No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.
Siphosethu Ndebele - PeerSpot reviewer
Linux/DevOps Engineer at Ekwantu Consulting
Real User
Top 5
Jan 23, 2025
Reduces downtime and has fast support, but live patching can be better
Pros and Cons
  • "The support is valuable. We get direct support from Red Hat. There is also no downtime. We can sleep better at night knowing that our systems are running."
  • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux is super fast, and our systems have less downtime."
  • "Live patching should be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Our clients use it as an operating system. One of the reasons for going for Red Hat Enterprise Linux was to reduce the downtime that a client was having with AIX.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is super fast, and our systems have less downtime. There is about a 60% reduction.

We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux both in the cloud and on-premises. We move workloads between the clouds and data center using Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This functionality is very important for us.

They offer support as well as training. Most of our staff is Red Hat certified. They have a good knowledge base with a lot of videos and useful content.

We are very satisfied with the patching and upgrade experience. We moved from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. It was easy. The live patching capability is very useful. It is one of the best features. Provisioning is also simple.

Red Hat Insights helps to identify and address any vulnerability risks. We get to know about any required patches.

Red Hat Console is very helpful for having an overview, patching, and maintenance.

What is most valuable?

The support is valuable. We get direct support from Red Hat. There is also no downtime. We can sleep better at night knowing that our systems are running.

What needs improvement?

Live patching should be improved.

Buyer's Guide
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
September 2026
Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is very high. There is no downtime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a six out of ten.

It is the base OS. Most client applications run on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Our clients are big organizations. In our company, we have 15 people working with Red Hat.

How are customer service and support?

I would rate Red Hat's support a nine out of ten. They provide a quick response. 

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

Our client moved from AIX to Red Hat Enterprise Linux because they were having downtime issues.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is different from other Linux solutions because they offer support.

How was the initial setup?

We have a hybrid model of deployment with both on-premises and cloud setups. The deployment overall was easy. 

Its maintenance involves patching and upgrades. Patching is easy. The migration to the cloud and upgrades are also simple.

What was our ROI?

We have seen about 20% ROI.

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

It is cost-efficient.

What other advice do I have?

We have plans to increase its usage. I would recommend Red Hat Enterprise Linux. I would rate it a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Mayowa ODODE - PeerSpot reviewer
Linux System Administrator at Amazon
Real User
Top 20
Oct 30, 2024
Aids in achieving security standard certifications by providing a secure foundation and tools for compliance
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable aspects of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are its flexibility and security."
  • "While Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers robust security features, continuous improvement is crucial to ensure a secure environment and prevent potential losses."

What is our primary use case?

We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux due to its robust security features, which are essential for securing e-commerce transactions and monitoring our Linux servers. Additionally, its flexibility allows for deployment across a range of devices, including HPE and Dell.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers robust provisioning and patching management capabilities, ensuring efficient system administration and security.

I am delighted with Red Hat Insights and recommend this feature to others.

Since using Red Hat Enterprise Linux, I have found it to be very secure.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux has reduced our downtime by about 60 percent.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux aids in achieving security standard certifications by providing a secure foundation and tools for compliance with various security frameworks.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable aspects of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are its flexibility and security. It allows us to manage servers independently and ensures security for any device used.

The system roles feature is good.

What needs improvement?

While Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers robust security features, continuous improvement is crucial to ensure a secure environment and prevent potential losses.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for about six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the stability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux as seven point five because sometimes it takes time to reach support for assistance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate the scalability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux as eight. It is satisfactory in terms of scalability.

How are customer service and support?

The response time could be improved as sometimes it takes too long to reach out to them.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The complexity of deployment can vary based on familiarity with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. I found it to be complex.

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

Red Hat Enterprise Linux can be expensive, but its cost is not a deterrent for many organizations willing to invest in its stability, security, and support ecosystem.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux eight out of ten.

We have 80 percent of our environment using Red Hat Enterprise Linux. A team of around 40 uses Red Hat Enterprise Linux to manage over 3,000 servers in a big environment.

We perform weekly maintenance on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

We do updates, upgrades, and migrations on our Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers.

