Is hosting a Ruby application on Windows Server a viable setup? [closed]

Question

I am starting a new web app project with the only real technology requirement being a host running Windows Server. I considered both ASP.NET MVC and Ruby On Rails. I would like to learn Ruby so I'm wondering of hosting it on a Windows platform is doable or if it will cause me more grief than it is worth. RailsInstaller made dev environment setup a snap, but I'm more worried about the production deployment.

The proposed setup is a Ruby on Rails application running on Windows Server 2003 (IIS) & driven by a SQL Server database. I know that will make many open source people cringe, but I am wondering how viable this is from a strictly practical standpoint. Or, if this is just a bad idea, what might be a better way to go? Also any other practical advice on technology choices for Ruby on Windows or deployment ideas would be helpful (best deployment package, should I be using JRuby, etc.).

Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, it's viable. Check out some of these helpful resources and articles that offer a variety of ways to get started with Rails on Windows:

• http://www.helicontech.com/zoo/
• http://vagrantup.com/
• http://www.engineyard.com/blog/2011/jruby-on-windows
• http://www.engineyard.com/blog/2011/jruby-win32ole-and-vagrant-on-windows
• http://railsinstaller.org/
• http://chocolatey.org/packages?q=ruby

As discussed in the JRuby on Windows article linked above, it's important that Windows developers get involved, so don't give up! Give it a go and share your experiences via a blog, here on SoF or on GitHub. When Rails was first born, deployment was a bit of a nightmare on any platform, so much so that entire books were written about it. Given the state of play now, and the obstacles that have been overcome through the sheer tenacity and ingenuity of the community, there's no reason why Ruby and Rails can't live and thrive on Windows.

If you specifically want to seek out folks with lots of Ruby on Windows expertise, I'd highly recommend the RubyInstaller group. They're a really friendly, dedicated bunch.

You might also be in need of an editor for Windows. I personally use Sublime Text 2, but there are others that might take your fancy:

• http://www.sublimetext.com/dev
• http://www.sapphiresteel.com/Products/Ruby-In-Steel/Ruby-In-Steel-Developer-Overview
• http://www.jetbrains.com/ruby/

Answer 2

If the marriage of Ruby/RoR and Windows is a must, I would recommend going with JRuby and an application server of preference (e.g. Tomcat). MRI based application on Windows might be a pain to maintain.