I like that it's very stable and lightweight and that it requires very little resources.
Sr. Systems Analyst at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
Requires very little resources, has good technical support, and is stable
Pros and Cons
- "I like that it's very stable and lightweight and that it requires very little resources."
- "Performance can always be improved."
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
Performance can always be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for about ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's highly stable.
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How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good, and I would rate it at eight on a scale from one to ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using HP-UX previously, but HP-UX had problems with Oracle. The licensing costs skyrocketed. Also, Oracle stopped supporting databases on Unix. Unix as an operating system seems to have died out; nobody uses it now.
How was the initial setup?
Implementation takes time, but once you have done it, you can forget about it. It's highly stable.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have a yearly license, and I think Oracle charges too much.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend any Linux product. However, I would prefer Ubuntu Linux because Oracle costs too much.
I would rate Oracle Linux at eight on a scale from one to 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.

Sr. Manager - Tech Ops at a media company with 10,001+ employees
Supports many systems, great support, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "The stability of Oracle Linux is good."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Oracle Linux for server systems.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Linux for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Oracle Linux is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Oracle Linux is scalable, We have thousands of systems running on it.
We have no plans to increase usage but we are only maintaining what we have.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the support from Oracle a four out of five.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have previously used CentOS, which is quite different from Oracle Linux. and Red Hat because we are running Oracle databases.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is reasonably straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation of Oracle Linux in-house. We have two people who are supporting this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Oracle Linux is similar to Red Hat. That's the reason why we went, with a combination of CentOS and Red Hat, and then later to all Oracle Linux. We not do not have to maintain two different solutions.
If you choose the support there are additional costs but there are not any other costs.
The price of Oracle Linux overall could be less expensive.
What other advice do I have?
Oracle Linux is very good. Oracle has put a good amount of effort into enhancing it from generic, plain Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Oracle's purposes. The support is good, it is all we asked for.
I rate Oracle Linux 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.
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Linux
June 2025

Learn what your peers think about Oracle Linux. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Manager, IT at a renewables & environment company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Dependable, easy to use, and scales very well
Pros and Cons
- "It has a good amount of mount points."
- "Occasionally, we might get an alert to restart our database, and if we don't do it on our own, the system will do it automatically. That can cause downtime issues if your clients aren't expecting it."
What is our primary use case?
We're using Oracle Linux to run virtual machines for their database solutions in the cloud. We're also using Oracle Linux to run an SFTP server.
We have several Oracle Linux 7s that support the databases. We have about ten of those. We have one SFTP server as well. That is the extent of it.
What is most valuable?
We do a lot of mounts so we can use shared storage. It has a good amount of mount points. I'm just getting very comfortable with it as far as the ACLs and the users go.
What needs improvement?
I cannot recall any areas that require improvement, or any missing features I have come across.
Occasionally, we might get an alert to restart our database, and if we don't do it on our own, the system will do it automatically. That can cause downtime issues if your clients aren't expecting it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for about a year and a half at this point. It hasn't been too long.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is very good. The databases are all VMs. Sometimes the database might have an underlying condition, hardware condition, and Oracle will send us an alert to tell us to please restart our databases so that they can be moved to another piece of hardware by a certain date. If we don't do it on our own, they will do it. That, however, leaves room for corruption. Also, you run the risk of not telling our customers ahead of time that there might be a little bit of downtime.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution can scale up or down easily. You can always scale up, scale down, add more storage, add more memory, that kind of stuff.
How are customer service and support?
Since we have an Oracle cloud subscription and a tenancy, our service requests are answered by tech support from OCI tech support. It's pretty much whatever we need. However, I must say, their tech support usually addresses OCI problems, such as infrastructure problems. When it comes to the Oracle support, you really have to dig and you really have to get on them to actually get it down to the Oracle support. That said, I want to say, so far, so good. I'm happy with the support so far.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before I worked on Oracle Linux 7, we were on-prem with Red Hat 6 or 7. It might have been Red Hat 6. Everything really just transfers very well as far as the commands and all of that. Oracle Linux 7 is basically Red Hat 7.
How was the initial setup?
When it is in the could, the initial setup is very easy. When it's in the cloud, you just pick a shape and say, "Make me a machine."
What makes each shape different is the number of CPUs. The amount of storage comes with it.
