System Administration

Margin of Error

The Netcraft Web Server Survey for July is out already. The survey notes the effect that domain parking has on the data.

Microsoft gains around 3% in the top line numbers this month, primarily through register.com putting a Windows based front end back in place on their domain parking system. register.com has alternated several times over recent months between using a Windows or Linux front end, and this causes a fluctuation of around 3% in the top line figures when it changes. As domains are either allowed to expire or put into active use, the influence of the domain parking systems on the survey numbers is abating, and the number of parked sites at Verisign and register.com has declined slowly but steadily during the course of this year.

It's illustrative to compare the graph for market share across all domains to that for just active sites. The former graph shows Microsoft trading share with Apache, while the latter graph shows fairly steady gains by both, with Apache taking the lion's share of the gains.

Microsoft's share is tied to the penetration of Windows in the server market, while Apache's isn't. Because of this tying, I don't anticipate they'll be able to get much more than a quarter of the market overall, though certain segments may find IIS more appealing. The addition of ASP.NET hooks to Apache may reduce that appeal. IIS has two advantages over Apache: It's included with Windows 2000 and XP, and it supports the latest bells and whistles from Microsoft. As they become more and more interchangeable, the advantage lies with the tool makers: which tools work best with which product?

Or, to look at this from a slightly different angle, IIS no longer adds value to Windows. Since revenue comes from other products, increasing the reach of the .NET Frameworks will increase the probability of increased revenue: We don't care what web server you use (but it will be easier with ours).

2:43:10 PM # Google It!
categories: Industry, System Administration

Important Decisions

Should the coffee pot go on top of the Sun, or on top of the IBM?

11:51:01 AM # Google It!
categories: Coffee, System Administration