The most valuable feature is the binary compatibility i.e. that Oracle Linux is 100% compatible with Red Hat Linux. In addition, Oracle Linux uses fewer resources than Red Hat, so the maximum resources are available to applications.
Chief Executive Officer CEO at IT CROWD S.A.S
Resource-light solution with binary compatibility
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the binary compatibility i.e. that Oracle Linux is 100% compatible with Red Hat Linux."
- "In the next release, I would like for Autonomous Linux to be available to all users so that the OS administration can be automated."
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
In the next release, I would like for Autonomous Linux to be available to all users so that the OS administration can be automated.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for over twelve years.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously I worked with Red Hat Linux.
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What other advice do I have?
I would give this product a rating of ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Manager of Customer Services with 1,001-5,000 employees
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.
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Oracle Linux
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Linux. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
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Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Video Review
We can stabilize environments because the drivers and kernel are optimized for stability
What is most valuable?
I think the most valuable feature for me, as a database professional, is an operating system that has been modified to have more stability in terms of drivers, in terms of the kernel. We have found a lot of problems using other equivalent systems when upgrading the kernel. Using the unbreakable kernel, we have been able to stabilize many systems.
How has it helped my organization?
As an organization I would say that having the same company that provides support for Linux, for the operating system, and also the software on top of it - in my case it's Oracle database - I think that it's closer to having better support, a faster response from support and, of course, better solutions.
What needs improvement?
I think that the only improvement is staying up with the pace of the technology evolution. As long as Oracle Linux supports all the recent technologies, there are really no more innovations it will need. If the technology itself evolves, as long as Oracle Linux supports it, it's the perfect product.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
You start it and you shut it down only when you need to, really, but it never crashes. I have not experienced the crash of Oracle Linux recently.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Well, depending on what you mean by "scaling," in vertical scaling we have systems at my customers that go up to 700 gigabytes. I don't know if it's the most scaling, but definitely it's more than enough to have good database consolidation on the server.
How are customer service and technical support?
I think it's good. It's not really necessary, too often, to need support for Oracle Linux. Sometimes it depends on hardware drivers, if there is the necessity to have something special. But in general, my impression is that it's stable and we don't need much support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Again, I have to mention that I am an Oracle database professional, so I'm really focused on this technology. Of course, other operating systems often have many more problems in configuration, in stability, they need much more fine tuning. I don't want to mention them but I will say that many customers are trying to switch from, for example, legacy Unix systems to Linux.
How was the initial setup?
We use, of course, a configuration management tool like Chef Puppet nowadays, or Ansible, so it's really easy to maintain the system. But, even installing for just one server, by hand, now is straightforward. It's not a whole day of installing Linux, that's not the case any more.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Product Lead at Zenotech
Video Review
Red Hat compatibility allows us to move very easily between platforms, including the cloud
What is our primary use case?
We're quite heavy Linux users. We do high performance computing on Linux so we like a Linux which is compatible with several platforms, so we don't have to cross-compile for too many Linux editions.
What is most valuable?
We like that Oracle Linux is Red Hat compatible, it makes things very easy for us. We can move between platforms very easily.
How has it helped my organization?
Oracle Linux has helped us to use some of the Oracle cloud platforms, it's made that quite easy. Really, access to that is why we use Oracle Linux.
What needs improvement?
Just keeping up to date with the latest releases, so Red Hat Enterprise having Linux 7 compatibility would be useful. Other than that, the tools that we need are there, we use the GCC compilers and those tool chains.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've had absolutely no problems at all, we've never had any stability issues with Oracle Linux.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We run, as I said, high performance computing, so we run across several nodes at any one time. We've scaled up to 30 Oracle Linux instances talking to each other, with no problems at all.
How are customer service and technical support?
Luckily, I haven't had to use it yet. Obviously we use some of the Oracle online documentation, that's always been useful. And any time we've had any contact with Oracle it's been fairly positive. So what little contact we've had has been good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't feel much of an investment because we use the cloud platforms, then it's an option to us there. The actual investment of just trying Oracle Linux out was very little, it was just one of the choices on the cloud platform, and it turned out to be one of the best.
How was the initial setup?
It was relatively straightforward. Again, the compatibility with other Linux distros makes it quite straightforward, so we've had no issues really. It was very simple.
What other advice do I have?
In terms of important criteria when selecting a vendor: support, and stability of the product as well. Obviously having the packages certified by Oracle, a known stable platform, makes it easy. We don't have to worry about doing an update and then breaking things. That's probably one of the key things for us.
I'd say try it out, it's simple to get running, get it onto a CIN and then just give it a go.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
Owner Consultant at a tech services company
I like the Operating System alignment with Oracle Database.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature in Oracle Linux is its design. Oracle Linux is built with features to align very closely with Oracle products and specifically the Oracle Database. For example, it’s delivered with the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel which is a kernel developed and optimized by Oracle for Oracle products.
It’s an important part of the system that makes Oracle Database so powerful.
