Oracle Linux Reviews

For me, I like that fact that Oracle Linux is very similar, of course, to CentOS and Red Hat. Plus, Application Testing Suit makes it a lot more customizable for us. We're also able to monitor it with our software. These features make Oracle Linux very simple with very little configuration changes needed.

When we work with customers who are more Oracle-based, then Oracle Linux seems to follow more along the lines of what they want to do. The licensing is simpler because they usually don't have to go to VMware, Microsoft, or any other company to get different things. The functionalities they need are already built-in.

The installation needs some improvements because, as my admins have told me, it's a little bit tedious compared to others. Also, it takes a little bit of time to actually find files, download them, and install them. That kind of goes for anything with Oracle in that unless you know exactly where to go, it can take a bit of time. But once it's installed, it just works.

We've had no issues with the deployment.

A handful of customers that are using it haven't had any issues with the stability.

We have been able to scale using Linux just fine.

I would say that the initial setup is pretty much straightforward. It falls along the lines of the others. Some of the newer versions of other flavors of Linux make it a little bit simpler, but overall it's straightforward and we've hadn't had any trouble once it's been installed.

We implemented it ourselves with our in-house team.

I would probably have them explain, at least to themselves, what they're going to use it for, what applications are going to be running on it. And if it's going to be Database or something more Oracle-based, it's going to be great for that. If it's going to be something else, it may not be the best fit, depending on exactly what they are going to do with it.

When you look at Oracle Linux over the years, you've got to go back to the beginning of Linux. Nobody would accept it in the community because it was open source. A guy by the name of Larry Ellison said, "Let's put Linux on every app server we have in the company because I believe this is what's coming next." When I look at Oracle Linux, Larry really drove Linux, to some degree, into the market. 

But when I look at Linux and some of the value of it, you look at privacy, security, it's much more secure, much more private than other operating systems. It's very easy to install and a lot of people use it. It's very common.

I've been using Linux since it came out, a very long time.

Is Linux scalable? Let's see. It's on the fastest machines on planet Earth, which is Exadata. Does it scale? Yes. Proven in many clients out there, Exadata is the highest selling and best product that Oracle has ever put out in their history.

When I'm comparing Linux, I look at the things like Windows - and a lot of people call it "Windoze," d-o-z-e, like they're dozing off because it's so slow. Linux is extremely fast and that's why it took the entire market. It's why it's the standard right now. Oracle Linux, when I look at it, it's very fast, it's really not comparable to anything else. It's very good.

The setup of the solution is very common for people who are familiar with installing Linux. I don't see any issues there. Also, with Linux, they have patches that come out when there's any issue. That's why you get a lot of good security. The after-support, never really had an issue. Linux is pretty simple to where you set It up and it's done.

I recommend Oracle Linux regularly because it's a standard that works well with the Oracle Database, it works well with all the different needs. When you look at the topology in a general IT department, it fits very well. In the cloud, Linux runs the cloud. 

Linux is a 10 out of 10. Windows, not so much; maybe down at two or three, especially on the privacy side and security, in my opinion.

The most valuable feature is that it's supported by Oracle with a kernel called Unbreakable Linux, which I believe is being used by most customers. It's the same flavor as Red Hat, but it's better because it's supported by Oracle.

Right now a lot of people are migrating from traditional Unix to Linux, which performs much better. I'd like to see Oracle continue to improve on the performance of Linux, particularly in regards to scalability, so that we can move completely away from Unix. We'd like to have all our applications on Linux as Unix is fading away.

I've been using Linux for maybe five or six years.

We've had no issues deploying it.

Linux is always stable and Oracle Linux is no different. Customers are predominantly running their systems on Linux.

Scalability is related to how much compute power you are providing. The OS is there but you'll run your application on top of Linux. So that's where you'll scale Linux, which will depend on your application.

They're overall knowledgeable, but I've seen some instances where they're completely focused on a single product instead of seeing the end-to-end solution for a customer. That's where they get lost.

One of the main features of this solution is it is secure.

Most day-to-day applications are not native to this solution. You have to run an emulator or virtual machine, such as VMware to access these Windows applications. 

