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reviewer1029540 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, IT at a renewables & environment company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
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. 

Buyer's Guide
Oracle Linux
February 2025
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Linux. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
839,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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.
PeerSpot user
Fresh Operations Manager at Jerónimo Martins
Real User
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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Linux
February 2025
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Linux. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
839,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user1215906 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. System and Storage Administrator at a government with 51-200 employees
Real User
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.
PeerSpot user
it_user611982 - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President of Enterprise Services at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
The stability and supportability are valuable. The vendor releases security fixes and bug fixes for this product first.

What is most valuable?

  • Performance – Running on an operating system that is optimized for Oracle software provides significant performance gains.
  • Stability – Oracle Linux provides a far more stable platform than Microsoft Windows.
  • Supportability – Oracle releases security fixes and bug fixes first on Oracle Linux. Environments are more secure and easier to support.
  • Cost – Oracle Linux is roughly half the cost when compared to other comparable Linux distributions.

How has it helped my organization?

When designing a new Oracle database platform, Oracle Linux provides built-in benefits for database customers that are not available on any other platform. This has improved the performance, availability, scalability, and security of our architecture.

What needs improvement?

While the Oracle Linux software is perfectly suited for our needs, the related support processes within Oracle can often be challenging. Having your ticket routed to a capable support engineer can involve several escalations, and there is then a risk that the ticket is transferred to another engineer when the original person’s shift ends, often resulting in a frustrating process of answering many of the same questions again.

Similarly, the time to receive a bug fix can often be longer than in open-source equivalents. Therefore, we always recommend that Oracle Linux implementations are handled with an experienced Oracle Partner, specialized in Linux, who can supplement Oracle’s own support structures with a deeper level of expertise and faster response.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have used this solution for seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We hit a couple of bugs in the early days of Oracle Linux 5 but in the last few years, the platform has been extremely stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The platform is extremely scalable, either in a virtualized fashion or by using the available clustering technology.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would rate the support provided as a 6 our of 10, due to some slow responses and some delays on getting senior, experienced technical support personnel engaged.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In the past, we had primarily used either Oracle Solaris or Red Hat Enterprise Linux as a standard. Oracle Linux provided a more-agile, easy-to-deploy platform than Solaris, at a lower cost than Red Hat, and including optimizations not available in either of the previous platforms.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward for a basic server. However, there are complex configurations that can (and should) be added in for enterprise-level environments to provide better performance, stability, and redundancy.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Oracle Linux is roughly half the cost in terms of licensing and support when compared to other comparable Linux distributors.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We had primarily been using Red Hat Linux in the past. We also evaluated SUSE Linux and CentOS.

What other advice do I have?

While it is very straightforward to set up an Oracle Linux server, seek advice from experienced Oracle Partners to ensure that your new servers are customized and optimized to provide the performance, availability, and redundancy you need.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Cintra offer a full suite of services including procurement, design, implementation and ongoing support for Oracle Linux.
PeerSpot user
Faustine Chisasa - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at TZ Telecom Ltd.
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Compatible with RedHat operating systems, stable and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "There is full compatibility with RedHat-based operating systems, in particular Centos, which we widely deployed before Oracle Linux (OL)."
  • "For usability, the GUI options during the initial setup could be included with advanced functionalities that are now currently only possible on the CLI."

What is our primary use case?

We use Oracle Linux for Virtualization Platform, DNS Servers, Database Servers and IT infrastructure observability tools

How has it helped my organization?

Orlacle Linux has provided a redhat compatible open source OS for diverse needs. We smoothly run on Oracle OS; KVM virtualization environment, Postgesql databases, Zabbix, Grafana, Fluentd and other observability tools. We have seen a remarkable improvement as DNS queries are fast and the platforms can be easily secured with no worries of security issues arising due to unpatched systems.

What is most valuable?

There is full compatibility with RedHat-based operating systems, in particular Centos, which we widely deployed before Oracle Linux (OL).

What needs improvement?

For usability, the GUI options during the initial setup could be included with advanced OS tuning and optimization, currently as with most Linux systems that can be done via  CLI.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Oracle Linux for more than three years

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Very stable

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Very scalable, especially with available support options

How are customer service and support?

Haven't used the customer service and support

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Centos, migrated after Centos switches to Centos Stream

How was the initial setup?

Straightforward setup, used the free option

What about the implementation team?

Implemented in-house

What was our ROI?

100%

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's an open source OS freerly available. Support subscription is paid

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes, Rocky Linux, Alma Linux and OpenSuse

What other advice do I have?

A pretty stable and secure operating system that perfectly serve as an alternative to Centos OS.

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.
PeerSpot user
Radhey Rajput - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. IT Analyst at NCR Corporation
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A solution with a great operating system and helpful for creating scripts
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a good solution, and the performance is good."
  • "It could also have a more user-friendly interface."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution to create some scripts, and push, start, and stop our product.

How has it helped my organization?

It is a good solution, and the performance is good.

What is most valuable?

It has a very good operating system, and if anyone wants a secure one, Oracle Linux is a good choice.

What needs improvement?

Features related to use, feel, and user experience could be improved. It could also have a more user-friendly interface.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for the past 15 years and are using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is very good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is good, and we use the support sometimes. I rate the technical support an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. We did not need an integrator for deployment and completed it ourselves. I rate the setup an eight out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution a nine out of ten, and I would recommend this solution to others.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1053252 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Presales Consultant/ Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Top 5
Reliable, with good technical support, but it works well only with Oracle products
Pros and Cons
  • "Oracle Linux for Oracle databases is the top. There's no doubt whatsoever."
  • "Oracle Linux, needs to support more packages."

