I use Red Hat Enterprise Linux to control my Docker systems and build and run containers on them. I also use it for a tokenization project I'm working on.
Senior Webmethods Integration Support Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
Provides enhanced system availability with improved security and file performance
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of RHEL are the availability, file system performance, and overall system availability."
- "There are performance issues with the response time when accessing the console, but I'm unsure if that's RHEL's fault or if it's due to the lack of CPU or memory on our machines. The enterprise interface could be improved. I can only use the keyboard to transfer files from one system to another. I want to use my mouse on the interface, not just scroll up and down. I would also like my logs archived as an RAR and sent to me."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has improved the availability and security of our systems. The knowledge base, Wiki forums, and other resources are very helpful in simplifying my daily operations. We realized the benefits immediately after deployment.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are the availability, file system performance, and overall system availability. The kernel is more secure than my previous operating systems, such as Windows. Red Hat's knowledge base is helpful. I consult it several times in my daily work. I can ask questions on the forums and get help in my daily operations.
Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux's image builder is easy. I can use GitAI to pull any image I want to build on my system and reach into it using Red Hat. I use Convert2RHEL to publish my work on tokenization. I'm publishing more than 70 prints on my system daily, and saving this file. It's easy to use.
What needs improvement?
There are performance issues with the response time when accessing the console, but I'm unsure if that's Red Hat Enterprise Linux's fault or if it's due to the lack of CPU or memory on our machines. The enterprise interface could be improved. I can only use the keyboard to transfer files from one system to another. I want to use my mouse on the interface, not just scroll up and down. I would also like my logs archived as an RAR and sent to me.
Buyer's Guide
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
824,095 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is critical to us. Red Hat Enterprise Linux ensures our machine's availability and reduces the need for frequent restarts.
How are customer service and support?
I have not contacted customer or technical support myself. Our infrastructure team handles any contacts with Red Hat support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Ubuntu before. Red Hat has a more robust knowledge base, and finding solutions to any problem is easier.
How was the initial setup?
The infrastructure team handled the initial setup. I'm a software engineer working on my applications. The infrastructure team builds the machine, and I only use it. It was relatively easy, depending on the complexity of the deployment configuration. After deployment, we have maintenance on our machine if there are new patches to deploy. I have three machines, and each one is identical, with the same containers, so I don't need to do maintenance on our machines more than once monthly.
What other advice do I have?
It is important to use the knowledge base and familiarize oneself with key commands to gain more about Linux and ease its usage.
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.
Last updated: Oct 7, 2024
Flag as inappropriateField Solutions Architect OCTO at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Enabled us to centralize development, all of our developers get their own developer environment
Pros and Cons
- "We are able to have a Linux system that is open-source and that allows us to do domain trust IBM and all that fun stuff. We have a good solid enterprise Linux."
- "Red Hat training is phenomenal, but it is expensive. There has to be a better way to onboard new engineers into Linux to really and truly compete with Microsoft."
What is our primary use case?
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for just about everything in my company. Our use cases stem from three-tier applications up through cloud deployments, Kubernetes, containers, etc. Prior to this, I worked in an enterprise as a Linux engineer.
How has it helped my organization?
Being able to onboard faster is definitely an advantage to other Linux systems. In the enterprise, we had an onshore and offshore model. Our offshore model was hard to get onboarded into Linux, even if they said they had Linux experience. There is a big difference between managing one or two systems in your basement to managing a fleet of Linux systems, and that does not always translate over. Having a Linux system that has a cockpit with it where you can give someone a GUI, even though the engineers do not really use it, helps onboard new people into the enterprise, into their jobs, and into their roles a lot faster.
We have a lot of really smart people. They are constantly figuring out ways to do things better and faster with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The openness of it and the ability to create whatever we want to create or have to create to make our actual job easier has given our operations people more time to focus on the things they need to focus on, and not the nitty-gritty of the operating system. Tuning becomes super easy. It is scriptable. It is easy to automate. That gives them all the time back in their day to be able to go solve cool problems and not infrastructure problems.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has enabled us to centralize development. All of our developers get their own developer environment, and that is all based on containers and some version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It depends on what they are at and what they are doing. So, we build and give it to them. They are up and running, and they just go. We have some legacy guys who are still helping our customers with older versions. Those people exist. I talked to someone earlier who still has a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 deployment out there.
