Many people searching for a hosting package have struggled with this question for a long time and completely depends on your experience and point of view.

If you're a part time webmaster and your non-commercial website consists of static HTML pages that were generated with software such as Frontpage, MS Word or similair, you're most likely best hosted on a Linux server.

When you reach the point where you want your site to have more complex features, like a members only area, e-commerce capabilities, live support, etc., and move away from Static pages to software such as content management systems or dynamic pages then the server operating system might then be important.

Interactive features for your website must rely on server side programs that process your site visitor's input and returns something intelligent. There are many programs that provide such interactivity out there, but the most common ones are ASP, ASP.NET, aspx, and Perl.

Whilst both environments achieve similair results, questions such as budget, security, functionality will depend on your choice of server. Both environments have good and bad points but it boils down to your preference, situation and aims.

It is widely discussed throughout the industry and Linux tends to be the favourite. One of the reasons for this is that Linux is supported with open source software.