Not trying to create a "holy war" thread, but I am trying to make a reasoned decision on whether to use Linux or Windows for network applications. To that end, I would like to gain a better understanding of the network performance of a Windows XP host and a Linux host, with proper metrics to make a good comparison of the two.
What would I need to do (or have) to effect that sort of performance comparison? Assume the same hardware specs for the machine and no unnecessary applications or services running on either machine.
Best Answer
It depends on the type of network activity you are doing.
I would set up a test using the typical tasks your users will do and see how long each performs using a stopwatch.
There are of course other ways, such as copying a huge file and timing it, but if users don't copy massive files, it doesn't matter.
That said, I suspect the performance will be dependent not on the networking capabilities of the platform, but rather on the applications. For example, if the Windows version of a particular application is more chatty or less optimized, it may appear slower than the Linux version.
Generally speaking, I would go with the platform that is most encouraged by the application vendor. There are clues to this such as the pace of updates on one platform or another, or you can simply call the tech support (if they have it) or post a forum message for that application, asking what the dominant platform for the app is.