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Oracle Solaris vs SUSE Linux Enterprise 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

Oracle Solaris
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SUSE Linux Enterprise
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Oracle Solaris is 2.6%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Linux Enterprise is 7.3%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Dominique Locksley - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good kernel modules and upgrades
I like how the tool handles kernel modules and upgrades - we rarely have issues after upgrades, unlike with other Linux distributions like Oracle Linux or Ubuntu. The kernel module management is excellent. Changes made in one version typically work the same in other versions too, which isn't always the case with other distributions. There's also lots of information and community support available if you run into any problems, both on the official website and in forums and user groups. I know many people who use it specifically, so it's easy to get independent support if needed. I've been working with the tool for a long time, since 2003, before they became SUSE Linux Enterprise. It's always been one of the most admin-friendly Linux versions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to manipulate the zones and the files within the zones from a global OS provides us flexibility that no other virtualization can match."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of setup."
"This product is stable, has good documentation, lots of solutions, a big community, and good support."
"Its networking has helped me combine the power of a neural network with the benefits of virtualization to improve the AI's performance."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle Solaris is the incremental backup that happens in the system."
"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."
"The stability of the solution is good."
"The return on investment has been significant, especially considering its cost-effectiveness compared to other solutions."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"Out-of-the-box SLES supported all of our HBAs and hardware specific components."
"The initial setup for most modern Linux distributions is normally straightforward. Most of the common distributions use an ncurses or GUI install."
"It's easy to set up."
"The solution offers a secure operation system."
"The main feature is that Linux is flexible to work with for most web-based applications."
"The most important feature is the automatic kernel lifecycle subscription, which is critical for us because the server cannot go down once we start offering any services on the cluster."
 

Cons

"This product is not as flexible as other similar solutions on the market today."
"Oracle Solaris can improve by supporting all the recent features that are in the market from other competitors."
"The tool is quite complex and difficult for anyone trying to use or study it."
"The scalability of the solution can be improved."
"When we switch over to Solaris it was not easy because we had some troubles with the performance. Solaris is from Oracle and you would expect that it would run flawlessly, but we had some issues in sizing the previous Linux environment to the Solaris environment."
"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."
"I would love to see improvements in SVM, so file systems could be increased or migrated without downtime to the environment, similar to what ZFS is capable of."
"Oracle customer service is slow at times."
"Compared with the competition, of late actually, the solution has increased its pricing tremendously."
"The solution has to be fine-tuned with better documentation."
"The product must improve its UI."
"I would like to see GUI improved, it could be more user-friendly."
"Red Hat has more packages that are available than SUSE does. I'd love to see more projects based on SUSE."
"The free version sometimes has security holes."
"Additionally, error handling needs improvement. The system should be more transparent when there's an error, rather than just declaring a generic error. It would be helpful if it could provide more specific information about the problem on that particular system. As it stands, you can waste a lot of time trying to troubleshoot these vague errors."
"Sometimes it is a bit of work for developers to change the configurations."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free to use."
"The solution is expensive and is based on an annual fee."
"The price is not good and needs to improve."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"This solution needs a license to use it."
"It is a very expensive product."
"The annual license cost is fair and reasonable."
"Solaris is highly priced compared to other solutions, but since it's a niche product, this is to be expected."
"There is no license for this solution, there is only a subscription of support available."
"The platform is affordable."
"SUSE Linux Enterprise is reasonably priced compared to other operating systems. I find it's a much better option for us than Oracle, for example, because of the pricing structure. The pricing is easier to explain to clients and makes it easier to get clients' commitment. The licensing is also simpler to manage and keep track of. Their responsiveness is great - they give feedback very quickly when we ask questions about licensing or other aspects. This helps ensure we're always at the gold standard regarding licensing and everything related to SUSE Linux Enterprise."
"The product is expensive. We purchase its yearly license."
"The license we pay is for Oracle. We make use of the community edition."
"The price is reasonable."
"There is a free tier and a paid support tier. If you do not need support, then the solution is free to use. If you need support then there is an option for that as well."
"Anyone can use Linux because it is open-source."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What do you like most about SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The initial setup is simple and takes five minutes for deployment and if you have automation in place, it will take four minutes.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SUSE Linux Enterprise?
I used the open-source version, so there were no setup costs.
What needs improvement with SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The software management side was a bit difficult, especially compared to Ubuntu. The software manager was different, making it challenging to install certain applications. Additionally, I encounter...
 

Also Known As

Solaris 11, Solaris
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Siemens, IVV
Air India, Akademicki Szpital Kliniczny (ASK), Allone, Altran, Apollo, ARCHIVA, Asia Innovatory Management School, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, AutoData Norge AS, Baldor Electric, Business Connexion, CASIO, Ciclum Farma, Delta Lloyd, Edumate , HPE,  SAP SE,  Lenovo, BMW, T-Systems, UCX, Turners & Growers, Shenzhen Development Bank, Bosch Group, JK Tyres & Industries, IOCL, European Space Agency, Daimler AG, China Minsheng Banking Corp, Café Coffee Day, Unisys,  Petrochina Company Ltd, Fitch Ratings, ABeam Consulting Co Ltd, Tyro Payments, Rackspace, Pacific Textiles, ...
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Solaris vs. SUSE Linux Enterprise and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.