If you're renting a dedicated server from someone, generally the prices are the same for windows and linux, so there's no obvious plus or minus here.
If you want to be able to automate everything without having to buy extra software and you have the ability to write simple shell scripts, then plus for linux. If you have piles of money laying around and either don't have a clue how to write shell scripts, or are too lazy to bother, then +1 for windows. If you are running source games, then you are going to have to use D-FENS to help protect against file upload exploits. Most source engines have a version of D-FENS on windows and linux, but on linux there is no plugin compiled for Left4Dead2, so you have to actually know what you're doing when it comes to locking down the filesystem and running the servers as unprivileged users. I spent a couple of hours working out a script to remove write access from the user directory my l4d2 server runs as so that when the server is running, nothing can be written by that server except for logs, spray files, and sourcemod gamedata, and it runs as part of the startup script for the server. When the server is shut down, everything becomes user-writeable again so that the server can be updated. It wouldn't have taken nearly as much time if I hadn't had to have a bunch of documentation up so that I knew what I was doing, so an experienced shell-scripter probably could have easily knocked it out in a few minutes. Source engine games are basically not optimized for linux, but they are mildly optimized for windows. Depending on how many servers you are trying to run on one box, this could become an issue. FTP is always a giant pain in the ass to secure properly, and since I have no idea how to do that, linux+ssh+scp for file transfers allows me to have an inherently secure method for transferring files to and from my server so long as the user passwords aren't easily attackable. Not sure how you would do this on windows. If you are trying to run anything other than game servers, more stuff is available for linux that is secure and free. Again, it goes back to money. Our clan runs a windows server 2k3 box that we rent from a GSP for 7 of our 8 servers. I have never had a huge amount of trouble using it or tweaking it, other than some issues with automatic updates and remote desktop. I have my own personal linux server that I run a l4d2 server for the clan on, also. Likewise, I have had little to no issues with it. It runs linux because I am familiar with it, because it's free (I already pay enough for the colocation without having to pay for windows and everything else), and because I am running a zimbra server on it, which isn't available for windows. So, basically, it's all about what you're comfortable with, what you plan on using it for, and what you can afford. On 3/27/2010 9:27 AM, Jake Eisenman wrote: > Just curious. Personally I use Linux because I know how to setup > everything quickly from ssh > > Sent from my iPod > > _______________________________________________ > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please > visit: > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds > _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds
