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reviewer2353605 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Linux System Administrator at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 20
Customizable, stable, and easy to upgrade
Pros and Cons
  • "It is open source. We can customize it as per our requirements."
  • "Their support needs improvement. It should be faster for priority tickets."

What is our primary use case?

We are a brokerage firm. We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for trading purposes. We develop our applications on it.

By implementing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we wanted a stable server and OS.

How has it helped my organization?

There is an in-built feature for shell scripting, so we can automate things that have to run on time in production. We created a script for the setup and configuration of certain things, such as disabling the firewall, network manager, and other things.

I am able to handle some of the daily issues automatically by using batch scripting and cron scheduler. I have also been able to debug some of the issues with the help of logs.

What is most valuable?

It is open source. We can customize it as per our requirements. We can change or optimize it as per our requirements.

What needs improvement?

Their support needs improvement. It should be faster for priority tickets.

Some of the tools can be improved and made user-friendly. The OpenStack and OpenShift tools can be better.

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.
816,636 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for almost three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable. I would rate it a 9 out of 10 for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. I would rate it a 9 out of 10 for scalability.

We have about 100 servers, and we have about four people working in the IT department.

How are customer service and support?

Their support needs to improve. If we create a priority ticket for Red Hat, they revert within four hours. They should respond within half an hour so that the issue can be resolved as soon as possible in the real or live environment, and the company has less downtime.

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

We are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows operating systems.

How was the initial setup?

Upgrades and migrations are easy with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. We are currently working on upgrades from RHEL 7 to RHEL 9.

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

We use open source. We only have a subscription for support.

What other advice do I have?

For security purposes, we use the SSH key algorithm, MD5, and SHA256. We have set up a firewall in our network, and all servers are password-based. We also block some common ports that are open when we install the OS. We also have monitoring tools to ensure uptime.

Overall, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a 9 out of 10.

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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reviewer1068024 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Consultant
Offers portability, security, and stability
Pros and Cons
  • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux's most valuable attribute is its stability."
  • "A targeted package tailored for small and medium-sized businesses can help increase business."

What is our primary use case?

We are a Red Hat Enterprise Linux partner and provide host servers for various applications, including web applications and databases.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux's built-in security features simplify risk reduction and compliance maintenance, making them easy to use. We utilize SA Linux, a highly secure operating system. Its risk mitigation and compliance measures are effectively implemented due to the regular delivery of patches, updates, and bug fixes. This continuous maintenance enhances the stability of the system.

We are able to maintain compliance when it comes to the security regulations.

The level of portability succeeds in keeping our organization agile.

We used several platforms, but Red Hat provides us with a more uniform installation process, a more consistent platform, and easier system maintenance. Additionally, the Ansible playbooks are now simpler to manage due to the standardization of our platform. We quickly realized the benefits of adopting a single platform instead of using multiple platforms. This decision has streamlined our operations and simplified license management for our sales department. Additionally, the purchase process has become more straightforward.

We operate a hybrid IT infrastructure consisting of both on-premises and cloud servers. We have had positive experiences with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which has enabled us to build and deploy applications with confidence and ensure their availability across physical, virtual, and cloud environments.

Red Hat Insights is a valuable tool for preventing emergencies caused by security vulnerabilities, non-compliant configurations, and unpatched systems. Although we haven't faced an emergency yet, we've noticed that the tool provides valuable advice and sometimes even playbooks to resolve security and stability issues. It's a powerful tool indeed.

Red Hat Insights provides us with vulnerability alerts and targeted guidance. All systems are stable and we have no crashes and no failouts.

What is most valuable?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux's most valuable attribute is its stability.

What needs improvement?

A targeted package tailored for small and medium-sized businesses can help increase business.

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. We have been running the solution for years with no crashes.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is scalable. We have not encountered any issues. Since we are virtualized, it is merely a matter of allocating virtual CPUs, virtual memory, and so on. The limits are very high, so we are not currently experiencing any constraints.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We switched from our previous solution to Red Hat Enterprise Linux because of the uniformity of the platform. It is also a larger organization that is well known.

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment is straightforward and well-documented. The deployment time is between 15 to 30 minutes.

What other advice do I have?

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

From what I've seen of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, it's well-documented. There are comprehensive notes and documentation available. I've been using it recently, and I've found that all the information I need is readily available. If we can't find what we're looking for, our support organization is there to help.

We have a virtual environment and deploy the solution from a satellite.

