In the next couple of days I’ll go ahead and switch the DNS to my new server at Discount ASP.

Although I’ve been running web site and apps on LAMP since the late 90’s, I’ve really been enjoying PHP on Windows and SQL Server for a number of reasons.

1. I can develop and test on my own Windows 7 machine or Virtual Machines using SQL Server Express R2 which is FREE.
2. IIS is really easy to administer.
3. The Web Platform Installer makes getting up and running simple.
4. Connecting to SQL Server on my host via SQL Server Management Studio makes developing and managing my database really productive.
5. Advanced SQL Server features like Spatial and Reporting Services give me a platform for building even more powerful apps.

Some of the things I really like about running on LAMP and miss on Windows include.

1. SSH access for moving files.
2. Wealth of information online related to issues when working with LAMP.

There are some tradeoffs but I’ve found the benefits outweigh the downside.  I’ve worked at Microsoft for three years without switching my site so it’s not just because they pay me although it does help    All in all, this has been a really good experience and I’d encourage you to give it a try.