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Oracle Solaris vs Windows Server 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
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows Server
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
184
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 Oracle Solaris is 3.2%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server is 9.6%, up from 8.9% 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.
Sagar SampadMall - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly, resources available online to troubleshoot any issue
It's easy to manage core applications and deploy engineers. Windows engineers are more affordable than Linux or Unix engineers, so that's another advantage. So, the management costs are much lower for the Windows Server. Plus, troubleshooting is straightforward with readily available online resources, so we don't need to raise tickets or wait for help. We can easily search on Google and find the solution on the search engine. Windows Server is pretty mature already. They're doing a good job with it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This product handles databases well; they run on top of the operating system."
"It stands out for its exceptional stability."
"Oracle Solaris provides an ease of use."
"The backup capabilities are quite good."
"This product is stable, has good documentation, lots of solutions, a big community, and good support."
"It is a scalable solution. I recommend it for bigger companies."
"Solaris Zones and Containers are my favorite features."
"The product's most valuable feature is partitioning resources and optimizing hardware utilization effectively."
"Windows Server is a stable and scalable solution."
"I like that the solution is reliable."
"The solution is scalable."
"The installation is not difficult. I found it to be very straightforward."
"It is easy to use, and its performance is good."
"I find the solution to be easy to use, flexible with overall great performance."
"I'm using all the features within it and find them all quite helpful."
"It is stable, scalable, flexible, and easy to use."
 

Cons

"The challenge arises from the differences in commands and configurations compared to more common systems like Linux."
"This product is not as flexible as other similar solutions on the market today."
"Oracle customer service is slow at times."
"Solaris is not easy to use. It needs better GUI, UI, and configuration tools."
"There is an issue where Solaris doesn't give the correct figures for memory use when checked."
"It is not easy to use. It doesn't have a user-friendly interface. It should be easy to use. We are planning to move from Solaris to Linux because Linux is more flexible and user-friendly. Its installation should also be easier. Solaris also needs specific hardware to work well, which is another reason why we are moving to Linux. It should be more flexible in terms of hardware. It should have better integration with other hardware platforms."
"If it could support other file systems, it would be better."
"I believe before Oracle was using Oracle Linux, they were using Oracle Solaris for their customers who are using Oracle databases. This was because it was more optimized for the hardware built for it. It has good performance for the database only. However, if you take it out of the Oracle applications, it will not do well compared to other operating systems, such as Linux or even Windows can have better performance."
"The stability needs to be improved."
"It would be better if they improved the user interface."
"Windows Server needs to improve stability and pricing."
"I have found the stability to be good but it could improve."
"The optimization of the scalability could improve."
"There is room for improvement in terms of pricing."
"More security features would be great."
"The technical support could improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"There is no OS licensing cost if you use their hardware and purchase hardware maintenance."
"There should be an option to install the solution for free and just pay for the support. We purchased an annual license and the price could be better."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"It is more expensive, but very complete and worth enacting."
"The price of Oracle Solaris could be less expensive."
"The product is inexpensive."
"We don't use an authorized license."
"We have purchased Windows Server’s yearly license."
"We have perpetual licenses."
"There is a one-time purchase for the license of Windows Server."
"Our licensing fee is perpetual."
"One of the problems with Microsoft is the price of licensing, and volume licensing for educational systems is a great option to bequeath licensing for small businesses."
"To use Windows Server, we pay for licensing yearly. The licensing cost should be cheaper—it is expensive and should not cost that much."
"We have purchased a perpetual license to use the solution."
"We have an enterprise agreement."
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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
13%
Government
10%
Educational Organization
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 needs improvement with Windows Server?
Sometimes the performance goes down, which might be due to the stability zone or network issues. It can also depend on our network.
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
We are using Windows Server to connect our client software. We use it to access client systems and work on SQL databases.
 

Also Known As

Solaris 11, Solaris
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Siemens, IVV
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Solaris vs. Windows Server and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.