Currently, we require two people for the maintenance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
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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.
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reviewer2211579 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Linux System Administrator at Torch Technology
User
A stable solution that can be used to develop and run scenarios
Pros and Cons
  • "We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux with Git apps in our closed environment to develop and run scenarios."
  • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux's documentation could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux mostly for development.

What is most valuable?

We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux with Git apps in our closed environment to develop and run scenarios.

What needs improvement?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux's documentation could be improved. Sometimes when you call up support to have that Red Hat answer, they send you back a Reddit or Google link. I can Google or go to Reddit, but I want an answer from Red Hat.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux since it started back in the 1980s.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten for scalability.

How are customer service and support?

I rarely call Red Hat Enterprise Linux's support, but when I do, they send me a Google link.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

Since I've been deploying Red Hat Enterprise Linux for so long, it's not complex for me. Once we configure our kick start, we power up a new system, attach it, and it builds it.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented Red Hat Enterprise Linux directly through Red Hat.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment with Red Hat Enterprise Linux concerning the ability to develop what we need, what we do, and our scenarios. The solution saves us man-hours, and man-hours equals money.

What other advice do I have?

We cannot use Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the cloud because I work as a contractor for the government, and all our development is in a classified area where we can't touch the internet at all.

In the last quarter, Red Hat Enterprise Linux products like Satellite Server and OpenShift stood out because of their ease of administration. I do system administration. When my customers need something, assisting them with these products is easier than giving a long configuration of YAML.

I like Red Hat Enterprise Linux's built-in security features. We use their SCAP features when we do our kickstart and build it.

We were using Docker, and the Docker swarm was trying to get all the containment. We're now switching to Podman and getting our developers to learn that more so we can give them the ability to kick off containers.

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

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior Solutions Architect at VICOM INFINITY INC
MSP
Offers a toolset that is reliable and effective in identifying vulnerabilities and fine-tuning machines
Pros and Cons
  • "Since we use it for virtualization, KVM has been quite valuable. It's been very solid running OpenShift under KVM. The toolset has been pretty good."
  • "Sometimes we just don't have a web interface available for repetitive tasks. It would be nice to have a web-based tool for Red Hat Enterprise Linux since we don't always have access to a web browser."

What is our primary use case?

We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for OpenShift. We run KVM and then deploy OpenShift under it. Additionally, these are my customer's use cases. 

We run it in-house for prototyping applications. Moreover, my customers utilize it to port older Solaris applications to Linux. I also use Linux on Z.

How has it helped my organization?

The customers would benefit from quickly identifying vulnerabilities as they arise and being able to fine-tune machines if certain features are not properly fine-tuned. 

What is most valuable?

Since we use it for virtualization, KVM has been quite valuable. It's been very solid running OpenShift under KVM. The toolset has been pretty good.

By implementing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the customers were getting off older hardware like Solaris. They're trying to migrate their applications off those boxes and also cost savings. They were migrating over to consolidate onto Z.

However, none of my current customers use Red Hat Insights. I'm trying to encourage them to adopt it, but since they operate in air-gapped environments, Insights needs an internet connection. I mainly work in the Federal space.

What needs improvement?

Personally, I like the terminal-based tool called Tusa for certain activities. Sometimes we just don't have a web interface available for repetitive tasks. It would be nice to have a web-based tool for Red Hat Enterprise Linux since we don't always have access to a web browser.

For how long have I used the solution?


What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is solid. It performs well and handles the workload effectively.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It scales well on my platform. We are running OpenShift and other machines on it, and it scales without any issues. Although, it's largely due to the platform itself.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup can be complex in certain cases, particularly when dealing with a fed customer that operates in an isolated environment. But, in other installations, it has been mostly straightforward. Red Hat Enterprise Linux could still work on making it a little more streamlined in terms of deployment.

There have been some issues we've had with portability, picking it up and moving it somewhere else.

In terms of simplifying risk reduction and maintaining compliance, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is good. The customers I work with don't use them extensively. However, during the machine building process, we apply some security features at build time rather than later on. We take measures such as applying a stake during the build process. While I keep pushing the customers to use the provided tools, some of them operate in air-gapped environments, preventing them from accessing the internet for the latest rules.

The portability of applications and containers built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux is pretty good. We actually build applications on one platform and successfully deploy them on another, so that's pretty good. Overall, using Red Hat Enterprise Linux is definitely a strong set for my customers.

What was our ROI?

My customers definitely see an ROI. Especially when running it on Z platforms due to fewer processors and, consequently, fewer licenses required. They have experienced a return on investment. 

