chain of ice cream stores, currently depends on one server machine running Windows Server 2008 as its NOS. However, the system was installed five years ago, and the chain is growing. The company’s general manager has heard a lot of good things about Linux operating systems—in particular, a type of Linux called Fedora. He asks you to find out how these two NOSs differ in their file sharing, remote access, and mail service capabilities. Also, he wonders how the two compare in their ease of use, reliability, and support. He remarks that he doesn’t want to spend a lot of time looking after the server, and reminds you that he is not a technical expert. After some research, what can you tell him about the similarities and differences between these two NOSs? Do you advise the Scoops chain to change its server’s NOS to Linux? Why or why not?

Answer 1

The most common advantage of using Linux servers as opposed to the Windows servers is that Linux servers are open source while Windows servers are not. They are not available for free and must be purchased through licensing. With that being said, let us get into the similarities and differences

File sharing: They both use protocols like FTP to transfer and share files. However, Thanks to Window’s server GUI and repositories like Group Policy Object (GPO), this server is convenient when sharing files. Winner: Windows Server

Remote Access – Windows server will take this one too. The fact that it has an intuitive GUI, remote desktop access will be considered a better solution to use in windows than in Linux. Linux requires a command-line terminal to run commands, and this can sometimes be difficult to use. You will also need to configure several other things to make remote access work. Winner: Windows

Mail service capabilities – Both can run mail servers, and both are effective in mail service capabilities. Therefore, none wins on this. Winner: Draw.

Ease of use – I have mentioned this several times that Windows has a GUI that makes work easier for admins and techies. It is easier to configure a lot of things in Windows than it is in Linux. The former is GUI while the latter is command-line based. GUI is always great. It is always easier to use a complete Graphical User Interface that has more features like bells and notifications than it is in Linux. Winner: Windows

Reliability and support – Linux is based on Unix. Unix was built to be reliable and very powerful. Some people might have different opinions on this, but Linux remains reliable in things like configurations and security implementations. Linux servers have an awesome network community of support. Issues found within these platforms can be seen really quickly and can get fixes within hours. Windows has excellent support as well, but this will come at a cost.

Winner: Linux

It depends on what is needed in the organization. If possible, I would suggest that they use both platforms. They should not isolate them. If that option is not feasible, I would suggest they continue using what they have as their main server. They, however, need to upgrade to a more recent Windows server like 2012. In as much as Windows has won in the comparisons above, Linux has stepped up in trying to offer GUI. We need to understand that making decisions between these two platforms needs one to understand the advantages and disadvantages of both and how they fit in. The manager might have heard a lot of good things about Linux servers and especially Fedora, but Windows has a lot of good things too.