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CentOS vs Oracle Solaris comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

CentOS
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Solaris
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of CentOS is 6.9%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Solaris is 3.2%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Mahender Nirwan - PeerSpot reviewer
In-depth documentation available and command-line utility works well
One issue I recently faced, but I think it was due to my IT support guys, was that when the server storage gets full, the service crashes. It's very difficult to regain access and stability in that situation. That could be improved. So, the stability might be improved. But I don't think it's a CentOS-level issue. The system administrators need to come up with a solution for that, but I don't think it's CentOS's fault. I haven't done any research [R&D] on this issue. There's one thing for sure. We recently migrated from CentOS 7 to CentOS 9, and it was a bit difficult. For example, updating Windows is simple; you just download it, and it takes about 15-20 minutes. But that's not the case with migrating from CentOS 7 to 9. We had to back up the entire server, launch a new server, and then restore the backup to the new server. We couldn't directly migrate. I think that was a bit of a problem. The setup and updates are not that new in CentOS.
Zandile Mushi - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good security features and reliability
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.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It helps us install and deploy our applications."
"The user interface of CentOS is intuitive, we can also use the command prompt."
"The scalability of CentOS is good. We can deploy the operating system in many hardware, laptops, and servers."
"You can work with the UI or in command line, if you prefer."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"CentOS is very efficient and very powerful with many capabilities."
"I like the command prompt of CentOS. It's very simple."
"The technical support is good."
"Oracle Solaris provides an ease of use."
"Oracle Solaris was the preferred operating system for their customers to run their databases on and to get the best performance. It performs well with Oracle applications. Additionally, there are some features inside that are called zones which are Linux containers."
"It works well. It is very stable and very good. It is also very safe. It cannot be easily infected by viruses or attacks."
"This product handles databases well; they run on top of the operating system."
"The product's most valuable feature is partitioning resources and optimizing hardware utilization effectively."
"Solaris's best features are high availability, robustness, and database hosting."
"This product is stable, has good documentation, lots of solutions, a big community, and good support."
"The stability of the solution is good."
 

Cons

"It is challenging to scale the solution when we have to increase the storage capacity from one end."
"There is no notification before updates are applied to the solution, which occasionally means that new functionality isn't compatible with how the product is currently being used, and causes issues."
"The main issue is the End of Support. For that reason, we will switch to another operating system."
"It would be useful if reporting were included as part of the basic license."
"CentOS can be somewhat difficult for beginners, as it has a complex UI, especially for those not in the IT field."
"When comparing the GUI of CentOS to Microsoft Windows or Mac, it could improve."
"The solution’s stability could be improved."
"We would like Red Hat to keep supporting the solution but they have decided to get rid of it and there isn't much we can do about it."
"Solaris is not easy to use. It needs better GUI, UI, and configuration tools."
"The Solaris code is open, and the documentation is accessible to all, not only to registered users. Also, the documentation does not support some solutions, and there are no other options."
"They could also enable Oracle OEM for x86 architecture as well."
"Oracle Solaris can improve by supporting all the recent features that are in the market from other competitors."
"Oracle customer service is slow at times."
"The scalability of the solution can be improved."
"One of the drawbacks is Oracle itself. Oracle has its good and bad they are not putting resources into the development."
"If it could support other file systems, it would be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"CentOS is an expensive solution. There are other solutions that are rated at the top that are not expensive, such as Red Hat."
"There are no licensing fees. CentOS is a free solution."
"The solution is open source so is free."
"This is a free solution."
"The solution is open source."
"I use the free version."
"We use the free, open-source solution because we cannot afford the price for Linux."
"There are no licensing costs for CentOS."
"There are no licensing fees but you can opt to pay for support."
"There is no OS licensing cost if you use their hardware and purchase hardware maintenance."
"The product is inexpensive."
"The solution is free to use."
"The solution is expensive and is based on an annual fee."
"If you buy Oracle hardware it's supported free with the hardware. If you're putting it on non-Oracle hardware, that is when you buy the support license, which is also very reasonable. It is $1000 dollars per year, so it's not overly expensive."
"The annual license cost is fair and reasonable."
"The price of Oracle Solaris could be less expensive."
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Comparison Review

it_user281973 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 24, 2017
It's improved our company's system environments that run Oracle databases.
Red Hat is mission critical to our environment Red Hat has improved the mission critical environments running Oracle databases, while CentOS has improved our web environment and MySQL. Oracle and SAP Environment and all HPC environments. 10 years No issues Very stable i don´t find any problem…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) or CentOS?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is fantastic. It is an inexpensive solution that has excellent security, performance, and stability, and also lots of features. I specifically like that the solution has fe...
What do you like most about CentOS?
CentOS is very easy to use, and all the commands are user-friendly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CentOS?
I am not responsible for the setup cost in my company, so I am unsure about the cost of the license.
How does Oracle Linux compare with Solaris?
When comparing Oracle Linux and Solaris, I believe that Linux is more secure and more flexible. It is also very suitable for enterprises that are already Oracle solution users. I found Linux to be ...
What do you like most about Oracle Solaris?
We use the solution as an internal operating system.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Solaris 11, Solaris
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Siemens, IVV
Find out what your peers are saying about CentOS vs. Oracle Solaris and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.