Oracle Linux Reviews

My main use case for Oracle Linux is server administration, and I typically use it for web administration, application, and database administration in my work.

A specific example of how I use Oracle Linux with my databases is to implement our core banking system, where I use MySQL and manage the database.

Regarding how I use Oracle Linux, we are currently facing challenges with WebLogic, and we are using Apache and WebLog from Oracle that add to our tasks.

Oracle Linux helps with security and management in my bench system because we have many features that we can use to implement security, such as the firewall, which we configure, and it also helps when someone has to access our resource or database, especially concerning cybersecurity.

The best features Oracle Linux offers for my organization stand out significantly in terms of security, particularly the firewall. The firewall in Oracle Linux helps my organization because it is reliable, offers ease of configuration, and is dependable to use.

Oracle Linux provides fast updates, and the best aspect is that we can update our server without interrupting our service, which is very important for business continuity. When we moved to Oracle Linux, we noticed more performance in our applications, making our business operations smoother.

Oracle Linux has impacted my organization positively by helping us reduce downtime, improving our performance, making our applications quicker, and increasing our security; we can fix problems easily with Oracle Linux.

I believe Oracle Linux could be improved, but I am very happy with it as it is.

I have been using Oracle Linux for around eight years.

Oracle Linux is stable for my organization.

Oracle Linux's scalability is excellent for our needs because our organization uses it for everything to achieve our goals.

I have not had any recent experiences with the Oracle Linux support team; we are not currently using customer support, although I had an experience five years ago.

Before Oracle Linux, we used a different solution, and we switched because Oracle Linux improved our performance and helped us reduce downtime significantly.

To measure these improvements, I track cost savings and user satisfaction, both of which are essential metrics for us.

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Oracle Linux has been that it is expensive.

My advice to others looking into using Oracle Linux is that if they are seeking performance, security, and reliability, Oracle Linux is the best option for any business.

I rate Oracle Linux 9 out of 10.

On-premises

Our clients are using Oracle Linux for core banking deployment and enterprise application deployment.

The solution works closely with the operating system kernel, which gives better performance in terms of multi-threading and a distributed database. We work based on Oracle specifications, and whenever there are critical patches and vulnerability tests, we update with the latest security patches. The collaboration with Oracle WebLogic and other Oracle tools enhances performance as well.

At this stage, we are uncertain about specific areas for improvement. There is support in place by Oracle, which is appreciated. AI could potentially optimize computing resources in the infrastructure side, especially in a multi-tier enterprise architecture.

We have been using Oracle Linux for more than five years.

The deployment of Oracle Linux is easy.

Oracle Linux is definitely stable. We are using it in a production environment.

We have not seen any scalability issues as we are running a considerable volume.

Customer service is good, but sometimes there are delays due to the criticality of the ticket.

Neutral

Previously, we were using other operating systems like Red Hat and SUSE Linux. We switched because we are using tightly coupled Oracle products, and Oracle Linux gives better performance.

It is easy to deploy.

The solution provides the best return on investment. It saves more than forty percent of resources.

Oracle Linux is affordable because it is open-source. However, if critical support is needed, payment is required.

We previously evaluated Red Hat and SUSE Linux.

Our overall experience with Oracle Linux is very positive. I would rate it a nine out of ten. While support can sometimes be delayed due to ticket complexities, Oracle Linux could benefit from new computing resource optimizations, possibly involving AI.

On-premises

We are using Oracle ERP and Oracle Database, and we have installed Oracle tools and applications on Oracle Linux in a virtual environment.

The advantages of Oracle Linux are that it is secure and provides end-to-end support from Oracle, from the operating system to the application ERP. This gives us peace of mind. Compared to Windows, we prefer Linux to safeguard ourselves from different kinds of attacks and viruses.

Our level of expertise is not high enough. I had to find someone experienced with Oracle Linux since Windows is easier to learn, and most people have hands-on experience with it. If there were educational programs or certifications locally available, it would add more benefits. Additionally, the compatibility with the newest processor models could be improved. It takes time for Oracle to test and then make it public that a processor is supported. We often have to use an older processor model to ensure compatibility with the operating system and our ERP.

I have been using Oracle Linux for the last four to five years.

Our environment is locally deployed, and there are no performance issues or latency problems. I find Oracle Linux very stable.

I rate the scalability at seven. Compatibility with the newest processor models takes time, which can impact scalability. Oracle should make the process faster, as we sometimes have to use a previous processor model to ensure compatibility.

Technical support is very good. I rate it a nine, keeping one point in reserve for anything that might come up in the future.

