How to start a local Server on Windows Platform?

Should a startup opt for Linux and Postgres or Windows and SQL Server?

• This may be a bit of an unfair or unanswerable question however it's one that I'm currently facing my self, and would like to see some opinions about it. To make it easier to answer I am highlighting to top areas of concern to me when choosing the system. - Cost of Scaling Immediate cost is not an issue as the open source stack is obviously free and a Windows/SQL Server License can be obtained through Microsoft's Bizspark program. However I am predicting a situation where rapid growth can occur at which point costs to scale the system might start to incur. - Ease of use The company can afford only a  few experts on either platform, possibly none at the very early stages. This means that ease of use and education/tool availability also become very important. The system will need to be hardened as well. - Security While I know both systems can hardened well my concern is with how difficult it may be to harden the systems. In other words which one is the easiest to secure? - Ease of recruitment How hard is it to find experts on either system and on average which experts are the most expensive? I know that there might be some cross over between these concerns which is what is confusing me. In general I would side towards the Microsoft stack side simply because I'm more used to it, and find it easier to use. However thinking about this problem in the long term cost and vendor locking issues make me want to side towards the Linux stack. Looking forward to read your opinions.

• Answer:

  Heres a brief and simple comparison of some of the features that might be of importance: http://database-management-systems.findthebest.com/compare/26-43/Microsoft-SQL-Server-vs-PostgreSQL Some other things that may apply are that PostgreSQL is cross platform and can be hosted on Linux, Windows, OS X, … or anywhere else, whereas MS SQLServer is Windows only and you lock yourself and your developers to the platform. PostgreSQL has many more language bindings so you don't lock yourself into tools or platforms for back-end software, while both provide ODBC, JBDC, and http://ADO.Net support. Both support user-defined functions in the database. Both support an SQL-like form of stored procedure. MSSQLS supports user-defined functions written in .Net, which is quite powerful. PostgreSQL supports a variety of user-defined functions through language extension plugins - which is both very powerful (particular from a performance standpoint) but also more complicated. PostgreSQL actually models the RDBMS as objects, so you can define new data types and operators for those types. Not all editions of MSSQLS support replication, whereas PostgreSQL does. You can purchase MSSQLS support from Microsoft. For PostgreSQL, you need to hire a consultant or defer to online forums. MSSQLS comes with a UI front-end, PostgreSQL does not (you need to use one of several 3rd-party tools). Performance-wise, they are probably very close on the same hardware (provided there's no anti-virus software on the Windows system). PostgreSQL has some advantages with regard to scaling for high-availability and fail-over (if there's going to be a high load). Generally speaking, if you are going to commit fully to the Microsoft platform, not just for the database, but for the development, deployment -- the whole stack -- then MSSQLS is probably the best choice. If you aren't planning to make that commitment, are looking to cloud deployments, will have a mixed or non MS environment for any part of the project, then PostgreSQL is probably the best choice. With regard to your criteria, PostgreSQL is cheaper and easier to scale. They are roughly as easy to use, but it depends on the features that you plan to use. They are similar to secure, and recruiting for them, a professional should be able to handle, and a less experienced person will likely know one of the other. Neither is particularly difficult to learn with regard to the other, there's probably more MS-Certified people looking for work, though.