 How important is UNIX to the Internet?

Answer 1

Pretty important, given that many servers run on UNIX or *NIX like systems. You would take out a huge chunk of the net if you took *NIX like servers out of the equation.

Answer 2

UNIX is "important", as many people have responded, because a lot of web server software does run on the UNIX OS. However, keep in mind that it is *not* required, so does that mean that it is still "important"? For example, many of the web servers on the net run IIS, Microsoft's Internet Information Server, which is also used to serve up static as well as dynamic content. IIS only runs on Windows. However, the most popular web server on the net is Apache, which runs on UNIX, but it also runs on Windows. Therefore, in reality, it is possible to have the entire net running Windows machines, although this would probably be a real bad idea (Windows has way more viruses than UNIX). UNIX was critical to the formation of the net, and it still is used to run a majority of software that makes the net what it is today. However, like I said, it is not required. The most important thing to the net is the HTTP protocol, the service used to allow computers to talk to each other (over TCP/IP). As long as an OS supports this protocol, then it can become a part of the net. UNIX supports HTTP, but many other OS's do as well. Oh, and to correct the one answer on this page (which is completely wrong), if a Windows machine is running on the net, it is NOT really a UNIX machine - it is a Windows machine, most likely running IIS, or as I stated above, even Apache.

Answer 3

As everyone else has already stated, Unix and Unix influenced systems are very important. For a period of several years, Microsoft used Akamai for their web hosting load balancing, and they in turn use Linux. Of the top 50 uptime hosts, as indicated by Netcraft, only 6 of the 50 are running Windows, and none are running from a Mac.

Big banks (Bank of America, Wachovia), large ISPs (Verizon, ATT, BT, KDDI, Demon), well known retail chains (Walmart, Target), entertainment companies (MGM, Sony, Viacom), even government agencies (UK's MI5, US's FBI and Homeland Security), all depend on Unix or a variant thereof. Very little in the grand scheme actually depends on any other system. Microsoft's own site is now served directly from Windows, as is EBay, and the US's NSA. Apple uses their own system as well.

Given the current state of things, if all Unix based systems were taken off the Internet all at the same time, the Internet would cease to exist. However, if all of the Windows machines and Apple/Mac machines were removed all at once together, few people would notice.

All of this assumes we're talking about routers, switches, and servers, as opposed to endusers. Even if we included endusers, the Internet as a whole would still be operational and usable for those using Unix based systems for their personal/work computer.

Answer 4

UNIX is very important since most of the original services for Internet were created on UNIX, email, irc, chat, etc., even the proper grammar for URL is taken from UNIX, and since 60% or more of all the web servers are UNIX and or Linux based (Linux a almost perfect descendant of UNIX) you see there the value of UNIX for the Internet, currently more than 80% of all the current Internet developments and programming is done on UNIX and or Linux and or any other UNIX derivative

Answer 5

The internet IS Unix. Any time you use, say, a Windows machine on the Internet it is really pretending to be a Unix computer.

Answer 6

Really interesting question, looking forward to going through the answers

Answer 7

very, as most servers run on it.

Answer 8

it depends...