Positive

For the time being, the installation is straightforward. The main task is ensuring compatibility with new hardware, but once set up, we can use a master VM for our virtual environment.

For us, the return on investment is the peace of mind provided by Oracle Linux. Our team is comfortable using Oracle Linux as it integrates well with Oracle tools, making everything work seamlessly.

Oracle Linux is affordable. While ERP might be expensive, Oracle Linux and KVMs are not on the higher side.

I am satisfied with Oracle Linux and would rate it an eight out of ten. It is a good tool for our small company, and we've never encountered anything we couldn't do with it.

Private Cloud

Other

We are using Oracle ERP and Oracle Database, and we have installed Oracle tools and applications on Oracle Linux in a virtual environment.

Oracle Linux is secure, and we have end-to-end support from Oracle, from the operating system to applications and ERP. It provides peace of mind. Additionally, we prefer Oracle Linux over Windows to safeguard against different attacks and viruses. It's all happily integrated, providing a reliable and consistent environment for my team, which I value greatly.

Expertise in Oracle Linux is not extensive, so it was challenging to find someone with experience in this technology. Initiating educational programs or certifications locally available would enhance its adoption. The learning curve is significant, and certain processor models take time for compatibility testing. We often have to use older processors until compatibility is confirmed.

I have been using Oracle Linux for probably the last four to five years.

It was straightforward to install. We ensure compatibility with new hardware initially and then work in a virtual environment with a master VM we can copy and configure.

Oracle Linux is very stable. Our environment is locally deployed, and we don't experience performance or latency issues.

Oracle Linux is somewhat scalable; I would rate it seven out of ten. New processor models sometimes lack immediate compatibility with Oracle Linux, requiring the use of previous models until support is available.

Oracle's technical support is excellent, and I would rate it as nine out of ten.

Positive

For us, the installation of Oracle Linux is straightforward. When new hardware is introduced, we ensure its compatibility before deploying in a virtual environment.

The return on investment from using Oracle Linux is the peace of mind it provides my team. Everything from Oracle tools to applications is well integrated within Oracle Linux.

Oracle Linux is affordable. While ERP may be expensive, Oracle Linux and KVMs are not on the higher side in terms of cost.

Overall, I rate Oracle Linux as eight out of ten. I would also advise considering improving educational programs and certifications to facilitate learning and greater expertise.

Private Cloud

My main use case for Oracle Linux is for administration, specifically full administration for Unix servers, such as hosting applications, monitoring the server health, and all the administration tasks I have been using it for.

I am hosting applications on those servers and monitoring the servers that are operating on Oracle Linux with full monitoring.

The best features Oracle Linux offers include security, as I have found it to be more secure than Ubuntu, Red Hat, and other Linux distributions. Additionally, it is easier to use than the other Linux operating systems.

What makes Oracle Linux more secure and easier to use than other Linux operating systems I have tried is the configuration of the firewall, SSH, and a few other configurations. These are easy to follow and set up.

I remember that the repositories for Oracle Linux are more stable than those of others. For instance, with Ubuntu, I have faced some issues related to the repository for the NFC files. The repositories of Oracle Linux are working smoothly more than others.

Oracle Linux has positively impacted my organization as most servers we are using are Oracle Linux. We prefer using it. The reason my organization prefers Oracle Linux is for its performance and reliability. In general, the operating system is cleaner and easy to use and follow.

I have no suggestions for improvements regarding Oracle Linux. Everything is going well.

I have been using Oracle Linux for three years.

Oracle Linux is stable.

The scalability of Oracle Linux is working fine, and there are no issues we have faced regarding scalability.

I have not interacted with Oracle's support team. All the cases we were solving were done by ourselves in the team.

Neutral

Before Oracle Linux, we were using Red Hat, but it was an old version.

I have not seen a return on investment with Oracle Linux.

Our experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing involved using VMware Cloud, and I have no idea about the cost.

I did not evaluate other options before choosing Oracle Linux. This is the first time I am evaluating an operating system.

I recommend using Oracle Linux as your first choice for Linux distributions. I have rated this review a 10.

Private Cloud

Other

Currently, I see that everyone is looking into Linux. People are migrating to Linux from different proprietary hardware systems, which are often more expensive than x86 systems. This is the reason for moving to Linux. 

When it comes to Linux, if I have Exadata and all Oracle Linux operating systems, these are what I deal with. Nutanix, with hardware offering software-defined storage, also helps me. For clients with unlimited licenses, the advantage of HXIT6 hardware is that the license is not a constraint, prompting them to switch.