Based on my experience, I recommend Red Hat Enterprise Linux, particularly to those seeking a highly secure operating system.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
September 2026
Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.
ScottSteele - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Linux System Administrator at National Vision Inc.
Real User
Top 20
Oct 30, 2024
A solid and secure operating system with excellent support
Pros and Cons
  • "I have used a lot of different Linux distributions, and one thing that I like about Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the support. The support from Red Hat is very good. They offer excellent customer and vendor support."
  • "Some of the documentation that I have run into or encountered appeared to be a bit outdated. That would be an area for improvement."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is automation. We have Ansible running on some Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers, and a lot of it is geared towards automation. We have the automation of processes like patching, upgrades, OS enhancements, or OS upgrades. Additionally, our stores run on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is pretty secure, but we rely on our network products to handle a lot of our security. We have Cisco products. These servers that we are currently running are not necessarily tightened down on the ports, traffic, etc. We rely on Cisco firewalling to handle a lot of the traffic, load balancing, and so forth. I have not configured a lot of security per se right on the server itself at a kernel level.

I like the knowledge base. They have a pretty good knowledge base portal. On their website, they have a lot of great classes. I do appreciate doing that. I have taken several myself, so I am pretty impressed by that.

We use Ansible Playbooks for patching our devices, especially those that are out in the field. We are using Ansible Playbooks to handle patching. We are using the systemctl command that goes into the repos to grab whatever patches we need. So far, the management experience has been good.

What is most valuable?

I have used a lot of different Linux distributions, and one thing that I like about Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the support. The support from Red Hat is very good. They offer excellent customer and vendor support. 

The ease of training is great, and I appreciate products like Ansible Tower. 

Its interface is good. It is a very solid operating system.

What needs improvement?

Some of the documentation that I have run into or encountered appeared to be a bit outdated. That would be an area for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux since early 2000. It has been about 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is very stable. I have not experienced any instances of crashing with the Red Hat servers that I have worked on.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Other than the issues with the legacy software or some of the IBM AS/400 that we tried to add to it, it has been pretty seamless. Building them out and migration to the data center or the VMware environment has been pretty seamless. 

How are customer service and support?

Customer service is great. We use a support portal to open a ticket, and the response time is good. We usually get an email response or an update to the ticketing system, and then if necessary, we get a callback within four hours. The response time also depends on the priority. If we are looking at a massive data center outage, I am sure it is a priority one. Most of the tickets I submitted took one to four hours.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

I have used SUSE in the past. They have a pretty good support system. They have got a good OS. I am not sure what the market share is for those guys, but they are pretty good.

How was the initial setup?

Our environment is a combination of the cloud and on-premises, but we primarily use Red Hat Enterprise Linux on-prem. We have a few development test servers running on Azure. They are not used in production. They are just for testing.

I was involved with the migration from SUSE to Red Hat, but that was close to a decade ago.

From what I recall, the initial setup was not that difficult. We did have some engineers from Red Hat who came out to help us. It would have been more difficult if we did not have them there, but from my recollection, it was not very challenging or difficult. We were able to get that done pretty quickly. There were some issues with legacy software, but those applications were built on the Windows platform. They were a little bit of a mess. Other than that, it appeared to go pretty smoothly for us.

It does not require much maintenance. Other than patching and keeping up with bulletins as to what might be out there, there is not much. There is not a huge amount of maintenance. They run pretty solidly. The uptime is great. I do not have to restart a lot of these servers. I might have to restart a service here and there, but nothing that I can remember.

What about the implementation team?

We had help from Red Hat engineers during the implementation.

What was our ROI?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides a much more secure and stable system than Windows infrastructure, and the support is also great. Of course, you pay for the support.

We were able to see its benefits after some time. Some of the returns are seen after a while, not immediately. Sometimes, migrations might be difficult to do if you are running legacy software.

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

I am not involved in the budgetary aspect, but from what I understand, the pricing is competitive, similar to what we paid for SUSE.

What other advice do I have?

Having a solid foundation in Linux can be very helpful. Learn as much as possible. Automation has become a very important part of the industry now. Learning how to automate with Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker, and Python along with Red Hat Enterprise Linux should set you up for success.

We have not tried Red Hat Enterprise Linux Image Builder or System Roles. Image Builder sounds good, but I have not tried Image Builder. We build our images from vCenter. Image Builder would definitely be something to check out.

Using it in a hybrid environment is a very interesting concept, where we keep some of the hardware and applications on-prem and then maybe rely on Red Hat to handle some of the networking or other configurations externally. I would like to try that hybrid approach.