How has it helped my organization?
The Oracle Linux system is configured, by default, to schedule I/O for database usage and this I/O management plays an important part in database performance.
What needs improvement?
Dynamic tracing could be improved. In Oracle Linux, you have some very powerful (for example "perf" or "systemtap").
If Oracle can deliver such tools like dtrace for linux (publicly), this would help albeit actually dtrace is delivered through the Unbreakable Linux Network.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Linux since 1997 and Oracle Linux since its availability in 2007.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have never encountered any stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have never encountered any scalability issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
I usually use forums, Google and My Oracle Support (MOS )Knowledge Base (a great tool) to find answers to my questions. I never used Support Engineers to resolve issues related to Oracle Linux.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Red Hat Linux solutions before, but Oracle Linux is better engineered to run Oracle products.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not complex. If you understand Linux basics, it won’t be a problem.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Oracle Linux support is not free but the product is free. You can use it and test it safely for your tests environments. As soon you run your production, purchase a support if you have to access patches etc.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Red Hat Linux a couple of years ago, but both products are very close. Only Oracle Linux has specific features that can be optimized for Oracle products (Database, Engineered systems etc.)
What other advice do I have?
If you are searching for an operating system build to run your Oracle products, then Oracle Linux is the best product to do that.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Oracle Database Administrator at a pharma/biotech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
With the licensing, it was clear what we had to pay for it, what we got, and what we can get in the future.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Oracle Linux is that it's a very stable product. It seems to be based on Red Hat. We waited for a few years before adopting it, but now that we've adopted it, it's been very stable for us. The license and adaptability of it is probably be the biggest selling point for us.
In this day and age, we'd be very cautious in terms of licensing, but with the Oracle Linux it's very clear how you license it, and also it's the flexibility of it. Sometimes we find with the Oracle licensing it's quite vague in some of the products. With this here, it was very, very, clear what we had to pay for it, and what we got, and also what we can get in the future.
What needs improvement?
Oracle's products are quite expensive. The reason why they're expensive is probably the reason why we purchase them, in terms of the stability, and we know that even though we're paying heavily for the product, we can't afford to be going with other inferior products.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We want to run -- we do run -- a High Availability environment. The documentation in and around Oracle Linux and the hosting of WebLogic on Oracle Linux from a clustering point of view was, at best, average. We had to search for many, many articles and get MyOracle support involved to get to the point where we actually ended up with the High Availability solution that our business needed. Again, when they put these products on the market, their documentation needs to be an awful lot clearer about how you get to the places you want to be.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's incredibly stable. We've had little to no issues with instability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Before any major software releases or major changes to our infrastructure, everything is tested to a really, really high level. We would never actually go live with anything without being stable, but it took us longer than it should have to get there.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
The reason why we went for Oracle Linux ahead of even Red Hat or, originally HP-UX, was because the product licensing was very, very, clear, whereas it was a little bit vague with the other products. In this day and age, there's very much a focus on cost, keeping the costs down, and spending wisely.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was difficult. We wanted High Availability, and it was that part in particular that was giving us severe problems. It uses a repository to holder details between the High Availability instances, and we found that that was quite complicated to set up, and even now it's a little bit buggy.
It would have been difficult. We try to have high availability, and in particular the high availability part of it gave us severe problems. It uses what's known as a repository to hold details between your high availability instances, and we found that they're quite complicated to set up, and even now a little bit buggy.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Oracle Applications DBA/UNIX SA at a agriculture with 1,001-5,000 employees
I like that it can run on generic hardware, which is definitely a plus over the proprietary hardware that we had on previous Oracle installations.
Valuable Features
The most valuable aspect of Oracle's flavor of Linux is that there's a one-stop shop for support to which I can go. I can get support for our Oracle basket of products that includes Linux and Database.
Improvements to My Organization
I like that it can run on generic hardware, which is definitely a plus over the proprietary hardware that we had on previous Oracle installations. This mean that we have a tremendous cost savings when we're able to run Linux on hardware for which we don't have to pay a premium. We'd rather spend our money on the software.
Room for Improvement
There are some features that might be in Red Hat Linux that aren't in Oracle Linux. I can't think of anything specific, but we had that issue about a month ago.
Deployment Issues
It's deployed just fine for us. We've had no real issues there.
Stability Issues
It's been very stable. We've very rarely had any issues with instability.
Scalability Issues
It's been scaling just fine for what our needs are.
Customer Service and Technical Support
The support is pretty good. There are some issues with first-level support providing just basic, generally not-very-helpful advice, but they're generally responsive and help us to resolve smaller issues.
Initial Setup
The initial setup is straightforward, if you know what you're doing. It's not that difficult or unnecessarily complex, but you should have some experience with previous installations for best results.
Implementation Team
We implemented it ourselves with our in-house team.
Other Advice
Be sure you follow the instructions for installation, setup, and configuration.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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?
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.
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.
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 technical 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
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