Why Do Most Servers Run Linux? Uncover the Technical and Historical Reasons

1. Early Windows Server + ASP + Access era

About twenty years ago, the Windows Server + IIS + ASP + Access stack was popular for small‑business sites because it was simple to install and required no ODBC configuration. Projects like the "动网论坛" and "动网新闻" relied on this stack, and many hosting providers bundled proprietary components such as the "动易" DLL to protect code.

At that time, Windows hosting often required the "动易" component, while Linux hosting bundled the Zend engine for PHP. Virtual hosts on Windows lacked configuration flexibility, leading to security issues like exposed .mdb files with plaintext passwords.

2. IIS’s declining competitiveness

IIS initially had advantages: built‑in FTP, ASP that needed no extra deployment, and a GUI suited for beginners. However, its closed nature, poor support for languages beyond ASP/.NET, and complex configuration made it hard to optimize.

Performance‑wise, lightweight servers such as Apache, Nginx, and Lighttpd (built on poll/epoll) outperformed IIS by several times, and the difficulty of tuning IIS led many users to migrate to Linux‑based solutions.

3. Real‑world game‑server experience

One contributor tried to run a Windows server for a game (帕鲁) but faced numerous dependencies (VC runtime, DX runtime) and installation hurdles. Switching to Ubuntu allowed a simple apt install steamcmd and running server.sh, demonstrating Linux’s ease for lightweight workloads.

4. Licensing cost differences

Windows servers charge per CPU core, with a legitimate license costing around 100,000 CNY, whereas Linux distributions are free, making Linux far more cost‑effective for most deployments.

5. Ecosystem, lightweight distributions, and containers

Linux’s ecosystem dominates because it is widely adopted, leading to abundant tools and community support. Lightweight distributions like Alpine enable minimal‑size containers, and Linux’s native support for containerization (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) far surpasses Windows, which historically lagged due to architectural restrictions.

6. Microsoft vs. open‑source history

Early Microsoft positioned itself against open source, with Bill Gates publicly condemning piracy and emphasizing paid software. This stance created a cultural divide, but as open‑source projects grew, Microsoft eventually embraced the model, acknowledging the shift.

7. Historical momentum and the “why not Linux?” perspective

Many attribute Linux’s dominance to network effects: once a technology gains a critical mass, it becomes the default choice, reinforcing its position. Factors include free licensing, Unix compatibility, abundant training resources, and the difficulty of finding Windows‑focused server jobs.