GoDaddy.com Dumps Linux for Microsoft

RobertB-DC writes "Bargain-basement registrar GoDaddy.com has decided to move all its parked domains to Microsoft servers, saying that they'll provide 'a technology platform that is security-enhanced, highly scalable and easy to manage.' This is a shift away from Linux, a decision met with derision by other registrars such as Gandi.net, which greeted the news with the headline 'Go Daddy and never come back'. Late last year, GoDaddy.com had some 'issues', shall we say, with non-Microsoft browsers."

Comments

Incredible!

[OmgTEHMATRICKS]

Ghandi never struck me as the kind of guy who trashtalks others. Well you learn something new everyday, I suppose.

Who cares?

[CRCulver]

Since most of these parked domain names are just misspellings of respectable sites or total nonsense, full of links to casinos and places to get prescription drugs, which no one would ever actually register and use for hosting, does it really matter what OS the server is running?

Re:Who cares?

[biocute]

It does, as bragging rights for Microsoft to show that its server solution is hosting xx% of the internet.

Re:Who cares?

[JordanL]

Well I just called in about the 1 domain I have there, and they flat out told me that none of their domain servers and/or name servers are IIS or will be moving to IIS. A closer look at the article reveals the openning statement:

Microsoft Corp. today announced that GoDaddy.com®

Perhaps MS misunderstood what their product was being purchased for? Or maybe I was being lied to...

Re:Who cares?

[Denney]

The actual press-release on Yahoo! Finance states "Go Daddy® will have moved all its parked domains from Linux to the Windows platform." That does not include domain servers or name servers. If my understanding is correct, parked domains are on one set of servers, while all the other services are being provided from other sets of servers. Thus, I think you were told the truth by the GoDaddy folks, and Microsoft is also telling the correct story, although the heading of the Press Release makes the news sound bigger than it really is.

Re:Who cares?

[jmorris42]

> It does, as bragging rights for Microsoft to show that its server solution is
> hosting xx% of the internet.

You are close to the truth. Watch Netcraft. Anytime Microsoft gets near the 20% mark a fresh deal is announced about some parked domains moving to IIS. They really can't afford to drop into the teens and retain any credibility as a player in the server space so they spend whatever it takes to prevent it.

The more important number is Netcraft's active domains number and IIS is only at about 25% there. That gives a better picture of where they stand. Take out their own massive net operations and those of their slaves (Dell, HP, heck, most everybody who sells PCs, software or who develops heavy on Windows) who use IIS because they fear the consequences of using anything else and it would really be pitiful.

I need Windows reliability for my parked domain!

[poopie]

When I waste money registering misspelled domain names and register tons of word combinations while speculating on new product names, I need somewhere that can handle the strenuous demands of parking my domains.

I'm not stupid - I wouldn't trust the job of handling web redirects to any of that old legacy stuff like UNIX. That stuff was old back when I was using Windows 3.1... and Windows has gotten a lot better since then. When people try to access my domainnames, I expect the performance of Geniune Windows.

I know that sometimes domain names need to be rebooted too, like when critical updates get applied, but that's okay. I wouldn't want my domain names parked on an unpatched, so-called "highly available" server.

No sir, it's genuine-windows-advantage-plays-for-sure for me and my domain collection.

Microsoft probably paid them for this...

[drasfr]

That is my assumption... I used to work for Register.com and we were having a HUGE number of parked domains and redirected domains served by Linux. Basically Microsoft approached us and offered us a pile of cash AND some of their engineers to help so we migrate the servers serving this (futurestep it was called if i remember right) to Windows and that they can use that as advertisement AND that netcraft would show a significant change in the number of sites hosted by Windows.... Let's say that it was very hard to refuse this...

So yeah... I would assume the same. How much money/services did they got from Microsoft?

It had to be said...

[javacowboy]

... Who's your daddy now?

Marketing Ideas

[st1d]

"Microsoft, the preferred platform for content-free websites"

"Microsoft, recommended by 9 out of 10 get-rich quick customers"

Seems kind of appropriate that MS is out to capture the scammer segment of the market, doesn't it? (Apologies to folks who park sites to protect themselves from scam artists.)

Misinterpretation

[pingveno]

They are not removing their Linux hosting. Go to godaddy.com, Hosting & Servers, Virtual Dedicated Servers. All of the preconfigured plans use Red Hat Fedora Core 2. The "Hosting Plans" section of their web site allows the user a choice between Fedora and Windows. This move to Windows is in just in a certain part of their system. Removing support for Linux web servers would be suicide. Microsoft's web serving numbers aren't going anywhere from this decision.