Oracle consistently performs better, like with Oracle Solaris. Linux systems are similar, however, Oracle Linux offers an unbreakable system. Oracle has just started this from version eight, which is distinct.

Addressing room for improvement in Oracle Linux, some applications supported by other operating systems are not supported, which is a pain.

I've been working with Oracle Linux and Linux Red Hat since version five.

DP is present in all infrastructure sectors because it's open-source. Testing determines stability, as continuous Linux use and installations reveal more bugs. Unlike stable products like Solaris, open-source products are not fully tested, which is common.

It is easy to scale.

I find that Oracle is always good in customer service, but it depends on the backend. The initial support request handling is crucial. Not all support engineers at Oracle are the same, so sometimes I experience good support that resolves issues quickly, while other times, it loops. This is common. That said, overall, Oracle support is good.

When comparing Red Hat and Oracle Linux, people often focus on popularity, and both are almost the same. Mainly, I notice that the popularity varies.  The difference lies in their marketing and presentation.

One person is enough to deploy everything from infrastructure to the operating system.

Ultimately, Oracle Linux as a product rates nine out of ten. It's very easy to use. For Linux, it's nothing too complicated. Taking care of the necessary tech accounts, subscriptions align similarly. The focus is on what is used on top of Linux with the move towards database 23, which incorporates AI, testing and migration are ongoing. 

When comparing operating systems like Solaris, support for new versions is diminishing, forcing migrations to Linux, such as Oracle Linux or Red Hat, both being popular. Depending on preferences, some support Oracle Linux, while others favor Red Hat, which is more popular initially.

Hybrid Cloud

Other

My use cases with Oracle Linux recently include the government of Goiás state in the Secretary of Economy, a GM concessionary of vehicles named Jorlan in Goiás, and Alnutri Alimentos, a rice and chili factory. Additionally, I have worked with the Ministry of Exterior of Brazil and many others.

In my opinion, the best features of Oracle Linux are its strong stability for running databases, particularly Oracle databases, and its use of DNF for package management. I believe DNF is a strong and modern way to manage Linux packages, more effective than yum and Zypper. Moreover, the memory usage and management in Oracle Linux are very robust, and the kernel is well-adapted for database users, making it one of the best options for running databases like MySQL and MariaDB as well.

I do not understand the licensing for Oracle Linux.

My first use of Oracle Linux began in 2013, marking the start of my experience with this operating system.

I find Oracle's support to be deficient in response time; it is often low, and the call options for small price forms are difficult. However, the knowledge base is very good and fair, and I believe the main feature of Oracle support, formerly known as Metalink, is an extremely useful resource.

I would rate the support as a six or seven, concluding that my score is about seven.

Positive

Currently, my company is not an Oracle customer, although it was a partner before 2010 and was involved in third-party colocation in Brazilian sales markets in 2006. After 2010, my company and I have utilized other databases too. While we still use Oracle for consulting on Oracle Linux and its databases, the market primarily uses other databases, shifting our Linux support from SUSE to Oracle Linux.

Regarding Matillion data in ETL, I do not have experience with materialized views.

I have experience with other products besides Snowflake, including AWS RDS in the on-premise world, an OCI Oracle database, SQL Server in an on-premises environment, SQL in Azure, Big Data from GCP, and a bit of experience with Databricks and Oracle HeatWave too.

I have experience with Oracle database versions from six to 24 AI.

Oracle Linux is the Oracle operating system, specifically Oracle Enterprise Linux.

I have experience with Oracle Linux from the sixth version to the eighth version, with a small experience using the ninth version as well.

My use of Oracle Linux does not include Ksplice for zero downtime updates; I am unclear on that feature.

Regarding SE Linux security, many customers disable this feature; however, in some use cases within the Secretary of Economy and the Ministry of Exterior Commerce of Brazil, this feature is enabled. Although I don't have extensive experience with this feature, I find that SE Linux offers impressive security strength within the Linux environment, and it also restricts inappropriate access for databases.

Oracle Linux has good integration and usability with Red Hat Linux because it is based on Red Hat. Moreover, it is normally compatible with SUSE and other Linux distributions and supports standard communication protocols like SSH. Additionally, it maintains compatibility with Windows servers.

In my opinion, I don't currently see potential improvements for Oracle Linux because I believe its features are sufficient for database environments and more, particularly in the Red stack. Overall, I believe Oracle Linux is good as it is.

In my opinion, the price for Oracle Linux is fair and acceptable for companies in the market that utilize it.

