Moodle - host on Linux or Windows

[localzuk]

So, we're moving over to Moodle from Frog and I'm now going to start setting it up.

 

My question is this - Linux or Windows? I'm comfortable with both, but we've been undergoing a process of simplification and consolidation, moving as much as possible to Windows (getting staff with Linux experience is somewhat difficult down here).

 

So, at the moment I'm leaning towards Windows - but I have been advised Linux as it runs more smoothly on it.

 

Which way should I go? What advantages/disadvantages are there for doing each way?

[LosOjos]

Although I haven't used Moodle itself, one thing that comes to mind is that if it's going to be pulling data from your MIS, chances are it'll need access to some Windows EXE or other (I know with SIMS the CommandReporter EXE is Windows only, imagine other MIS' are imilar)

 

You could of course set up a Windows server to serve the data it needs, but that's another layer of complexity in the chain.

[IrritableTech]

We've run on windows successfully for some years now. Windows fit's in better here for similar reasons, and linux didn't prove to be too much of an advantage.

[gshaw]

Performance wise Linux beats Windows hands down for Moodle performance. There's a couple of places on a Moodle tech list I belong to that all moved away as Windows \ IIS couldn't handle heavier loads, no such issues with LAMP servers.

 

If support is an issue and your site is quite small then you should be able to run it on Windows for simplicity but from a technical perspective I'd go Linux.

Edited March 24, 2015 by gshaw

[unixman_again]

Either is fine. If staff with Windows experience are easier to find, go that route. We host ours on Windows but the last school that I was at had Linux. For smoother running, I'd go Apache rather than IIS. It has been my experience that IIS has an annoying habit of not logging the cause of, for example, a 500 error.

[FN-GM]

In my old school we moved form Windows to Ubuntu. We just couldn't get Windows to perform well. Plus it was easier to setup than it was on Windows.

[Arthur]

no such issues with LAMP servers.

Would changing the 'A' for an 'N' make any difference on Windows or Linux?

 

The 'n' in this case is for Nginx.

[TronXP]

We have it running on Ubuntu LTS server. Has been ok for us

[danbuntu]

Would changing the 'A' for an 'N' make any difference on Windows or Linux?

 

probably not much in terms of performance. You might have some issues with support though. Most of the documentation (and testing) is written around LAMP stacks

[secretlife]

Speaking from a personal level, although many people use Moodle on Windows successfully, if you are going to go down the Windows route, I would advise making sure you know who those people are in case you need any support later on. There are far fewer people using Windows on the Moodle forums https://moodle.org/course/ and often when there is a problem specific to Windows, especially performance-wise where most of the issues are, help isn't as immediate as for Linux as Windows Moodlers are a much smaller group.

[Gardinho]

We ran it on Windows here for years, and with the wonderful help of @danbuntu switched over to Ubuntu/Linux a few months ago. The best move we made.

 

Benefits for Windows:

 

More universal skill set for managing Windows Server Operating System.

 

Benefits for Linux

 

Free license

RSync to alternate server for testing purposes

Performance - designed for Linux

Support - documentation is more widely spread across the Moodle forums

Stability - Linux vs Windows??!!!

Security - No viruses

Updates can be carried out using github and takes 5 mins as opposed to long winded manual process

 

I had limited to no experience of Linux when we changed over. I'll be the first to admit that I put it off for so long because I was scared to run such an integral part of the school's IT use on a Linux server without proper training.

 

I didn't realise that managing a linux web server was actually easier than managing a Windows web server. You don't actually need to know that much if all it's going to operate is a single Moodle site. Plus the support on the Moodle forums for Linux is excellent.

 

Our new Moodle server has not once fallen over since the day it went live, and users have given us great positive feedback on how much quicker it is now.

 

If you must stay with Windows DO NOT USE Xampp if you have over 25 users or you will run into performance issues:

 

https://docs.moodle.org/23/en/Xampp_Installer_FAQ

 

Because of the load we were putting on our server the XAmpp server service used to crash all the time, which used to drive the users around the bend.

 

For a man of your skills @localzuk, it's a no brainer IMO.

 

I'll also reiterate that me and my colleague here were majorly pro Windows server for as many services as possible. This is where our skills lie. But having seen the difference in performance between the 2 different OS's it was well worth the effort to put it on Linux.

 

Can you not bring it up on both in a test environment and have a look at whats involved?

Edited March 25, 2015 by Gardinho

[localzuk]

I've settled on Linux now. Just makes more sense overall.

 

Now to get SSO to work! Quite surprised the Moodle docs recommend Samba as the way to do it, over Kerberos as about the 3rd option!

