We used Oracle Enterprise Linux to replace a Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment because Oracle Linux rolled out a new kernel. We thought it might be more stable than our previous edition.
Has a more stable kernel than Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Pros and Cons
- "We use Oracle Linux to test our software, and we also recommend Oracle Linux to our customers."
- "The download speed is not good. Oracle can improve their servers capacity, especially in Asia."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
We have maybe 10 to 15 engineers using Oracle Linux to test the software environment. It has a more stable kernel than Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What needs improvement?
Oracle Linux is almost the same as Red Hat, but it takes a long time to download, in comparison. The download speed is not good. Oracle can improve their servers capacity, especially in Asia.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Oracle Linux for three years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. We use Oracle Linux because it has a stable kernel, perhaps, more so than other vendors.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable product.
How are customer service and support?
It's not easy to obtain Oracle Linux support from emails or telephone support. We tend to look at the Knowledge Base. Oracle's Knowledge Base is excellent.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to install and only took about 30 minutes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We use Oracle Linux to test our software, and we also recommend Oracle Linux to our customers. We also recommend the purchasing of a license to activate the product. If our customers want to install Oracle Linux on multiple servers, perhaps Oracle could offer some good discounts, but these would need to be negotiated.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We used several kinds of Linux. Something like SUSE Linux, Red Hat Linux, Ubuntu Linux, and Oracle Linux but especially those with stable kernels. In some software environments, we do not need a stable kernel's performance level, but the machine may be stable in most cases. Before this year, we used Ubuntu. Ubuntu is speedy but not very stable. Its development is very quickly rolled out, and they change it every half year.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Oracle Linux an eight out of 10. Linux Enterprise is used in our customer's data center. The users may use a lot of server resources, so we recommend they buy a license. Sometimes they need to buy hundreds of server licenses, so the price consideration is important as the licensing is expensive. Our customers tend to use other editions such as CentOS, and other free editions. However, the free editions are not stable. Indeed, the free version provided by Oracle is not stable.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator

Master Consultant - RedHat & Oracle Cloud, Virtualization , Automation at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable with good pricing and an easy initial setup
Pros and Cons
- "The stability is excellent and the initial setup is easy."
- "It would be ideal if they added a faster implementation of the security fixes, if possible."
What is our primary use case?
Our organization uses mostly Oracle engineered systems and appliances such as Oracle Exadata, PCA Private Cloud Appliance, Oracle Database Appliance, etc. Anything that is an engineering solution from Oracle, essentially. We also use Oracle Virtualization, OVM. These are on Linux.
What is most valuable?
Ksplice is the solution's most valuable aspect. Basically, what that allows us to do, is it allows us to patch and update the Kernel without a reboot. To me, that is the most outstanding feature of Oracle Linux.
The pricing is quite good.
The stability is excellent and the initial setup is easy.
What needs improvement?
Oracle Linux is downstream from Red Hat Linux. This solution has the same pain points. I would probably mention that fleet deployment and management could be improved.
It would be ideal if they added a faster implementation of the security fixes, if possible.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution since 2010.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is extremely stable. There aren't issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of adding on features, it's pretty scalable. It's similar to Red due to the fact that it is pretty much adjusted downstream from RHEL.
We have between 50-100 users on the solution at any given time.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've used support in the past. I'd say it's pretty typical. It's not extraordinary, It's fine.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We switched from Red Hat Linux. Oftentimes I work with the appliances and Oracle engineering systems on hardware and software, which come from Oracle.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment was not complex. It was very straightforward. How long deployment takes depends on how many OS instances are being implemented. A single OS instance may take about 30 minutes or less.
What about the implementation team?
I work at an Oracle partner company and assist clients with their implementation in my role as a consultant.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing cost is fairly small. It's pretty much in line with Red Hat licenses. I cannot recall the actual pricing, however, it's my understanding that it's just a few hundred dollars for a CPU core per year. I would just say it's fairly reasonable and low.
Oracle Linux subscriptions can actually come free if they're purchased with other products.
What other advice do I have?
We're a partner and reseller of Oracle.
I would recommend the solution, especially for the organizations that could be interested in zero downtime patch-ins. That is what the Oracle Linux case flies provide. I don't think the same feature are available in RHEL.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Site Reliability Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Offers leading performance and security for hybrid and multi-cloud deployments
Pros and Cons
- "Oracle Linux is very compatible with other platforms."
- "I think they should also pay more attention to the open-source community."
What is most valuable?