What other advice do I have?
I'm just an Oracle customer and an end-user.
For those considering the solution, I would say, if you're familiar with Red Hat, there's very little change and the users should just go for it.
As far as dependability and ease of use go, I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical Presales Consultant/ Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Reliable, with good technical support, but it works well only with Oracle products
Pros and Cons
- "Oracle Linux for Oracle databases is the top. There's no doubt whatsoever."
- "Oracle Linux, needs to support more packages."
What is our primary use case?
Oracle Linux is basically Red Hat. It's the same. Oracle took the CentOS project, which is Red Hat, and made its own enhancements. They added something they call 3DBear, which is their proprietary technology. They call it the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK).
Oracle took Red Hat, stripped a lot of the software that was not needed for Oracle, which made Red Hat much smaller. They optimized the UEK for their Oracle database applications.
A customer who is planning to have an Oracle database and is looking to see whether to choose to go with Oracle Linux or SUSE Linux or Red Hat, the best option for them would be to go with Oracle Linux because it's the same vendor.
What needs improvement?
Oracle Linux for Oracle databases is the top. There's no doubt whatsoever. However, if you are going to use it for anything else it's going to be a mess, because many packages will not be supported by Oracle.
For example, I was helping an organization back up various Oracle Linux servers using various kernel versions and various distribution versions. The software that I used for backup requires some packages to be pre-installed into the Oracle Linux machine from the distribution itself, but one of the packages was not available from the Oracle repositories. Because it's a Linux machine, I can manually download this package and install it myself. But the problem with that is that Oracle will void the whole warranty if I install a package from a third-party repository.
If you are going to use Oracle Linux for anything other than running Oracle databases, you will most definitely run into a bottleneck situation in which some packages that are needed, you will not be able to download. And, if you download and install them, you will void your contract, which nullifies the point of you getting Oracle Linux in the first place.
Oracle Linux has a particular use case, not like SUSE, or like Red Hat.
With SUSE, and Red Hat, you can use them for almost any use case, and you can even install Oracle inside both of them, but you can't do the same with Oracle Linux.
Oracle Linux is built for Oracle databases. It doesn't make sense for me to get Oracle Linux and install the MySQL database. Even though MySQL is an Oracle product, it doesn't make sense. If I am not going to using Oracle databases then I shouldn't go with Oracle Linux.
Oracle Linux needs to support more packages. I understand that they stripped down CentOS and Red Hat, but Oracle is an organization that will be paying the price of Red Hat making CentOS, CentOS-3 as well.
I understand the idea of making the Linux distribution just optimized for their Oracle database, but I'm not going to get Oracle Linux because it works well only with Oracle products.
I will most likely have a diverse infrastructure. So instead of going with Oracle Linux, I will go with SUSE Linux or Red Hat. Why? Because Red Hat, for example, has support for many, many packages. Instead of me going to get Oracle Linux for the Oracle database and Red Hat for the remaining workloads, why not get Red Hat from the beginning.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Linux for two years. It is still pretty new to me.
I have used Oracle Linux versions 6, 7, and 8.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Oracle Linux is a stable solution.
When you take Red Hat and strip several applications off of it and optimize it to work with Oracle databases, Oracle Linux is the most stable Linux.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support was great. I didn't deal with them directly. When I had an issue, I was interacting with a team who was administering the Oracle Linux environment, and when we ran into hiccups and we needed support from Oracle, they would initiate a ticket, and Oracle would respond and would provide support.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is comparable to Red Hat, and CentOS. It's not difficult.
In terms of the configuration, it won't take more than 30 minutes to install.
However, because it's an Oracle Linux, there are Oracle databases involved, which means there are steering committees. There will be complications in the implementation that are not related to the actual installation of the product itself. This will delay it by several days.
What other advice do I have?
In general, I would not recommend this solution, but if you are going to be running Oracle databases, then yes, I would recommend Oracle Linux.
If you are going to be running Oracle-based solutions, or if your data center mainly is controlled by the Oracle Corporation then yes Oracle Linux would be the best choice.
You shouldn't go with Oracle Linux if you're not going to be using Oracle products.
As I am not particularly interested in Oracle, I would rate Oracle Linux a seven out of ten. If however, I was, then I would rate it 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.