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2754144 - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps engineer at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Sep 2, 2025
Automation and reliability transform workflows with robust operating systems
Pros and Cons
  • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) brings a robust operating system that has stable and solid versions, gives you many tools to automate things, is a secure system, and has very good user and access management with lists, privileges, and SELinux."
  • "With on-premise Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), scalability is not easy because I cannot deploy new machines."

What is our primary use case?

I use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) primarily as a server. Most of our servers are running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Through Red Hat, we support all our functions and use it for automations and everything practical.

I have used Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) in the past for coordination with Red Hat OpenShift, Grafana, Prometheus and some automation tools such as SaltStack and Python scripts.

What is most valuable?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) brings a robust operating system that has stable and solid versions. It gives you many tools to automate things. It is a secure system, so you need patching, but not as much as other operating systems. It also has very good user and access management with lists, privileges, and SELinux.

As an automation solution, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) solves a significant percentage of manual work, but I cannot measure it as my job position doesn't base on such measurements. I cannot give exact numbers about how much it has helped us, but it is substantial.

Automation with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has changed many things because manual tasks take time and can lead to mistakes. If you automate a task, the same process will run repeatedly without any mistakes. I cannot count the time we gained from automations because the position isn't responsible for keeping numbers and metrics.

What needs improvement?

I think the disk management of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) can become better with more efficient tools. The implementation of AI was a concern, but the newest version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10 has implemented an AI feature.

Regarding the disk management of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), physical disks, logical disks, and physical volumes could become much easier to manage.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for the last three to four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is one of the most stable operating systems. You don't have to restart servers often and its kernel is very stable. You don't need to have many issues fixed. It doesn't give many errors that require troubleshooting if you don't interfere with it. It has been very reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

With on-premise Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), scalability is not easy because I cannot deploy new machines. In my previous jobs, where Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) was running on virtualization, I could deploy more VMs easily.

What other advice do I have?

If organizations are looking for a strong, stable, and robust solution for their environment, they should consider Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), but keep in mind to train their team and provide them with certifications and hands-on experience because it's not an easy operating system. I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) an 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
PeerSpot user
Sharon Jayakanthan - PeerSpot reviewer
Operations Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Aug 31, 2025
Operating system streamlines server management and enhances security
Pros and Cons
  • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is very good concerning security; it's much better than other Windows systems, and the Red Hat systems build in their own security features, which is unique and better to use for enterprise-level customers."
  • "Currently, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) supports all types of integration using other systems, but it might be better if they had more documentation on the relevant integration with other apps or systems."

What is our primary use case?

From the start of my career, I started working on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

My work role is a network engineer and systems engineer. We manage customers' servers, which run the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating system.

The servers are Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and my job role involves troubleshooting and ensuring the servers are running properly.

What is most valuable?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is very good concerning security; it's much better than other Windows systems. RHEL is something I normally use command prompt with, and it's very easy to manage as a network engineer.

The Red Hat systems build in their own security features, which is unique, and it's better to use for enterprise-level customers. Most enterprise-level customers prefer RHEL to run their systems and applications.

I can work with less downtime, and if anything happens, it's very easy and direct to troubleshoot compared to other operating systems. The FAQ rules, details, and commands in the Red Hat FAQs are very helpful.

What needs improvement?

Currently, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) supports all types of integration using other systems, but it might be better if they had more documentation on the relevant integration with other apps or systems.

There can be some improvements in this area.

For how long have I used the solution?

The solution has been in use for nine years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

When it comes to cloud, it's easy to scale up using the AWS management tool; we can easily upgrade or downgrade the systems. However, when it comes to physical on-premises deployment, that is a different situation.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are not using only Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). As Lumen Technologies is the largest MNC, we have all types of systems. RHEL is one of the main systems which most customers use, but we currently use other solutions as well. We didn't switch to anything exclusively.

What other advice do I have?

We host web applications and websites in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) servers.

RHEL is a reliable and best operating system for users to implement.

I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) a 10 out of 10.