When it comes to security and compliance, I like firewalld to do things at the host level and to complement what we are doing out in the enterprise with next-gen firewalls and things like that. I have had SELinux enabled on my systems and in my enterprises since it was available. It was a little bit of a learning curve, but it has helped to keep our systems as secure as possible. It complements well with what security groups are doing for the rest of the enterprise.
The portability of applications and containers built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux is great for keeping our organization agile. It is fantastic. We can run them on-prem. We can run them in the cloud. We can move them wherever we need them at the time. If something has to go to the edge for any reason, such as a bandwidth issue or an on-prem issue in the data center, we can push those workloads out. We could push all those containers to where they need to run and when we need to run them. It is super easy to do.
I have not used Red Hat Insights for long, but when I was a Red Hat Insights user, it was the first place I stopped to see what was going on and be able to quickly address and fix issues that Red Hat Insights found.
Red Hat Insights provided us with vulnerability alerts and targeted guidance. In terms of their effect on our uptime, we were able to plan our maintenance windows around what we were seeing in Red Hat Insights. We had the visibility and the ability to go in and plan things out. We could plan what needs to be done and then make that change and say, "This is what we are doing. Here is the playbook for it. We are going to run this in tonight's maintenance window." That prevented us from having to take machines down during the day because we found something critical at that time.
What is most valuable?
The features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux that are most valuable to me, both in the enterprise and now as a partner, are the enterprise features. We are able to have a Linux system that is open-source and that allows us to do domain trust IBM and all that fun stuff. We have a good solid enterprise Linux.
What needs improvement?
It is not broken. Linux is Linux. It has been since Torvalds created the kernel back in version one of the kernel. We have added more features. More things have come to Linux and kernel. All the AI stuff is a bunch of buzzwords. In the keynote today at the Red Hat summit, Chris Wright talked about lightspeed coming to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. What do we need that for? What are we doing with AI? Just the stability of it is fine. If anything cool comes out, I will be the first to check it out. It is a stable platform. It is a workhorse, and that is how we use it.
However, there should be training materials for new enterprises that do not cost an arm and a leg. Red Hat training is phenomenal, but it is expensive. There has to be a better way to onboard new engineers into Linux to really and truly compete with Microsoft. Microsoft is just easy. Everyone uses it. You have to use it in school, and you have to use it everywhere. From an onboarding perspective, we can improve and have an affordable training solution for someone who might not want to be an RHCE or an RHCA but still needs to do their job. It is not Linux's fault. It is what it is. It is a workhorse. It does its thing, but we can do better to enable customers to utilize Linux better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it since Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. It has been about 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is super stable. When Red Hat comes out with lightspeed or integrates SELinux, there are no huge rollbacks. Once it makes it downstream in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you know that is going to work. Everything has bugs, and we get that, but we know it is going to work. We know that nothing terrible is going to happen to our production environment, so stability is fantastic.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We can roll out more machines if we need more machines. We pull machines back if we do not need them anymore. One of the things that is lacking is that currently, there is no way to have ephemeral Linux instances for compliance month or your audit month. If you have to bring up a hundred machines, you have to pay for that upfront. That might be changing now, but in terms of scalability, that is a detriment to how smaller organizations can operate. Not everyone can absorb that cost. It is very scalable, but the pricing is a little prohibitive for scalability.
How are customer service and support?
Their support is awesome. Their TAMs are awesome. The technical support that you get is awesome. There is the ability to attach yourself to bigger customers. When you are a small enterprise and you have an issue, you sometimes filter to the bottom of that list because there are other way-bigger customers who are way louder than some of the smaller ones. Being able to talk to your team and ask how to get a problem fixed is phenomenal. They are able to look at the backend and go, "Oh, there is a large telco that is having the same problem. I am going to add you to that one." From a customer service standpoint and tech support specifically, engineering has been fantastic.