I am not an Oracle expert, I'm a database expert. From my standpoint, Oracle Linux is more compatible with the latest open-source software than other operating systems like Ubuntu Linux and CentOS Linux. I have faced a lot of challenges with different operating systems but it turns out that other database packages are not very compatible with different operating systems. They are not very compatible with Arch and Ubuntu Linux; however, Oracle Linux is highly compatible with all of the open-source projects.
I wouldn't say that we had many major challenges with Oracle Linux. I can't say it's the most advanced operating system, but I can definitely say that they patch regularly. We didn't have major challenges with Oracle Linux, to be honest.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Linux for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I don't think that we had any kind of stability issues. Most of the time, if I remember correctly, we worked with Oracle Linux when it was a part of the private cloud. By private cloud, I mean it was in VM. Being in VM with limited resources, sometimes the software packages would crash, but I don't recall the operating system ever crashing. The issues we experienced were due to the software and filter packages, not the operating system.
How are customer service and technical support?
Oracle tech support is pretty well organized. They have a long history of offering support for their Oracle packages. It doesn't matter if it's an Oracle database, an Oracle operating system; they give support 24/7, covering every time zone. They have multiple experts available for every issue you could experience. They can always be reached no matter what. They are very well organized with their support.
How was the initial setup?
Oracle Linux is very easy to set up.
Oracle Linux is very much compatible with other platforms. Installing VMs is very easy. If you are installing on a hard metal server, it's still very easy. I installed Oracle Linux myself, I didn't have major challenges with it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Nowadays, Oracle is very open toward price negotiation; they negotiate well with their clients.
What other advice do I have?
If you're interested in Oracle Linux, make sure you know the infrastructure of where it's going inside and out. You have to have a clear idea of where exactly your organization is heading in the future, whether private cloud or public cloud. These decisions are not made in seconds, minutes, or even days or weeks. But you have to have a clear idea. For example, if a company wants to use Oracle Linux and they think after two or three years they might be in a hybrid cloud, or maybe a public cloud, they had to make sure they aren't too dependent on the operating system. Whatever software packages they are using should be very compatible with the existing infrastructure like a hybrid or a public cloud.
Picture two containers that are very much independent: you can implement Containerization in Oracle Linux and the same containers can and will work well in both a private cloud or a public cloud infrastructure.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Oracle Linux a rating of eight.
Because nothing is perfect, I wouldn't give any operating system or any other software packages a rating of 10. They have bugs sometimes. For some extra points, they should keep aligned with the ope-source community. Oracle is very loyal to their own customers. If a client is experiencing an issue, they will work with them until it is fully resolved. But what about the open-source community? I think they should also pay more attention to the open-source community.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Project Manager at Closed Joint Stock Company Insurance Company TAS
It works stable and provides a secure environment
Pros and Cons
- "The solution's technical support team answers all our queries."
- "It is not a user-friendly solution."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution to manage the databases.
What is most valuable?
The solution's most valuable feature is its capability to provide a safe and secure environment.
What needs improvement?
They should make the solution user-friendly. Also, they should add documentation and video lessons to guide us about its new features. We have a team of specialists who can train us on it, but we need help finding enough information.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's technical support team answers all our queries.
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup is complicated.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is an expensive solution for us.
What other advice do I have?
It is challenging to work with Oracle Linux, but it is a stable and secure solution. I recommend it to others and rate it as an eight.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Premium Services Sales- CX Professional Services at Cisco
Stable, scalable with good data download and upload features
Pros and Cons
- "It is a stable solution with a secure operating system."
- "It will be better to consolidate all the features in one release instead of sporadic releases."
What is our primary use case?
We use it on-premises because there is more data and then we download and upload it to the cloud. Customers are a little upset whenever they have to upload all the data to the cloud and they are also very specific. Whoever is working with us has the data on their systems.
What needs improvement?
We are not impacted by new releases, because whenever there is a new release, we are informed by our IT team and we prepare accordingly. However, if the number of releases is too frequent you begin to doubt the stability of the system even if it is stable. So if a new release is required, it will be better to consolidate all the features in one release instead of sporadic releases.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for ten years. It is deployed on-premises which is more secure.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution with a secure operating system.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Oracle Linux is scalable because it allows for a hybrid cloud environment. We have more than 100,000 users in our company.
How are customer service and support?
Our IT team handles interactions with technical support, so we route everything through them. It has been smooth, and we have gotten some good responses, even over email.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate this solution a ten out of ten because I am happy with the platforms.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Manager, IT at a renewables & environment company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Dependable, easy to use, and scales very well
Pros and Cons
- "It has a good amount of mount points."