What is our primary use case?

Oracle Linux is basically Red Hat. It's the same. Oracle took the CentOS project, which is Red Hat, and made its own enhancements. They added something they call 3DBear, which is their proprietary technology. They call it the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK).

Oracle took Red Hat, stripped a lot of the software that was not needed for Oracle, which made Red Hat much smaller. They optimized the UEK for their Oracle database applications.

A customer who is planning to have an Oracle database and is looking to see whether to choose to go with Oracle Linux or SUSE Linux or Red Hat, the best option for them would be to go with Oracle Linux because it's the same vendor.

What needs improvement?

Oracle Linux for Oracle databases is the top. There's no doubt whatsoever. However, if you are going to use it for anything else it's going to be a mess, because many packages will not be supported by Oracle.

For example, I was helping an organization back up various Oracle Linux servers using various kernel versions and various distribution versions. The software that I used for backup requires some packages to be pre-installed into the Oracle Linux machine from the distribution itself, but one of the packages was not available from the Oracle repositories. Because it's a Linux machine, I can manually download this package and install it myself. But the problem with that is that Oracle will void the whole warranty if I install a package from a third-party repository.

If you are going to use Oracle Linux for anything other than running Oracle databases, you will most definitely run into a bottleneck situation in which some packages that are needed, you will not be able to download. And, if you download and install them, you will void your contract, which nullifies the point of you getting Oracle Linux in the first place.

Oracle Linux has a particular use case, not like SUSE, or like Red Hat. 

With SUSE, and Red Hat, you can use them for almost any use case, and you can even install Oracle inside both of them, but you can't do the same with Oracle Linux. 

Oracle Linux is built for Oracle databases. It doesn't make sense for me to get Oracle Linux and install the MySQL database. Even though MySQL is an Oracle product, it doesn't make sense. If I am not going to using Oracle databases then I shouldn't go with Oracle Linux.

Oracle Linux needs to support more packages. I understand that they stripped down CentOS and Red Hat, but Oracle is an organization that will be paying the price of Red Hat making CentOS, CentOS-3 as well.

I understand the idea of making the Linux distribution just optimized for their Oracle database, but I'm not going to get Oracle Linux because it works well only with Oracle products. 

I will most likely have a diverse infrastructure. So instead of going with Oracle Linux, I will go with SUSE Linux or Red Hat. Why? Because Red Hat, for example, has support for many, many packages. Instead of me going to get Oracle Linux for the Oracle database and Red Hat for the remaining workloads, why not get Red Hat from the beginning.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Oracle Linux for two years. It is still pretty new to me.

I have used Oracle Linux versions 6, 7, and 8.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Oracle Linux is a stable solution. 

When you take Red Hat and strip several applications off of it and optimize it to work with Oracle databases, Oracle Linux is the most stable Linux.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support was great. I didn't deal with them directly. When I had an issue, I was interacting with a team who was administering the Oracle Linux environment, and when we ran into hiccups and we needed support from Oracle, they would initiate a ticket, and Oracle would respond and would provide support.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is comparable to Red Hat, and CentOS. It's not difficult.

In terms of the configuration, it won't take more than 30 minutes to install. 

However, because it's an Oracle Linux, there are Oracle databases involved, which means there are steering committees. There will be complications in the implementation that are not related to the actual installation of the product itself. This will delay it by several days.

What other advice do I have?

In general, I would not recommend this solution, but if you are going to be running Oracle databases, then yes, I would recommend Oracle Linux.

If you are going to be running Oracle-based solutions, or if your data center mainly is controlled by the Oracle Corporation then yes Oracle Linux would be the best choice.

You shouldn't go with Oracle Linux if you're not going to be using Oracle products.

As I am not particularly interested in Oracle, I would rate Oracle Linux a seven out of ten. If however, I was, then I would rate it a ten 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.
PeerSpot user
Manager of Customer Services with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Easy to use, stable, good patching capability, and secure by default
Pros and Cons
  • "The user interface is comfortable and easy to use."
  • "The GUI could be made more attractive."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it as a DNS server.

We also have Oracle Vault and Oracle Fire installed on it. We are planning to use it as a model system, for learning.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is its stability. I adore the stability.

It is easy to use. The patching, connectivity, and storage are all good.

The iSCSI support is helpful.

This product is very secure by default. You should be able to use everything that you want to use. If you need to employ any service then you should enable the security for it.

The user interface is comfortable and easy to use.

What needs improvement?

The GUI could be made more attractive.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Oracle Linux for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

it is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Oracle Linux is not really scalable.

We have two or three direct users, on top of 1,050 who use it indirectly.

How are customer service and technical support?

We do not use any technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have also used Red Hat Linux, although we stopped using it about three years ago.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It takes maybe two days to complete. the first day is for installation and preparation, and another day is required for patching. It takes a long time to complete patching and updates.

What about the implementation team?

I deployed it myself. Only one administrator is required for deployment and maintenance.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There are many different flavors of Linux but I haven't gone deep enough in them to compare them all.

What other advice do I have?

Oracle Linux is a product that I recommend.

I would rate this solution 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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Oracle Linux Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: February 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Oracle Linux Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.