The ability to talk to the people out in the community who work for Red Hat and maintain all of that, from the open-source side and the closed-source side, is amazing. A lot of people do not realize that they can jump on Slack or other platforms, and they can talk to the guys who are responsible for it and figure out what is going on. Sometimes, they ask to open a case, and other times, they say that they know and they are fixing it. Having that accessibility is amazing. You cannot call Microsoft and ask them to let you talk to the engineer who made X, Y, or Z.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have been using Red Hat for 25 years.
How was the initial setup?
We are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux everywhere. We are using it on-prem. We call it the fourth cloud, so we have our own cloud like every enterprise does. They might realize that or not. We are using it everywhere. We have it at the edge, in the cloud, on-prem, and hybrid. It is the whole nine yards.
Our deployment strategy is to make it work and get it out there fast. We use all three cloud providers: GCP, Azure, and AWS.
Its deployment is super easy. Once you know what you need, rolling out Red Hat Enterprise Linux is super simple. You just go and repeat until you need to change something and then you change it.
We are using OpenShift to deploy Linux containers for a virtualization competitor migration. We are using it to migrate workloads from that vendor to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, so we have Linux running in containers to do their virtualization. We are running Red Hat Enterprise Linux containers as well for some workloads, but for the bootable container aspects of it, we essentially have a VM. This is how we use it there, and then everything else is pure containerization. It is not Red Hat Enterprise Linux-specific.
What about the implementation team?
We take care of the deployment for customers.
When I was in the enterprise, we did not take external help. We did all of that in-house.
What was our ROI?
We have seen an ROI but not specifically with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the workhorse. Everything else that supports Red Hat Enterprise Linux is where you get your ROI. When you take Ansible, you start automating all of your configurations. You take Insights, and you are getting those playbooks to remediate security issues and all that fun stuff. That is where you get a return on your investment. That is where you see your engineering dollars go down and they can focus on other aspects of the business. That is not specific to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It is the whole ecosystem.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I have had sales folks who have been transparent with the pricing, and then I have had other ones who were not as great. Most of those ones that were not as great are not working for Red Hat anymore.
From a pricing perspective, there is supportability. What you get with that support is the ability to open a case before you do something. You can tell them that you are going to be upgrading your Satellite system or all Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems and that you need a case open. They open a case, and then when the day comes, they are there. They are ready, and they know what is going on. The price point for that is phenomenal because you are paying for support. From a pricing perspective, it is on point. It is definitely a value-add, and it is extremely transparent from a customer standpoint.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have evaluated other solutions. Manageability is the main difference. I have successfully ripped out other solutions in enterprises that I went to and replaced them with Red Hat. They had large fleets and no centralized management. When you come to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you have the Red Hat Satellite server. You have Red Hat Insights. You have all of those things that help you manage large fleets and a large number of Linux machines. When you evaluate other solutions, they have some centralized management now, but that was not common previously. It is kind of a hodgepodge. They are stitched together with all these other solutions, but it does not make sense. In one case, they jammed Linux into their management platform used to manage databases, and it did not work. How do you manage a thousand machines on some busted piece of management software?
What other advice do I have?
If a colleague is looking at open-source, cloud-based operating systems for Linux instead of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, they should go for something based on the use case. They have to look at what they are trying to do and what they want to do. They can get away with Fedora, for instance, but the question for me always comes down to supportability. Do they want to be able to call someone and say, "This is broken. Help. Hurry," or do they have the skills in-house to do that? Most companies do not have those skills. They have one or two very good engineers, but they cannot fix everything at the same time. If they want portability, then they should not look somewhere else. They should go to Red Hat Enterprise Linux because they have the Red Hat name behind it.
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux an eight out of ten. There is always room for improvement in a product. Tens are unicorns. No one gets a ten. Maybe if Jesus made an operating system, he would get a ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Last updated: Jun 5, 2024
Flag as inappropriateBuyer's Guide
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
824,095 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Assistant Manager-Networks at Amrita
Enables us to build with confidence and ensure availability across physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructures
Pros and Cons
- "We have used many of the Linux-based operating systems for production purposes, but this is the only solution that guarantees performance and scalability. When we run industry servers, they demand high performance."
