Can I run Hadoop on Windows?

Question

Or are linux OSs the only way to go about it?

Answer 1

You can check out the compatible Windows OSs for Hadoop:

Hadoop supports Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista and Windows 7. 

But, Windows are generally preferred for more server-oriented architectures. If you want to learn hadoop, it is highly recommended that you go with a Linux system or VM. Almost all hadoop tutorials are based on linux based systems and it's generally a more convenient practice to do the same. And that way, it'll be easier to find study material as well. 

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