In a feature release, there could be better integration with applications from other operating systems.

I have been using the solution for few years.

I am the only one using this solution in my organization.

Oracles' technical support is very good. Whenever you have a problem they are very quick to respond.

The installation is easy, you need to do some updating and you are done. It takes approximately one hour.

The solution is free.

I would recommend this solution and I plan to keep using this solution in the future.

I rate Oracle Linux a seven out of ten.

Fujitsu uses OVM and Oracle Linux extensively with Fujitsu hardware to provide our customers with a certified, scalable, pre-tested platform to run Oracle Applications and technology.

The use of a pre-defined and certified architecture that combines a market leading Fujitsu server architecture along with Oracle's virtualisation technology and Linux operating system, has allowed Fujitsu to reduce the cost and time to create customer bids.

Optimising the use of Oracle licenses on behalf of our customers to get most efficient cost of ownership.

Fujitsu works closely with Oracle's product development team to provide feedback on areas for improvement on behalf of our customers.

In the early days of using the product, Fujitsu had some issues with both the stability and functionality of the product. Oracle was very responsive to this feedback and, as a result, has incorporated many of the ideas that were shared by Fujitsu. The result is a market-leading solution.

No issues with scalability.

Excellent. Oracle also encouraged a direct working relationship with the product development team, which has served to help in getting support.

Work with Fujitsu to learn from our experience. We are able to provide a pre-certified architecture that incorporates the best of both Oracle and Fujitsu technology to provide a highly scalable platform for Oracle workloads.

I think it is very specially tuned for the performance of Oracle Stack, and therefore all of the things that Oracle Stack works on work really well on Oracle Linux.

In terms of improvement, I think actually it is the other way around. Oracle Linux is specially tuned for Oracle Stack, and therefore it works better with the Oracle Stack.

Very stable. I think it's a very mature system, so I think it is, in general, quite stable and in a high performing state.

Most of the Linux systems are designed for high scalability, so it should not be an issue.

It's as easy as any other operating systems, so there is no issue.

It is not only the Oracle operating system, but also the support that goes with it, and also the reliability and the backing of a large company. That is most important.

It's stable, you have flexibility and dynamics, and it's easy to work with.

Linux is very stable.

Scales well as well.

It works quite well, if there's a problem you can open a ticket and the support works quite well.

It depends on the complexity of the environment, but you can download images and there are all kinds of tools nowadays, so it's quite easy.

I always liked Linux and Unix and Nix operating systems, so I always favor them before anything else. Always recommend them.

We use Oracle Linux with multiple clients for multiple applications.

Over a period of time, feature-wise, functionality wise, the reliability is important for us. 

First of all it is a zero-dollar value, it is free. We only have to pay for support. So it brings down the overall cost. And it is providing the same functionality as any other Linux system that is out there in the market.

Some customers feel about Oracle licensing, while it is free, they are not able to understand the support model for it. They feel the price is high for support. 

I have seen running production systems on it, there is no issue at all, because of the operating system.

I have no experience with scaling, but I believe scalability is as part of it as any other Unix based operating system that is out there in the market.

It is world-class.

It is straightforward and well documented. If people have basic Unix knowledge, they can jump on it. But I would definitely recommend going through the documentation before implementing any operating system in an enterprise environment.

Regarding criteria when selecting a vendor, if I am working in an Oracle world, I would what's important is being "family." If you are using Oracle as a database, using Oracle Linux is a good choice, because you are in the same family. Support is coming from the same vendor. The chances of vendor conflict - for example, being able to pull in people from different vendors; if I'm using Red Hat Linux I would be pulling people from Red Hat Linux, I would be pulling people from Oracle databases - that kind of scenario would not be there. Support would be seamless.

In terms of advice I would say, know your needs first, and if you know your needs, compare Oracle Linux with other operating systems. If you are running Oracle systems, Oracle databases, Oracle Linux is certified by Oracle. I believe all of Oracle is using it internally when building the system. For example, when they're developing Oracle databases or when they're developing Oracle EBS, they're running it on Oracle Linux.

Go for it. Evaluate it, know your needs first, and then see what solution is addressing your need.