- "Occasionally, we might get an alert to restart our database, and if we don't do it on our own, the system will do it automatically. That can cause downtime issues if your clients aren't expecting it."
What is our primary use case?
We're using Oracle Linux to run virtual machines for their database solutions in the cloud. We're also using Oracle Linux to run an SFTP server.
We have several Oracle Linux 7s that support the databases. We have about ten of those. We have one SFTP server as well. That is the extent of it.
What is most valuable?
We do a lot of mounts so we can use shared storage. It has a good amount of mount points. I'm just getting very comfortable with it as far as the ACLs and the users go.
What needs improvement?
I cannot recall any areas that require improvement, or any missing features I have come across.
Occasionally, we might get an alert to restart our database, and if we don't do it on our own, the system will do it automatically. That can cause downtime issues if your clients aren't expecting it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for about a year and a half at this point. It hasn't been too long.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is very good. The databases are all VMs. Sometimes the database might have an underlying condition, hardware condition, and Oracle will send us an alert to tell us to please restart our databases so that they can be moved to another piece of hardware by a certain date. If we don't do it on our own, they will do it. That, however, leaves room for corruption. Also, you run the risk of not telling our customers ahead of time that there might be a little bit of downtime.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution can scale up or down easily. You can always scale up, scale down, add more storage, add more memory, that kind of stuff.
How are customer service and support?
Since we have an Oracle cloud subscription and a tenancy, our service requests are answered by tech support from OCI tech support. It's pretty much whatever we need. However, I must say, their tech support usually addresses OCI problems, such as infrastructure problems. When it comes to the Oracle support, you really have to dig and you really have to get on them to actually get it down to the Oracle support. That said, I want to say, so far, so good. I'm happy with the support so far.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before I worked on Oracle Linux 7, we were on-prem with Red Hat 6 or 7. It might have been Red Hat 6. Everything really just transfers very well as far as the commands and all of that. Oracle Linux 7 is basically Red Hat 7.
How was the initial setup?
When it is in the could, the initial setup is very easy. When it's in the cloud, you just pick a shape and say, "Make me a machine."
What makes each shape different is the number of CPUs. The amount of storage comes with it.
What other advice do I have?
I'm just an Oracle customer and an end-user.
For those considering the solution, I would say, if you're familiar with Red Hat, there's very little change and the users should just go for it.
As far as dependability and ease of use go, I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Fresh Operations Manager at Jerónimo Martins
Straightforward installation, scalable, reliable and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The installation is straightforward."
- "There needs to be overall better integration."
What is our primary use case?
I use this solution for developing applications and APIs for our platform.
What needs improvement?
There needs to be overall better integration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We have approximately 25 users using this solution in my organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
We use vendor support and it is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I use Windows systems as well as this soltuion.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We used integrators to help us implement the solution into our systems.
We have six engineers that do the maintenance of this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing cost is expensive. It should be reduced by at least half.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others.
I rate Oracle Linux an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr. System and Storage Administrator at a government with 51-200 employees
Useful for hosting other Oracle products
Pros and Cons
- "It's very useful for hosting other Oracle products."
- "We'd like it if it was a bit more secure."
What is our primary use case?
We are primarily using the solution for our Oracle Database.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very, very stable. The performance is reliable.
It's very useful for hosting other Oracle products.
The solution is very scalable. You can expand it if needed.
Technical support is very good. They have been responsive and they understand the product.
The initial setup is quick and easy. It doesn't take too long.
The pricing of the solution is not too high. It's reasonable.
What needs improvement?
The security could always be slightly improved on the product. We'd like it if it was a bit more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for a couple of years at this point. It's been a while. I have some experience with it at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable in terms of performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so with relative ease. It's not a problem.
We currently have about 50 people on the solution.
We do plan to increase the usage in the future.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good. They are helpful and responsive. We are quite happy with the level of support we have received from them so far. They are available when we need them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we had a mixed environment and we were using all sorts of operating systems.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not overly difficult or complex. We found the process to be very straightforward. The deployment itself was fast.
We have two members of the technical team that can handle any maintenance required.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the implementation ourselves. We did not need the assistance of a consultant or implementor.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay for a license on a yearly basis. It's not an overly expensive product. It's affordable.
What other advice do I have?
We're using the latest version of the solution at this time.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We're quite happy with the capabilities of the solution so far. It works as expected and does what we need it to do.
I would recommend the solution to other users and organizations.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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