R0045/2026-03-29/Q002/SRC03/E01

Research	R0045 — Prediction Verification
Run	2026-03-29
Query	Q002
Source	SRC03
Evidence	SRC03-E01
Type	Statistical

Physical server OS distribution in June 2001: Windows 49.2%, Linux 28.5%

URL: https://www.theregister.com/2001/07/04/netcraft_posts_june_2001_web/

Extract

When Netcraft counted actual physical servers (computers) rather than hostnames, the distribution was: Windows 49.2%, Linux 28.5%, Solaris 7.6%, BSD 6.3%, Other Unix 2.4%, Other 2.5%, Unknown 3.6%. The Register noted that "Apache is heavily deployed at hosting companies and ISPs" that maximize site density on individual servers, while Windows dominance reflected "end-user and self hosted sites, where the host to computer ratio is much smaller." Windows 2000 represented about one-third of Microsoft systems, up from one-quarter in March 2001.

Relevance to Hypotheses

Hypothesis	Relationship	Strength
H1	Contradicts	Shows that by physical server count, Windows/IIS led significantly
H2	Supports	Validates the claim that enterprise/self-hosted deployments favored Windows
H3	Supports	Provides the second half of the measurement duality (physical server perspective)

Context

This is a critical data point because it reveals that the standard "Apache has 63% market share" narrative was misleading for enterprise decision-makers. In self-hosted environments — where enterprises made their own choices rather than relying on hosting providers — Windows/IIS was the more common platform. The hosting provider concentration effect significantly inflated Apache's apparent market share.