- "The graphical user interface should be more user-friendly. It's a concern because the command line is perfectly fine."
What is our primary use case?
We use RHEL for high-performance computing. We host most of our production servers in our data center. Red Hat is a great package that helps us customize most of the data and dependent packages we receive from the Red Hat operating system. Most of our server requirements are being managed with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
We mainly use Red Hat for our application deployments, standalone servers, and VMs.
We use this solution in a university. Most of the production servers and applications are required for the students.
How has it helped my organization?
We've seen a benefit in hosting servers and email security. RHEL provides excellent results and performance. It helps us achieve our goals for scalability and services.
We normally run crontab to keep our servers up-to-date. It works well with Red Hat Enterprise Linux because it has an advanced suite of features that can be effectively used for production servers.
It also has RPM Package Manager, which includes most of the tools and utilities that every organization needs to have.
There is portability in the applications and containers built on Red Hat, which keeps our organization agile. Enterprise Linux offers flexibility in terms of dependent packages.
Red Hat Linux definitely enables us to achieve security standard certification. Most enterprise solutions need to comply with security standards. Many Linux-based operating systems fail to provide security because of open-source techniques.
Most of our production servers fail to deploy in Linux. When we deploy in RHEL we don't think about security because it has a lot of features like policy management. We can give specific access to specific users who require SSH or Telnet. It's more flexible because it can be altered easily.
What is most valuable?
We have used many Linux-based operating systems for production purposes, but this is the only solution that guarantees performance and scalability. When we run industry servers, they demand high performance.
It has great software support because it has a wide range of tools and utility products in the database. It's relatively easy to use enterprise products, and we don't need to add packages from other third-party sources. They definitely have a good database.
Red Hat's built-in security features simplify risk reduction and maintain compliance because Linux is mostly open source. We're running most of the production servers in this operating system, so we don't require a third-party solution because RHEL has a great range of security products with an inbuilt firewall. The inbuilt firewall is highly dependable and we can customize rules for outbound and inbound traffic, and specific accesses can be quickly returned in the script files. It has a great command line.
Red Hat allows us to build with confidence and ensure availability across physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructures. It already has a reliable operating system. Most companies rely on it for deployment on cloud and on-premise. With cloud, they prefer Red Hat because of the high-performance computing cluster.
It has great support for VMs and unlimited VM support. It's being deployed in our data centers and other large environments. It allows us to streamline the management of our infrastructure and makes it possible for more than one hundred servers and VMs to run, and it's up to date.
Red Hat Linux enables us to achieve security standards certification.
What needs improvement?
The graphical user interface should be more user-friendly. It's a concern because the command line is perfectly fine.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's definitely scalable because we're deploying it in our VMs.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is satisfactory. There are forums that are also useful.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used CentOS. It's a different setup than Red Hat. CentOS is also a Linux-based distribution. CentOS is open-source, so we don't need to pay for it. Compared to CentOS, Red Hat has advanced features but the cost is still high, so it's problematic for medium-level customers.
We switched to Red Hat because the service providers like high-performance computing. We mostly have high-performance computing deployed in our data center. We needed Enterprise Linux as a minimum requirement. Red Hat Enterprise Linux supports high-performance computing solutions, and packages have to be installed from their repositories. That's a must for any IT enterprise organization now.
CentOS is an open-source solution and provides 70% of the features that Red Hat provides. We pay Red Hat for the repository and application support.
It has a great set of dependable packages, software, and a collection of utilities embedded in that operating system. We don't need to get apps from the repositories. There aren't a lot of errors in the Red Hat operating system, which makes it useful for our system administrator.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy. It took about four or five hours.
The solution requires maintenance and constant updates.
What about the implementation team?
Implementation was done in-house by a team of three people.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing and licensing are a bit higher for Red Hat Enterprise because we're able to get 70% of its features with the CentOS version. For the 30% of features that Red Hat provides, I think they need to reduce the licensing fee.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution as nine out of ten.
