Oracle Solaris Reviews

Name: Oracle Solaris
Brand: Oracle
Rating: 4.3 (49 reviews)

4.3 out of 5

49 reviews
94% willing to recommend

729 followers

What is Oracle Solaris?

Oracle Solaris is a trusted business platform that provides consistent compatibility, is simple to use, is always secure, and is designed to help you run your modern and legacy enterprise applications. The solution is the most recommended enterprise operating system for Oracle Database and Java applications and is engineered for large-scale enterprise deployments.

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Oracle Solaris is the #9 ranked solution in top Operating Systems for Business. PeerSpot users give Oracle Solaris an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. Oracle Solaris is most commonly compared to Ubuntu Linux: Oracle Solaris vs Ubuntu Linux. Oracle Solaris is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 67% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 14% of all views.

Helped 841,164 peers since 2012

Featured Oracle Solaris reviews

Zandile Mushi

Network Administrator at Mzansi Security and Fire

The tool is quite complex and difficult for anyone trying to use or study it. The complexity of learning the tool is an area of concern where improvements are required. Oracle Solaris' lighter and simpler version can be introduced. I feel that Oracle Solaris is a user-friendly tool because I am exposed to it.

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Abdul-Salam

Sr. Manager - System Analyst (Datacenter Infrastructure) at Sohar International

We like that the virtualization is built in, so you don't have to spend extra money on buying licenses for a hypervisor. When you buy the box, you are getting everything, including the Virtualization. It is one of the most flexible predictive systems. The setup is easy. It is stable and reliable.

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it_user488784

System Architect at a consumer goods company with 10,001+ employees

I have noticed very frequent HBA and NIC card failure in T5-1B or T4-1B blade servers. More stability is required. I have experience multiple instances where QUAD HBA+NIC Port, for T4-1B, T5-1B was failed. And we had some downtime, as replacing HBA card, potentially needs server to be powered-off. Though this was noticed in case of Blade servers only, not for T5-8 or T5-2 or T4-2 etc.

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Oracle Solaris mindshare

As of March 2025, the mindshare of Oracle Solaris in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category stands at 2.6%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Operating Systems (OS) for Business

PeerAnalyst reports based on Oracle Solaris reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Operating Systems (OS) for Business	Mar 9, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Mar 9, 2025	Download
Comparison	Oracle Solaris vs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)	Mar 9, 2025	Download
Comparison	Oracle Solaris vs Ubuntu Linux	Mar 9, 2025	Download
Comparison	Oracle Solaris vs Oracle Linux	Mar 9, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Ubuntu Linux	4.3	14.5%	95%	139 interviews Add to research
Oracle Linux	4.2	12.0%	92%	112 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Valued for its built-in virtualization, high availability, and powerful Oracle Solaris Zones, Oracle Solaris performs exceptionally on high-end servers. Users appreciate the ZFS file system, incremental backup, and robust security. It offers user-friendliness, stability, and ease of setup. Its performance, particularly with database hosting, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, is highly regarded. The system's seamless upgrades, resource partitioning, and comprehensive built-in features eliminate the need for additional purchases, enhancing flexibility and reliability.

"We are able to deploy new environments very quickly and securely. Using the virtualization features, we can migrate the environments very flexibly between our servers."
"One of the main advantages is the rock-solid reliability. It works. The stability is very good. It has a very good track record in the data security database."
"We use the solution as an internal operating system."

Room for Improvement

Oracle Solaris needs a more user-friendly interface and improved backend management. It should transition from command-line to graphical administration and support various hardware better. Performance and compatibility with other operating systems should be enhanced. The cost is high, documentation is lacking, and monitoring tools and version updates are insufficient. More flexibility, simplified clustering data, and better package management are required. Users experience issues with specific hardware and lack of widespread adoption.

"Patching without downtime would be nice."
"One of the drawbacks is Oracle itself. Oracle has its good and bad they are not putting resources into the development."
"Setting up Oracle Solaris can be complex because it requires more commands than other systems."

ROI

Users have indicated that Oracle Solaris significantly improved operational efficiency, reducing downtime and lowering maintenance costs. The enhanced security features contributed to fewer vulnerabilities and data breaches. Additionally, seamless integration with existing systems expedited deployment, leading to faster time-to-value. Many users experienced substantial long-term savings from reduced hardware expenses due to better resource utilization.

Pricing

Oracle Solaris is free to use, with no licensing fees, but support costs apply based on hardware. When used on non-Oracle hardware, support requires a reasonable annual fee of around $1000. Some users find the licensing model difficult, especially with multi-core CPUs, leading to higher costs. While the product is technically robust and widely used, many organizations find it expensive and are moving to more cost-efficient alternatives.

"We don't use an authorized license."
"As a private user or individual, I wouldn't recommend it to others, considering it is a costly product."
"It is an expensive product. I rate the pricing a ten out of ten."