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Daniele Palumbo - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise System Architect at Value Transformation Services
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Jul 18, 2025
Offers affordable pricing, comprehensive support, and robust knowledge base
Pros and Cons
  • "The support from Red Hat is definitely valuable, and having a Technical Account Manager facilitates getting to the core of the issue and eventually tries to correct the behavior of the operating system in case something is not fitting what I expect."
  • "If RHEL 6 was definitely a 10 out of 10, now with RHEL 9, I would rate it a 7 out of 10 because it no longer allows me to have a clear understanding of what is going on and a clear configuration that speaks for itself."

What is our primary use case?

I set up Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for my customers. The customers either install some middleware on top of it or manage it directly from my company, or the customer will manage the application on top of the server directly.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the support. The support from Red Hat is definitely valuable. Having a Technical Account Manager facilitates getting to the core of the issue and eventually tries to correct the behavior of the operating system in case something is not fitting what I expect.

The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is definitely good. Most of the simple issues can be fixed by going through it, including sometimes third-party issues that happen. I can mention a couple of incidents that occurred, one with CrowdStrike and one with Qualys Cloud Agent. In both cases, the knowledge base was informative about the existing issues. If I was a customer of those partners, then I would have been affected by problems that came from third-party products. Generally speaking, the knowledge base is absolutely good for problems that come from Red Hat itself.

The most important security feature in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is the readability and detail of the security report. From a security perspective itself, it is not a game-changer, but when it comes to communicating to the customer that something is not an issue, this is beneficial because I can reference an article that is easily readable by the customer.

What needs improvement?

Red Hat Insights is definitely helpful, providing information that I would not spot otherwise. However, there is room for improvement. Red Hat Insights needs to be able to manage in a detached environment, which is on the roadmap as far as I know, because we are working with big banks, and therefore, we cannot have too much direct connection, especially from the cloud to the server. Another open point is that from Red Hat Insights, I cannot make use of my own Ansible Automation Platform, unless I'm mistaken. 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is derived from Fedora. Sometimes, we encounter features in a server environment that are more suitable for desktops, leading to unexpected complications. For instance, networking on a desktop is typically designed with different priorities compared to a server. We often find ourselves forced to use features originally intended for desktop use, even when simpler alternatives would be more effective and manageable. This complexity can be unnecessary, as it adds layers of functionality that do not provide any real value. Ultimately, users should be able to manage their connections without being overwhelmed by features that are irrelevant to their needs.

A downside is that it is sometimes difficult to agree on product modifications. For instance, one issue we encountered was that certain commands were not responding as we expected. Another example, which might be easier to understand, is during upgrades when certain directories are reverted to their original permission settings. This contradicts some hardening recommendations and makes it more difficult to advocate for a change to practices that have been in place for a decade, even when there are valid reasons for the change. It’s important to note that the resistance to change can be attributed to their collaboration with upstream developers, but that’s just our perspective.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for more than 12 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is definitely a stable product. As I shared previously, my main concern is about desktop components that are coming into the newest release. If RHEL 6 was definitely a 10 out of 10, now with RHEL 9, I would rate it a 7 out of 10 because it no longer allows me to have a clear understanding of what is going on and a clear configuration that speaks for itself. The shift towards configuration as code has some drawbacks in this case.

How are customer service and support?

With a Technical Account Manager, we have a very individual approach. I would rate the technical support from Red Hat a ten out of ten.

The support has had a positive impact. I was able to go through a huge incident that required getting to the core of the problem, such as what happened with CrowdStrike. It involved an issue perceived on the LDAP server caused by a change performed in the code of Red Hat. My feedback is that the support is always great when addressing complex analysis, and that's the most important value-added aspect I will mention.

How would you rate customer service and support?

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

I used different solutions before Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), but not from an enterprise perspective, so without support. I used Debian and Slackware and other similar solutions. I decided to switch mainly because of the support. 

When I switched from my previous job to my current job, they were already using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). I am working with banks, which are highly regulated, and I need backend support from the vendor in order to work with the bank.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) so far. I don't have any specific metrics, but the penalty we would have faced if Red Hat had not helped us in identifying the problem would have been millions of euros.

Red Hat helps to mitigate downtime and lower risks through support, engaging them at the right time to promptly resolve issues. Red Hat Insights also assists in this regard.