My advice is if you're actually testing, you don't need to go with this solution. If you're an advanced Linux user or server administrator, you will definitely require Red Hat because many of the latest solutions require dependency-based repositories. It will be very easy if you're active with this operating system.
This has a set of repositories built into the database. We don't need to go anywhere to set up all of the databases and repositories. Everything is embedded into the solution.
If you're looking for HPC and NVIDIA clusters, most of the supercomputers need to have the solution, so it's better to have it equipped with that.
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.
Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Streamlined system integration and robust security through effective automation
Pros and Cons
- "Integrating Ansible Automation offers benefits, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides robust security features, including benchmarks and CIS security hardening."
- "I would like a more straightforward process for extending file systems without the need to write all the names of volume groups and logical volumes, to simplify automation."
What is our primary use case?
I am utilizing Red Hat Enterprise Linux for automated workloads.
Having prior experience with Ansible and its automation capabilities, I sought a centralized platform with a graphical interface. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform seemed like the ideal solution, especially since I was already familiar with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This familiarity made it a natural progression to explore containerization within the RHEL environment.
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux helps to centralize development.
Choosing Red Hat Enterprise Linux for our container environment provides a more secure and reliable platform for our applications.
I appreciate the robust security features in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, such as including security benchmarks like CIS security hardenings. These benchmarks offer a significant improvement over previous Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions and provide numerous valuable security enhancements.
The most crucial factor is arguably the availability of fast, reliable, and effective support, as this prevents isolation when managing Linux systems and significantly mitigates risk.
Open integration is beneficial because it enables the use of various benchmarks to strengthen Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What is most valuable?
Integrating Ansible Automation offers benefits, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides robust security features, including benchmarks for security hardening.
What needs improvement?
I would like a more straightforward process for extending file systems without the need to write all the names of logical volumes, to simplify administration and automation.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for about ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Early versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux had several issues, but up from RHEL 7 I have found it very stable.
How are customer service and support?
The support is accessible and responsive. I have engaged with them almost every day for two weeks and opened many cases, receiving assistance with my challenges and issues.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions are quite expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is considered an industry standard.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux nine out of ten.
I recommend considering Red Hat Enterprise Linux if the budget allows, as it is widely used in the industry and offers superior software support.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Nov 22, 2024
Flag as inappropriateTeams Support Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The command-line capabilities boost productivity and give us useful information about our resource utilization
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is its command-line capabilities, which allow you to execute large operations quickly. For example, let's say you want to create a hundred files or directories. In Windows, you need to create each one by hand, which is difficult and time-consuming. Linux has multiple commands to create files in a few seconds. It also has the "top" command that gives you all the processes running and their utilization of resources like CPU, RAM, etc. That isn't possible with a management console or GUI."
- "Red Hat Enterprise Linux has increased our productivity by making monitoring more manageable and allowing us to be more proactive."
- "RHEL could make some back-end improvements. On the front end, RHEL could make the interface more colorful and improve the user experience. A better-looking interface would attract more customers."
- "Most Indians will find Red Hat Enterprise Linux a little costly."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is for cloud-related tasks, such as working on AWS. Specifically, I create virtual servers on Amazon EC2 instances. My department has 50 people using the solution.
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has increased our productivity by making monitoring more manageable and allowing us to be more proactive. We get more information we need from the virtual machines using the command line. It's also a highly secured system with built-in protections. We've also saved time because command-line operations are more efficient. Time is money, so we also save money by decreasing our time on these tasks.
When I started working with Red Hat Enterprise Linux in March 2021, I did not immediately realize its benefits. It took me several months to understand the full power of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the problems it solves. After three to six months, I recognized the full power of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is its command-line capabilities, which allow you to execute large operations quickly. For example, let's say you want to create a hundred files or directories. In Windows, you need to create each one by hand, which is difficult and time-consuming. Linux has multiple commands to create files in a few seconds. It also has the "top" command that gives you all the processes running and their utilization of resources like CPU, RAM, etc. That isn't possible with a management console or GUI.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has good security features, so it's harder to breach than Windows. There's also a large Red Hat Enterprise Linux user community, so when I get stuck, I can go to Stack Overflow or other user forums and get help. I typically get a solution within a few hours when I post a question.
