PHP Windows or Linux

[Rimba]

Windows or Linux which one is easier to maintain on a server? Which one is less likely to be exploited?

[Inigoesdr]

Windows or Linux which one is easier to maintain on a server?
If you are not familiar with Linux, which I can safely assume you aren't or you wouldn't be asking the question, the answer is Windows. Which one is less likely to be exploited?
You can argue either way. My opinion is Linux due to most flavors being pretty closed and secure by default, whereas most Windows versions are open by default to accommodate users.

[Nebulous]

From personal experience I've found....

Windows is easy to install and get running initially. However, Windows tends to require administrative tasks to keep the server running smoothly, such as disk defrags, occasional reboots to free memory etc. etc.

Linux on the other hand is the opposite, it takes a bit more effort to set up. However, once up you don't have to worry about it.

People may disagree with this (waits for someone to suggest mac) but a lot of it is down to personal preference.

As mentioned about in terms of security, Linux is the more secure by default as it comes with everything disabled apart from what you are using. Windows on the other hand, tends to be bloated with applications and services you will never use, each of which posing as a possible security risk.

So find something you like, and don't be afraid to try new things.

[Fou-Lu]

I like both of you're responses, I especially like Indegoes' mention about what you are used to, really hitting it on the head. If you don't know what you're doing on linux, you can really step into a sinkhole. On the other hand, if you leave the default configurations for windows, its the same sinkhole except now there is a tarp covering it.
I can go either way on this one as well. I develop php apps on my windows machine, and test them on a linux machine (except Mr.Tux's hardware is currently broke :(). Honestly, its been forever since I've installed these, but I seem to recall that linux was easier to setup but more difficult to configure. Windows gave me a lot of problems from the source, but was a snap to configure - mainly because IMO it lacks the features and thread safety of Linux.

The biggest thing to remember would be to look at the majority use. Since the majority of servers are running linux under apache, I'd say that looking into linux is the way to go. Though nowadays there are almost no features lacking from the Windows php (either IIS or Apache). The only thing that I'd mention for IIS is that until the mono project is stable (it may be its been forever since I've looked into it) IIS is you're only option if you're interested in supporting .net for C# or VB.

[Inigoesdr]

Linux setup is considerably easier than it used to be, too, if you get a version with a decent package management system. Debian-based versions(like Ubuntu) use aptitude, which can make the installation and initial configuration of apache2, php5, and mysql almost a one-step process. Fedora and the like use yum, which has a similarly simple setup as I recall.

[barkermn01]

windows Fast CGI the best though