Popular Use Cases

Most users employ Oracle Solaris as an operating system for databases, core banking, and critical applications across various sectors, including finance, telecom, and energy. It supports compute storage, web, and database servers and is favored for its virtualization capabilities. Oracle Solaris is also utilized in external data centers, legacy systems, and for hosting applications on platforms like SPARC and Intel x86.

Service and Support

Oracle support is praised for being responsive, knowledgeable, and effective, though some find it expensive. Patches are released regularly, aiding system updates. Users appreciate the stability of Oracle Solaris, hence making few support calls. Some encountered difficulties in reaching support or found it slow at times. The support team is often rated highly yet could improve in expertise. Many issues are solvable via the knowledge base, reducing the need for direct assistance.

Deployment

Many found Oracle Solaris's initial setup straightforward, easy, and similar to Linux or Unix installations, especially with Oracle's documentation. Some experienced complexity, requiring two or three engineers and taking days to complete. Installation times varied from 30 minutes to two months, depending on experience and support received. For some, Oracle Solaris came pre-installed, simplifying customization. Although easy for experienced users, others struggled with technical aspects. In complex environments, the setup was complex.

Scalability

Oracle Solaris is highly scalable, supporting a wide range of processors and cores. Users report its strength in vertical scaling and its ability to handle large databases and applications. Scalability depends on hardware, with users ranging from small to large deployments in various sectors. Many find it suitable for medium to large businesses due to easy resource adjustments. It supports newer technologies and offers flexible scalability options both on-premise and in virtual environments.

Stability

The stability of Oracle Solaris is highly praised, with users noting its reliability and minimal failure rates. Many highlight that it rarely encounters bugs, crashes, or freezes and remains unaffected by viruses. SPARC hardware contributes to this robustness. Regular updates and patches enhance stability, and users often rate it ten out of ten for this aspect. However, some users mention occasional issues during booting that require rollbacks to previous versions.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Oracle Solaris Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

University

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Healthcare Company

Retailer

Media Company

Hospitality Company

Insurance Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Performing Arts

Transportation Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Non Profit

Legal Firm

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Logistics Company

Consumer Goods Company

Pharma/Biotech Company

Compare Oracle Solaris with alternative products

Learn more about Oracle Solaris

Oracle Solaris Features

Oracle Solaris has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Application binary guarantee
Unified archives
Rich selection of DevOps tools
REST-based configuration and monitoring
Software security assurance
Automated installer
Image packaging system and ZFS boot environments
Simplified system life-cycle, application life-cycle, and cloud capabilities
Constraint packages
Fault diagnosis
Service management facility

Oracle Solaris Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Oracle Solaris. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Portable and scalable
Interoperable and compatible
Simple to use
Infrastructure designed to scale on large systems without code
Supports a wide range of hardware
24 x 7 support from Oracle
Portability across different architectures
Supports tools optimized for Oracle hardware devices
Guarantees binary compatibility for your applications across various Oracle Solaris OS releases
Supports programming languages such as Perl, Ruby, and Python
Mitigates risk and easily proves compliance
Reduces costs
Helps reduce planned and unplanned downtime

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the Oracle Solaris solution.

A CEO at a computer software company says, “The most valuable feature is virtualization. They have attained virtualization and it's quite simple to create the Oracle Solaris zones. The solution is quite powerful. Oracle Solaris is great due to the fact that it actually is meant for high-end servers. The high availability is great. You can clone and you can do quite a number of things with them. There's also the ZFS File system which is very good. Is one of the best file systems that there is.”

Diego A., Oracle ACE - Specialized in Systems Technologies at Telecom Argentina, mentions, “The most valuable features for me are virtualization (Containers, Zones, Security, PDOM's, LDOM's) and Performance, ZFS, Debugging with Dtrace.”

A Service Manager at a tech services company expresses that the solution is “Stable, scalable, and has easy installation.”

PeerSpot user Marcel H., Oracle ACE Director "Solaris," CEO, Enterprise Consultant at JomaSoft, explains, “Solaris includes two virtualization solutions: LDoms for SPARC and Solaris Zones. Both solutions can be combined to create private clouds. Solaris Zones is ideal to separate applications and to migrate from older to current hardware. LDoms is very efficient because it uses the hardware hypervisor of the SPARC servers. Both technologies increase Security, because they separate the applications from each other. Using the Security Compliance Framework we are sure the systems are set up properly.”

Shafiq K., Senior Manager IT Operations at a financial services firm, states, “The reliability of the solution is excellent. The security has been very good overall. We've found the solution to have good availability. The backup capabilities are quite good. The solution has proven to be quite stable so far. The product can scale. The solution is 100% free to use. It doesn't cost a company anything as it's embedded in the hardware.”

Oracle Solaris was previously known as Solaris 11, Solaris.