I don't handle patching and provisioning because I don't have much experience, but I've heard from senior engineers that it's easy on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What needs improvement?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux could make some back-end improvements. On the front end, Red Hat Enterprise Linux could make the interface more colorful and improve the user experience. A better-looking interface would attract more customers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux since March 2021.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is stable, providing a reliable platform for our operations.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux as nine out of ten, indicating it scales well with our needs.
How are customer service and support?
I rate Red Hat support eight out of 10. The technical support is excellent. They are readily available to assist with any technical issues that arise. Their documentation is clear and built into the GUI, so you can easily access information if you're curious about a topic. Red Hat has a large, well-informed user community.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, I used only Windows, but now I use Windows, Linux, and AWS environments. I transitioned to Red Hat Enterprise Linux as it enhances productivity, reducing the time-consuming aspects of software development and project management.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Red Hat Enterprise Linux wasn't complex, but also not overly simple. It was about average. It took about half an hour to deploy the solution at one location. After deployment, we need to install updates, but that process has gone pretty smoothly.
What about the implementation team?
We have a team of more than twelve individuals working with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What was our ROI?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has saved us time and increased productivity. We've also saved money by not purchasing other operating systems, such as Windows or Mac.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Most Indians will find Red Hat Enterprise Linux a little costly. It's slightly above average. Its pricing has room for improvement because it's more expensive in the local market due to purchasing power parity in India.
What other advice do I have?
I highly recommend Red Hat Enterprise Linux to others due to its productivity benefits and efficient command-line operations. It offers key advantages in terms of time-saving, security, and community support.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Nov 7, 2024
Flag as inappropriatePlatform architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Has a centralized development with a secure, standardized environment
Pros and Cons
- "RHEL performs quite well for business-critical applications."
- "Better comparisons between different stack providers in pricing and functionalities could help, especially since public clouds often appear less expensive during planning but are more costly in practice."
What is our primary use case?
We run IT and telco workloads and applications on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux helped us centralize development. We use a complete ecosystem of Red Hat for end-to-end development, deployment, and operations.
Centralizing development is achieved as we have clearly defined platforms to host applications, like OpenShift.
Additionally, the ACS on top of containers scans to ensure they are compliant, reducing vulnerabilities within our software.
What is most valuable?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides a standardized environment with Kubernetes and good support behind it. The end-to-end delivery for developing, testing, and deploying containers in the same ecosystem is a very valuable feature.
The built-in security features are fine, we don't receive complaints about them.
What needs improvement?
One area for improvement is dealing with specifics developed by Red Hat Enterprise Linux that are now end of life. We have to remediate these changes, which is a disadvantage.
Additionally, better comparisons between different stack providers in pricing and functionalities could help, especially since public clouds often appear less expensive during planning but are more costly in practice.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Red Hat Enterprise Linux personally since joining my company ten years ago. Within the company, it has been used for more than 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux performs quite well for business-critical applications. Although we have some outages, it's not unusual, and I cannot blame RHEL entirely for it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scaling Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS is smooth and without complaints. We are planning to widen its use by moving from OpenStack to bare metal according to Red Hat's roadmap.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service rating varies at around an eight or nine out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
They conducted tests with Ubuntu. That said, it was less expensive and not as stable or developed as Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What was our ROI?
There is a return on investment since we can host our applications on top of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is quite expensive, yet the technical support, available roadmaps, and services justify the cost. We receive value for the price we pay, including technical support, which enables business continuity and compliance.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Ubuntu, but it was less stable.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise trying it out to see for yourself. Red Hat provides great technical support. That said, the pricing may need careful evaluation, especially when comparing with public cloud offerings.
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a nine 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.
