Because NetWare and Windows NT originally were built for file service, they dole out static pages extremely fast. However, NetWare and MacOS fall short when given a dynamic, server-based task. The capabilities of the operating system also may be of interest to you. Using a threaded, multiprocessor operating system such as Solaris, instead of SunOS, will increase scalability tremendously, including adding more processors as needed. Operating systems designed to be applications servers, such as Unix and Windows NT, are more likely to be crash-resistant.
Most Web servers can log various data about clients accessing the site.
Using a variety of data tools, some freely available, you can generate charts and graphs that indicate server load and user histograms. By regularly collecting the data and generating reports, you can determine what changes to document structure need to be made, who your clients are and where people have been before they came to you. This data can help you to customize your site for users and the most popular browsers. If appropriate, you can use hit rates to determi ne pricing for advertising on your pages. If you are planning to make a single machine appear as multiple machines with different document trees, you will need support for a multihomed server that responds to more than one IP address.