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

I'm the one who's managing that. I find the pricing of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) affordable, but the subscription model is something that the business units of Red Hat need to revisit and fix.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I participated in a review to eventually switch to SUSE and to Oracle Linux as well. Oracle Linux is a definitive no, mainly because of the support. The support from Oracle's side is awful. I don't want to ever have a case with them because it's terrible. For SUSE, it was mainly a matter of cost-benefit since we didn't have the chance to go into depth on that because the cost was not a game-changer, and we would have had to reinstall the whole 7,000 servers, so it was too much to get the benefit from the reduced cost.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Felipe Giffu - PeerSpot reviewer
Red Hat Solution Architect at Seprol Computadores e Sistemas
Real User
Top 20
Jun 14, 2025
Insights are helpful to proactively manage incidents and identify vulnerabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "SELinux is valuable for security purposes. SELinux is very good because we can give the correct permissions to the employees."
  • "Red Hat Insights helps in monitoring Linux servers, providing CVEs that need updating in the operating system, and giving information about server security."
  • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is already good and perfect. They can continue to improve the AI features."

What is our primary use case?

I use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) to manage applications and for system administration. The latest version is Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10, which has AI with Red Hat Lightspeed inside the operating system, where you can write natural language in the terminal. I am using artificial intelligence inside Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). I am working with Ansible, which is an automation tool from Red Hat. I install Ansible inside Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and make many automations.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Insights helps in monitoring Linux servers, providing CVEs that need updating in the operating system, and giving information about server security.

In the latest release, there are three important new features: Red Hat Lightspeed with AI integration, image mode capability allowing Red Hat Enterprise Linux to be imaged and transferred to another VM, and Quench-key cryptography for enhanced security. The AI integration through Red Hat Lightspeed is particularly significant as it differentiates it from other operating systems.

What is most valuable?

SELinux is valuable for security purposes. SELinux is very good because we can give the correct permissions to the employees. 

Red Hat Lightspeed, added in the latest version, and image mode features are also significant features.

What needs improvement?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is already good and perfect. They can continue to improve the AI features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have 10 years of experience working with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). I worked as an operating system specialist for five years, performing administration tasks such as managing LVMs, users, groups, disks, and performing troubleshooting inside the operating system.

How are customer service and support?

Their support is very good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

I worked with SUSE and changed to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) because I worked at IBM for five years, and IBM bought Red Hat. All systems were integrated into Red Hat solutions. 

SUSE is very similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), but I prefer Red Hat solutions because their support is much better. I believe that the support and updates from Red Hat are superior. For example, Red Hat has a feature called Red Hat Insights, which allows me to proactively manage incidents and identify vulnerabilities. SUSE does not offer these features.

How was the initial setup?

The deployment is easy.

What was our ROI?

Red Hat saves time with integration with tools such as Ansible for automation. 

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

I am not involved in the pricing, but it is not very expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten 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
PeerSpot user
Niek Beernink - PeerSpot reviewer
Dev Ops Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Aug 10, 2026
RHEL has strengthened security and standardization in a disconnected environment
Pros and Cons
  • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has positively impacted our organization by allowing us to standardize a lot, and the enterprise-level support that we get from Red Hat is really helpful."
  • "Sometimes the support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) could be better."

What is our primary use case?

I use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for servers as well as workstations.

Our site has around 3,000 workstations  that our developers are building our software on. For servers (~1000), we are using it for self-hosting tools  required for software development and testing.

Furthermore, we are also working on implementing a process for using Image Builder to build a Standard Operating Environment image deploy that to virtual machines. Then we use RHEL System Roles and a lot of custom ansible roles to manage the state of the machines.

What is most valuable?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) offers enterprise security and really well-written documentation.

The most important security feature in the Red Hat ecosystem is the errata data, combined with Satellite. It tells you exactly which component is vulnerable, which versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are affected, and overall the documentation provided with errata is easily readable for various audiences (for example a summary for management as well as more technical for engineers).

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has helped to mitigate downtime and lower risk by providing kpatch. These are kernel patches, which allow us to apply security patches to a running kernel. We can then plan a full reboot outside of office hours.

The Red Hat Offline Knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is really helpful. In a disconnected environment it allows you to search all documentation and errata up to a given date without having to reach out for the internet to check the details.

What needs improvement?

Sometimes the support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) could be better. Since we're in a disconnected environment, it's sometimes really hard to share explicit details about the issue we're running into and we keep getting asked for an SOS report, which we cannot supply due to security concerns.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with RHEL for seven years.

What other advice do I have?