My overall score for Oracle Linux as a product is ten.

On-premises

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

We use it for security purposes. Linux, or Solaris, offers more security and reliability than Windows operating systems. Windows is easier to attack. 

Most files used by hackers are executables, and if your vendor's operating system isn't secure, that's a problem. That's why we use Oracle Linux; it's compatible with our database.

If we use Linux, Solaris, or some other operating systems, we have to build a lot of packages using RPMs (the packet manager). That's a difficult task. With Oracle Linux, we use a single command to update from the Oracle website. 

It updates in minutes and downloads all necessary RPMs required for your database. This allows us to install our Oracle database without errors on Oracle Linux. We can prepare our server within 30 minutes if we have a good internet speed. Oracle platforms are steady and robust.

The main challenge can be compatibility with products from other companies. When you mix products from different vendors, you might experience difficulties. Using products from the same platform simplifies things.

Before Oracle Linux existed, back in 2001 and 2003, Oracle didn't have its own operating system and used other versions of Linux. We faced problems with these. For example, the earlier Linux versions were 32-bit operating systems. This limited the amount of memory we could allocate to our Oracle database instances. Let's say we had a server with 128 GB of RAM; with a 32-bit Linux operating system, we couldn't use all of it for the database.

When later Linux releases became 64-bit, this limitation disappeared, giving us much more memory to work with. The compatibility with Oracle products is a big advantage. It makes it easier for DBAs (Database Administrators) to manage our databases. If my boss tells me two or three new servers are arriving tomorrow, it's not a problem. I can quickly set them up and prepare them – even doing installations on multiple servers at the same time.

Sometimes we have applications that only run on operating systems like Windows, creating difficulties. Microsoft's platform is easier for some people to understand, but troubleshooting issues can be quite challenging, even for experienced programmers. In contrast, troubleshooting on the Oracle platform is much simpler, which is a key benefit.

I have been using it since 2004. 

When we start the installation, we decide the purpose of the server based on the expected database size. If the database is under 100 GB, we will allocate resources accordingly. If the database will be about 100 terabytes or 500 terabytes, then we adjust our allocation. Sometimes, in our UAT (User Acceptance Testing) databases, we allocate less memory, which can cause some minor issues.

Otherwise, in production environments, we take our time. When switching to new hardware, we dedicate at least three months to proper testing. We purchase hardware licenses, software licenses, and database licenses all together. 

We never rush installation because we conduct thorough testing. We test everything from the production database to the standby database. We heavily load the standby database, and if it performs perfectly, then we switch roles – standby becomes production and vice versa. We perform many transactions on both sides to check the load balance.

Once satisfied, let's say we have 20,000 users, each with approximately three active sessions – that's potentially 60,000 sessions. We observe how the server handles this, how much CPU is consumed during peak times. 

Peak times in most organizations are generally from nine to five, with cool down from ten to twelve, then after breaks, again from 02:00 to 04:30 P.M. We monitor CPU consumption and RAM utilization during these peak hours. We check every step, and only when we say, "Okay, this server can support our new hardware and software, we have no issue" – only then do we make the switch.

We are happy. We are using it. We recommend it to our students. We also recommend it to our friends.

Oracle installations are never a problem for us. We've been using Oracle for over 23 years. Even with new features added in later versions, we have no issues because of our extensive experience. 

Oracle provides two options for installation: 

• GUI (graphical user interface) and 
• CLI (command-line interface). 

We use both and have no problems.

We have a separate database server. It's not part of the cloud; it's an Oracle RAC.

Oracle RAC is a combination of multiple servers: two servers, four servers, eight servers, even sixteen servers. It's a combination of multiple servers. Oracle Linux is only just used on the server side, not on the client side.

Primarily, it's the DBAs (Database Administrators) who control and use the database servers. Network and security departments generally use Windows operating systems. They don't deal with Linux commands as much because they have limited access and manage fewer servers – maybe two, three, four, or a maximum of ten. In contrast, we have many database servers, and for security reasons, we prefer Linux. We don't have Windows servers for our database work.

Oracle is expensive compared to the Microsoft platform. with much money. 

We have a license for each and every one, but we have a separate Oracle IT procurement department that deals with the costs.

I'd recommend that you use it. The main challenge for new users of Linux is the command-line interface (CLI). It can be intimidating if you're not familiar with it.

However, Oracle provides excellent manuals and installation guides on its website. If you follow those guidelines, you won't have problems. Oracle Linux is secure and reliable.

Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten. It is a good product.