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Ok, first of all, if I'm asking in the wrong place, don't shoot me. I have all the intentions in the world to obey to the rules of stack exchange, so just let me know. Secondly, in case the question sounded weird, here I go with the explanation which actually makes sense:

I am a (junior) programmer and know very little about server configuration. Until today I was provided with the working environment and my job was just to code. So, I (co) developed a project which was supposed to run on a debian or fedora server. The problem is that, it turned out, the server is Windows server 2008. And I'm pretty sure the project will need major changes - best case - to work. Moreover, I'm not even sure if I could make it, cause the part of the project that demands a unix - based machine was not coded by me and the guy has gone MIA. The project managers are not going to give up windows for my sake since they have other projects there. So I was considering to run it on a virtual machine .... Not sure if it is a decent idea. And I am quite welcoming to any other ideas that you might offer. I know how to work on a virtual machine from trying it out in my pc (never in a server) and I assume it must be pretty much the same thing.

Thanks in advance

Another detail: Chances are that this windows environment provided to me already resides in a VM (so they have built a cluster of windows servers inside their main windows server). Would it not affect the performance, if I were to create a debian virtual server inside a windows virtual server? At the very least, there must be some hardware or software specifications.

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I would still revaluate if really so "major changes" are needed to switch to the Windows Server. What language was the project coded in, can't it run in Windows Server?

If indeed running on Windows is not an option and you really need a Linux machine, then yes VM is ok if your service will be really low traffic application. If not, then I do not recommend a VM, but rather just run separate Debian machine and point necessary domains to it. You can start just with some small instance in the cloud that will cost the company 20$ a month, it can't kill the company. If the traffic will increase, then you just can upgrade the instance. And anyways, if the traffic increases, then it is no point to run multiple services on one machine anyway.

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  • The changes are not only major, but also somewhat unknown to me. The guy that started up the project was quite experienced, and our jobs had always been clearly separated. the worst part is that the project must be running in a matter of days and I don't have the time to start adapting it - especially if in the end it won't work. It is not a matter of language (even though the db might cause major issues), more than a matter of functionalities. Commented Jan 28, 2016 at 14:43
  • I guess when you say 'really low traffic application' it's hard to describe it. For the current project, there will be 10 users at most, but they will be uploading files and saving data all day long. Later another application will be created, for the public to access these files. This will have considerable traffic. Commented Jan 28, 2016 at 14:44
  • I appreciate your suggestion of running separate Debian Machine. However, I am stuck in a very complicated hierarchy, where everybody is putting restrictions. And my bosses were asked to contract this specific hosting company, that provided the Windows server. It's more a trust issue than a money thing. Commented Jan 28, 2016 at 14:44
  • If it is about file manipulation and you say the traffic will increase, then I would not suggest VM. You say that the changes are unknown, have you tried running your application on Windows? Maybe it will work. If not I understand that the bureaucracy can be painful in companies, but you can ask your management that are they planning on staying on only Windows machines for eternity? Many companies are using both Linux and Windows machines as servers. Heck, even Microsoft is using Linux machines. Hope you will find a solution, best of luck. Commented Jan 28, 2016 at 14:48
  • I get your point .... I mean, even I have been using linux machines in my whole (limited) working experience ... Thanks for the honest answer. I was really hoping that things would be different, but better knowing the truth than having to face all those traffic issues in the future. I guess I will put my own conditions and see what happens. Commented Jan 28, 2016 at 14:53

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