Last updated: Oct 30, 2024
Flag as inappropriateEngineer III at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Has significantly helped our company grow by enabling automation, allowing us to provide multiple services simultaneously
Pros and Cons
- "Ansible is one of my most-used tools, and I especially appreciate its automation capabilities."
- "While Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers many valuable features, some, particularly the latest ones, are not immediately available until deployed on-premises."
What is our primary use case?
As a system administrator, I specialize in building infrastructure on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, with a focus on automation from initial design through to implementation.
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has significantly helped our company grow by enabling automation, allowing us to provide multiple services simultaneously and reduce repetitive tasks through the creation and sharing of solutions with other teams.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux enabled us to centralize development.
What is most valuable?
Ansible is one of my most-used tools, and I especially appreciate its automation capabilities.
What needs improvement?
While Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers many valuable features, some, particularly the latest ones, are not immediately available until deployed on-premises. Additionally, although I need to become fully acquainted with its built-in security features, the dashboards could be enhanced to provide more comprehensive security insights.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is stable. I've never had any problems with its stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support and technical support are good. Normally, I can find my own solutions and if not, I can reach out to the vendor for assistance.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux eight out of ten.
We face restrictions in accessing the latest features for various tools, including Elastic and Red Hat. For instance, we cannot utilize certain Elastic features because they are not publicly available. Similarly, with Red Hat, we must wait for the newest features to be released on-premises before we can access them. This limitation hinders our ability to leverage the most up-to-date technology.
The key advantage of Red Hat Enterprise Linux over other open-source Linux distributions is its comprehensive support, which includes access to updates, security patches, and technical expertise.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Oct 30, 2024
Flag as inappropriateSystem Engineer at Xifeo ICT
Helps us reduce risks in our environment through operating system patches
Pros and Cons
- "It is generally easy to initiate a support case with Red Hat, and there are clear escalation paths if needed. The support team responds based on the contract level."
- "Red Hat could add some AI features. There's a lot of talk about AI nowadays, but I don't think will be in Red Enterprise Linux itself. The cloud applications benefit from AI, but I don't think that will be integrated into the OS yet."
What is our primary use case?
We have RHEL running on our machines, which handle extensive computing tasks and data analysis. The team is responsible for managing the operating system and virtual machines that host various applications run by developers. My department doesn't use containerization, but other departments do.
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat's security patches and standard compliance ensure risk management and continuity.
What is most valuable?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux helps us reduce risks in our environment through operating system patches. In my previous job, we ran baselines through Ansible to ensure every server was compliant with the company's standards based on CIS standards. Red Hat Enterprise Linux has contributed significantly to business continuity and compliance efforts.
We haven't encountered any critical vulnerabilities that required Red Hat Insights to resolve. They all had low CVE scores, so they could be handled with regular patching. We haven't had to use emergency procedures yet. Red Hat Insights has dashboards you can use to see your performance, what systems are critical or require patches and all that stuff.
What needs improvement?
Red Hat could add some AI features. There's a lot of talk about AI nowadays, but I don't think will be in Red Enterprise Linux itself. The cloud applications benefit from AI, but I don't think that will be integrated into the OS yet.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for about seven years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've hardly had any downtime. It goes down occasionally, but the system performs well overall. There aren't many problems, and when we do experience issues, Red Hat support resolves them quickly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux can scale to meet the organization's needs as they evolve.
How are customer service and support?
Customer service is rated eight out of ten. Red Hat support has been instrumental. As an industry standard, it provides quick solutions to any technical problems that arise.
It is generally easy to initiate a support case with Red Hat, and there are clear escalation paths if needed. The support team responds based on the contract level.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Sun Solaris previously. It was nearly perfect, but it had some areas for improvement, similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What was our ROI?
The benefits of investing in Red Hat Enterprise Linux include stability, continuity, and robust support.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Other Linux operating systems like Debian are community-driven but lack the large company support that Red Hat offers.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux nine out of 10. Red Hat is a large organization with a solid community that can provide upstream and downstream support. I don't give it a 10 because operating systems always have room for improvement. It's almost there, but there are a few things that Red Hat could do better.
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.
Last updated: Oct 30, 2024
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