Look at the interactive labs provided by Red Hat, they give a great hands-on experience and show off the benefits would advise others looking into using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) to investigate the training that is available.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Aug 10, 2026
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Linux Engineer at Verizon
Real User
Top 20
Aug 27, 2025
Automates processes effortlessly through human-friendly interfaces
Pros and Cons
  • "One of the features I appreciate most about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is its user-friendly interface; we have been using it continuously for this reason, and as they are automating processes and introducing new methods, especially in RHEL 9, I thoroughly enjoy using the platform."
  • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has not helped me to mitigate downtime and lower risks."

What is our primary use case?

I am the backend support for RHEL. We develop the stage for the application user.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has benefited my company greatly because it is open source, making it very helpful to adopt.

What is most valuable?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps us solve pain points because every script and everything in RHEL is very human-friendly. We can automate processes, make changes according to our needs, edit files, add directories, and implement any modifications. Even in the RPMs, we can make changes according to our application needs, which is very helpful for us.

One of the features I appreciate most about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is its user-friendly interface. We have been using it continuously for this reason. As they are automating processes and introducing new methods, especially in RHEL 9, I thoroughly enjoy using the platform.

What needs improvement?

The GUI mode of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) needs to be improved compared to the CLI mode.

For how long have I used the solution?

I started using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) at the beginning of my career. I have worked with RHEL versions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9. We will begin using RHEL 10 very soon.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has not helped me to mitigate downtime and lower risks.

How are customer service and support?

I have experience with customer service and technical support from Red Hat. When we encounter issues, we open a ticket with Red Hat, and they provide very good solutions.

How would you rate customer service and support?

How was the initial setup?

When it comes to provisioning and patching Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems in our environment, we use Red Hat Satellite to carve out the image. We build our own image from Red Hat Satellite.

What about the implementation team?

I have been involved in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) upgrades and migrations from on-premises to the cloud. The migration process was straightforward without any difficulties. We performed both hot migration and cold migration successfully.

What other advice do I have?

Reliability is key with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and the backend support from Red Hat is awesome. It is much easier to develop our own environment through Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) compared to other platforms such as Windows or Ubuntu. It is very human-friendly and easy to manage.

My assessment of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)'s built-in security for simplifying risk reduction and maintaining compliance is that, compared to other vendors such as Ubuntu and Debian, Red Hat is more familiar with these aspects. We love to use RHEL.

Overall, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) a ten.

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?

Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
DevOps Engineer at CipherTV Corp.
Real User
Top 5
Apr 15, 2025
Offers great support and many features for efficient management
Pros and Cons
  • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux has a vast set of features."
  • "Overall, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten."
  • "To become more competitive, they might consider changing their licensing model, for instance, by offering an instance-based payment for cloud computing services."

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux positively impacts my organization with its various capabilities. We use the orchestration processes with cloud services using Ansible.

What is most valuable?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux has a vast set of features. I can use the setup features and many other features. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a whole world.

What needs improvement?

To become more competitive, they might consider changing their licensing model, for instance, by offering an instance-based payment for cloud computing services. In the future, I expect features regarding changes to the subscription model.

I would prefer Red Hat Enterprise Linux to allow easier cancellation of instances unless they are needed.

For how long have I used the solution?

I started with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5 and 7.6, and now, I have Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product has been stable since installation.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. I have not experienced significant issues with scaling it.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support by Red Hat is great. I would rate them a 10 out of 10.

The knowledge base offered by Red Hat is accessible. As you log in with your Red Hat account credentials, you can find the knowledge platform on your dashboard.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is not complex. We just need a Red Hat Enterprise Linux image to install on any operating system and use the console. Since I have worked with Linux for around 10 years, installing it is straightforward for me.

I just need to upgrade the operating system with the latest update, and after that, I log in to my Red Hat account from the CLI to connect to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux service.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. If you are using the service properly, especially in cloud computing, understanding the services you are using and what technology and applications are required can help manage your ROI very efficiently. Excessive services that are not compatible with your applications can impact your ROI negatively.

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

When I started using it, Red Hat Enterprise Linux was free for all and open-source. It is now paid with access to many features to upgrade and use their services.

Due to multiple organizations and corporate systems in Pakistan relying on it, it continued to be used, especially in corporate and banking systems even after becoming a paid service.

The pricing is not always reasonable, but it also depends on your requirements.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: September 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.