When I previously worked in a Linux shop using Tusa, it was more expensive. But I think Red Hat Enterprise Linux has become more competitive, particularly for Z platforms.

One example is the consolidation of their infrastructure, getting off of Solaris, and not paying high maintenance costs. Consolidating onto Linux, specifically Red Hat, has been helpful for one of my customers.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There are not many choices available on the system they use, probably only two or three options. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the preferred choice, especially since it is widely used in the enterprise.

The other two choices are SUSE and Ubuntu, which are commercially available systems. Honestly, no one is going to use Ubuntu because it's not popular enough. So it's really a choice between SUSE and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. SUSE has been around longer on my platform and system settings. But I think people are shifting over to Red Hat Enterprise Linux as it runs on Intel and is more enterprise-oriented.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, 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 has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
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reviewer2197383 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Along with great support, the solution runs exceptionally well, considering its uptime
Pros and Cons
  • "In Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we use Red Hat Satellite as part of all the patching and deployment, even from on-premises and AWS, and that's been really helpful since it is one product that can be used in a hybrid environment."
  • "Considering an area where the solution lacks, I think we can look into a lot more automation and integrations with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other products."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution in our company for normal application support and for databases.

What is most valuable?

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we use Red Hat Satellite as part of all the patching and deployment, even from on-premises and AWS, and that's been really helpful since it is one product that can be used in a hybrid environment. It's just one place to manage everything. It's good since you don't have two different products or places to manage, especially if you have a multi-datacenter and not a multi-cloud but a multi-location environment.

What needs improvement?

The room for improvement depends on how we use it. It's just a normal operating system. Considering an area where the solution lacks, I think we can look into a lot more automation and integrations with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other products. However, I cannot say specifically where the improvement should be because it mostly depends on how we are using it. It just works the way it's supposed to work.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the cloud for six to seven years. Currently, we are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux Versions 7 and 8.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product's stability is good, with 99.99 percent uptime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is something my company hasn't delved into that much. Right now, scalability is mostly on the backend hypervisor or how we leverage AWS.

How are customer service and support?

I would probably rate the support around an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux since I've been with the company. Linux is our platform of choice.

How was the initial setup?

I supported those involved in the setup phase peripherally.

The initial setup was straightforward.

Regarding the straightforward setup, building the base image and deploying it with our internal security standards was pretty straightforward.

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

We used to get our own license model. We purchased a license through Red Hat.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We haven't necessarily evaluated other options, but there are a lot of requests coming from other application developers that want to deploy other operating systems because they are much more common, especially in an open source environment. So we have looked into those options. However, Red Hat Enterprise Linux continues to be the main platform that we support. We are also looking into other solutions just in case a scenario arises where a vendor cannot support Red Hat Enterprise Linux for some reason and we will need a backup.

What other advice do I have?

Regarding the problems we are trying to solve by implementing the solution, I would say that it is our operating system of choice. I think the support is good since we have Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions. We get support for all the operating systems from them. It's great and stable.

Regarding the solution's resiliency, it is good. We've been running, and we have over 99 percent uptime all the time. We also do monthly patching and everything, so it works. Kernel upgrades also work as expected. So it has been pretty good.

Regarding how easy or difficult it is for you to move workloads between the cloud and your data center using Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we don't use relative migrating solutions. It's considered a separate environment, but we use the same base image. 

I consider the solution to be the main OS because going with an open source solution like Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you have better support.

The support is great. We also have integrations with other products, especially with whatever Red Hat releases. We have all those integrations available and we can easily take advantage of it.

I rate the overall solution between seven and eight out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2197290 - PeerSpot reviewer
Linux Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
A stable solution with an excellent knowledge base and support team
Pros and Cons
  • "The knowledge base is excellent."
  • "The solution should improve its documentation."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution to develop OS for our internal use. I deliver it to our internal clients, so they can use it for whatever applications they may need to use it for.

What is most valuable?

The product is very stable. The knowledge base is excellent.

What needs improvement?

The solution should improve its documentation.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for 16 years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution scales well.

How are customer service and support?

The support is good. I would rate support an eight or nine out of ten. The documentation should be improved to make it a ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The deployment is very easy for me because my organization has been doing it for a long time.

What other advice do I have?

The product’s resiliency is pretty good. It responds fast to security updates compared to some other closed-source vendors. 