[Gardinho]

I've settled on Linux now. Just makes more sense overall.

 

Now to get SSO to work! Quite surprised the Moodle docs recommend Samba as the way to do it, over Kerberos as about the 3rd option!

 

We haven't implemented SSO on ours yet. Would be great to hear how you get on as it's something I want to do here.

[Hawkeyez]

We ran it on Windows here for years, and with the wonderful help of @danbuntu switched over to Ubuntu/Linux a few months ago. The best move we made.

 

Benefits for Windows:

 

More universal skill set for managing Windows Server Operating System.

 

Benefits for Linux

 

Free license

RSync to alternate server for testing purposes

Performance - designed for Linux

Support - documentation is more widely spread across the Moodle forums

Stability - Linux vs Windows??!!!

Security - No viruses

Updates can be carried out using github and takes 5 mins as opposed to long winded manual process

 

I had limited to no experience of Linux when we changed over. I'll be the first to admit that I put it off for so long because I was scared to run such an integral part of the school's IT use on a Linux server without proper training.

 

I didn't realise that managing a linux web server was actually easier than managing a Windows web server. You don't actually need to know that much if all it's going to operate is a single Moodle site. Plus the support on the Moodle forums for Linux is excellent.

 

Our new Moodle server has not once fallen over since the day it went live, and users have given us great positive feedback on how much quicker it is now.

 

If you must stay with Windows DO NOT USE Xampp if you have over 25 users or you will run into performance issues:

 

https://docs.moodle.org/23/en/Xampp_Installer_FAQ

 

Because of the load we were putting on our server the XAmpp server service used to crash all the time, which used to drive the users around the bend.

 

For a man of your skills @localzuk, it's a no brainer IMO.

 

I'll also reiterate that me and my colleague here were majorly pro Windows server for as many services as possible. This is where our skills lie. But having seen the difference in performance between the 2 different OS's it was well worth the effort to put it on Linux.

 

Can you not bring it up on both in a test environment and have a look at whats involved?

 

How was the process to migrate over to Ubuntu? We have been Windows based for years, runs okay most of the time, but occasionally it just cant cope.

I have considered moving over to Linux, but with site atm being over 110GB, not sure how easy it would be.

[Gardinho]

How was the process to migrate over to Ubuntu? We have been Windows based for years, runs okay most of the time, but occasionally it just cant cope.

I have considered moving over to Linux, but with site atm being over 110GB, not sure how easy it would be.

 

It was far more painless than I thought. It's no more difficult to migrate with that much data than it is with much less data.

 

The guides for installing on Linux are great. Plus I used tutorials on Youtube so I could visually know what to expect, which was really helpful.

 

The only niggles we ha were with the plugins, but that was tedious rather than challenging.

 

We were very well advised by @danbuntu, so that took a lot of the 'unknown' off us.

 

Our site is also over 100GB in size.

 

The beauty of it is that you can bring one up along side the other and wait until it's running perfect to switch over.

[Hawkeyez]

It was far more painless than I thought. It's no more difficult to migrate with that much data than it is with much less data.

 

The guides for installing on Linux are great. Plus I used tutorials on Youtube so I could visually know what to expect, which was really helpful.

 

The only niggles we ha were with the plugins, but that was tedious rather than challenging.

 

We were very well advised by @danbuntu, so that took a lot of the 'unknown' off us.

 

Our site is also over 100GB in size.

 

The beauty of it is that you can bring one up along side the other and wait until it's running perfect to switch over.

 

You got any docs you worked from that I could read?

[Gardinho]

You got any docs you worked from that I could read?

 

Installation

 

https://docs.moodle.org/26/en/Step-by-step_Installation_Guide_for_Ubuntu

 

Migration

 

https://docs.moodle.org/20/en/Moodle_migration

[localzuk]

We haven't implemented SSO on ours yet. Would be great to hear how you get on as it's something I want to do here.

 

Got it up and running - went for the Samba/Winbind option in the end, using NTLM. Works pretty well!

 

Would've preferred to use the Kerberos method, but can't get it to work. I'll save that for another time when I have more time to play!

[Gardinho]

How's this working out for you @localzuk?

[localzuk]

Getting along nicely thanks! Got it set up, integrated with SIMS, SSO mostly seems to be working (browser dependant), and I'm populating it with stuff from the old VLE (now that's a long winded process! Copy and paste, export image, upload image etc...).

 

Figuring out which activities do what, what plugins we need etc... I'm also now looking at a way of implementing our RAG123 self assessment system in all activities on the site. I'll probably be posting another topic soon!

[Gardinho]

How are you finding performance? Any regrets in choosing Linux over Windows?