Fresh Operations Manager at Jerónimo Martins
Straightforward installation, scalable, reliable and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The installation is straightforward."
- "There needs to be overall better integration."
What is our primary use case?
I use this solution for developing applications and APIs for our platform.
What needs improvement?
There needs to be overall better integration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We have approximately 25 users using this solution in my organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
We use vendor support and it is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I use Windows systems as well as this soltuion.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We used integrators to help us implement the solution into our systems.
We have six engineers that do the maintenance of this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing cost is expensive. It should be reduced by at least half.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others.
I rate Oracle 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.
Cyber security manager at Apparel
Highly secure, frequently updated, and great technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are performance, frequent update patches, and security."
- "The solution could improve by giving the client or customer more control."
What is our primary use case?
Oracle Linux is mainly used for deploying Oracle databases. It can be used for a multitude of other functions. There are modules that can be implemented on systems to cater to your organization's needs.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are performance, frequent update patches, and security.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by giving the client or customer more control.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be scalable. They have other options available, such as cloud and hybrid versions.
How are customer service and technical support?
If you have premium technical support it is great, they have been responsive in solving our issues.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is easy, there are readily available reference guides you can utilize to complete the installation. It took approximately two hours to complete the install.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment and maintenance are done by vendor teams.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license required for this solution and we are on an annual license.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others.
I rate Oracle Linuxan 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.
System Administrator at TZ Telecom Ltd.
Compatible with RedHat operating systems, stable and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
- "There is full compatibility with RedHat-based operating systems, in particular Centos, which we widely deployed before Oracle Linux (OL)."
- "For usability, the GUI options during the initial setup could be included with advanced functionalities that are now currently only possible on the CLI."
What is our primary use case?
We use Oracle Linux for Virtualization Platform, DNS Servers, Database Servers and IT infrastructure observability tools
How has it helped my organization?
Orlacle Linux has provided a redhat compatible open source OS for diverse needs. We smoothly run on Oracle OS; KVM virtualization environment, Postgesql databases, Zabbix, Grafana, Fluentd and other observability tools. We have seen a remarkable improvement as DNS queries are fast and the platforms can be easily secured with no worries of security issues arising due to unpatched systems.
What is most valuable?
There is full compatibility with RedHat-based operating systems, in particular Centos, which we widely deployed before Oracle Linux (OL).
What needs improvement?
For usability, the GUI options during the initial setup could be included with advanced OS tuning and optimization, currently as with most Linux systems that can be done via CLI.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Oracle Linux for more than three years
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Very stable
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Very scalable, especially with available support options
How are customer service and support?
Haven't used the customer service and support
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Centos, migrated after Centos switches to Centos Stream
How was the initial setup?
Straightforward setup, used the free option
What about the implementation team?
Implemented in-house
What was our ROI?
100%
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's an open source OS freerly available. Support subscription is paid
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes, Rocky Linux, Alma Linux and OpenSuse
What other advice do I have?
A pretty stable and secure operating system that perfectly serve as an alternative to Centos OS.
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.
Chief Product Officer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Fast, easy to set up in-house, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "The speed is quite good."
- "It could be more scalable."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for big packet inspection and as an operating system.
What is most valuable?
We like that we can use the C++ coding while working with it.
The speed is quite good.
It's mostly very stable.
The operating system is fine.
It's pretty simple to setup, and we can do it in-house as it is not complex.
The solution is open-source.
What needs improvement?
The network interface should be modernized. It's a bit out of date.
It could be more scalable.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've used the solution for one project. We've used it for a few months. I haven't used it for that long just yet.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable and mostly reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze on us.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability could be better.
We have two or three people using the solution right now and do not have plans to increase usage.
How are customer service and support?
We did not use technical support. We've never had a need to reach out. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they would be.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've also used CentOS. The setup and scalability are the same as Oracle.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. I haven't noticed any complexities. The deployment takes several days. It doesn't take too long.
We have a team that handles deployment and maintenance. There are about five people and they are engineers.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the setup ourselves. We did not need outside help. Our support team could easily deploy it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing is open-source. We do not have to pay for licensing.
What other advice do I have?
We are using version nine. I cannot recall the exact version number.
I'd recommend the solution to others.
I would rate the solution nine 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

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