We moved from other priority operating systems to Red Hat Enterprise Linux because it saves us costs on the commodity hardware. Overall, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
Software Engineer at a security firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
GUI for network adapters, and built-in tools such as Mozilla browser, are key for us
Pros and Cons
  • "The GUI for network adapters and built-in tools provided by RHEL, such as the Mozilla browser, have been valuable. Since they come built-in, it saves the time of having to install them, and you have everything necessary with the installation itself."
  • "Until now, RHEL has been the most stable OS I have ever seen. Nothing seems to break, with frequent updates. I have been running it 24/7 for the past 18 months and it runs flawlessly."
  • "I really think that the upgrade policies between the major versions, like from from RHEL 5 to RHEL 6, should be much easier, similar to what is in place for upgrading from RHEL 6 to RHEL 6.8."

What is most valuable?

The GUI for network adapters and built-in tools provided by RHEL, such as the Mozilla browser, have been valuable. Since they come built-in, it saves the time of having to install them, and you have everything necessary with the installation itself.

There are several tools which Red Hat provides as add-ons such as ReaR (Relax and Recover) which can be used for disaster recovery.

What needs improvement?

Improvements are necessary to stay in the market and face the competition. I really think that the upgrade policies between the major versions, like from from RHEL 5 to RHEL 6, should be much easier, similar to what is in place for upgrading from RHEL 6 to RHEL 6.8.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Until now, RHEL has been the most stable OS I have ever seen. Nothing seems to break, with frequent updates. I have been running it 24/7 for the past 18 months and it runs flawlessly.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues so far. You can always scale the hard disk as much as you want, add NFS, CIFS disks and still the enterprise solution would run seamlessly.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would rate technical support at eight out of ten. Though they have some excellent engineers available, the case mostly goes through level-3 support staff and then it moves forward. This can sometimes be a time consuming process and lethal for a company.

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

No, we did not use a previous solution. We knew about Red Hat from our inception. It was a pretty well-known enterprise platform.

How was the initial setup?

The setup of RHEL is straightforward, there is nothing complex about it. Everything is well documented on their website.

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

The pricing is a bit on the expensive side, mainly because of the support they provide. However, it is quite affordable if you are an organization. If, as a small company or individual, this is an expensive option, I would recommend CentOS, which is an exact replica of RHEL, minus the customer support.

What other advice do I have?

I have worked on a few Linux platforms, but Red Hat is a different experience. Due to its stability, it makes an excellent choice. It’s so-called invincible security makes sure that your data remains safe. The excellent customer service support agents are ready to get your problem resolved almost within an hour of opening a case (as long as you have the premium license for your servers). Taking all this into consideration, I would say this solution is a nine out of 10.

I have been working on Red-hat for two years and I must say I enjoy working with it. No day is like another, since there will always be something which will enhance your learning curve.

I would say if you are managing high-end servers running complex programs, Red Hat would never do you wrong. It has a lot of built-in tools if you choose the maximalist installation. If you are running a low-end server, you can even go with the minimalist installation which would only cramp a few megabytes of your processor power.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
AkramShaik - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Enhances productivity with robust community support and seamless integration
Pros and Cons
  • "The support and stability provided by Red Hat Enterprise Linux contribute significantly to its value."
  • "More comprehensive support for OpenShift integrations and a less customized, Red Hat-specific setup process would be beneficial."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution internally for developing our software, including running databases and banking applications. These are the kinds of services we provide to customers, as well as our own internal software products.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has helped enormously in terms of development and infrastructure. It enables us to centralize development and improve productivity significantly by providing a stable platform with documentation and best practices for deploying robust solutions.

What is most valuable?

One of the most valuable features is the ease of consumption and the extensive community-driven resources. The documentation is extensive, allowing users to get started without difficulty. 

Additionally, the support and stability provided by Red Hat Enterprise Linux contribute significantly to its value.

What needs improvement?

The solution requires a lot of prerequisites and understanding of the Red Hat ecosystem before one can get started. This complexity could be improved. 

More comprehensive support for OpenShift integrations and a less customized, Red Hat-specific setup process would be beneficial.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for more than ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has been stable. We partner closely with Red Hat, and the operating system has been reliable for a long time.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I am not directly involved with scaling aspects, so I can't provide specific insights on this.

How are customer service and support?

We have been very happy with customer service and support. Red Hat offers prompt support with a good turnaround time, effectively addressing any issues.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

The pricing is competitive. It is not cheap. That said, it provides value considering what it offers.

What other advice do I have?

I would suggest that anyone starting to develop should consider starting with a community-based version, however, for production workloads, it is important to have the support model from Red Hat as it provides stability and quick issue resolution.

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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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.