Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Reviews

We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) to run applications and databases related to the European Parliament's business. For example, we use SAP for financial operations. It's not my domain, but I know the leadership plans to implement AI workloads. We translate every document into 27 languages manually, but we plan to use AI and machine language translation. 

Using a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Cluster in the SAP environments gives us high availability and disaster recovery, so our data is safe. I think it's a geo-cluster for the whole SAP environment. Whenever something happens, it almost automatically shifts to the other.

The support for OpenShift and CoreOS is valuable, as we frequently use support services and rely heavily on Red Hat support for assistance.

When we started using Red Hat Enterprise Linux, it was a struggle to install CoreOS because we were used to using a Satellite server with Red Hat. The people in charge of setting up OpenShift and installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the nodes had a hard time. I don't know why, but I think it was because the OpenShift cluster included VMs and bare metal machines.

I joined the European Parliament in 2012, and we have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 12 years. 

We do not have any issues with its performance. The system functions well.

Scaling the operating system is transparent. We work with VMware, so whenever there is a need for more RAM and memory, the process is seamless to the customer.

I rate Red Hat support eight out of 10. Customer service and support are excellent. Support is available depending on the priority and the support package. I am happy with the service. However, navigating through documentation can be challenging.

Positive

We started with Mini Solaris and gradually migrated to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Initially, setting up OpenShift and the installation was somewhat complicated, especially when dealing with bare metal machines.

As a nonprofit business, we do not focus on return on investment in monetary terms. However, a big community makes it easy to gather opinions and help from outside sources, which is a return on investment.

We compared Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE. While SUSE is generally the preferred Linux distro for SAP, we chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux because we had more in-house knowledge of the platform and better support. 

I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux eight out of 10. I used to be an AIX system admin, and I still prefer that operating system. I would recommend considering Red Hat's benefits, such as support. I used to work in IBM support, and Red Hat has a significant advantage in this realm. Also, many corporations merge firms and combine workforces, and RHEL can adapt to these changes. 

I work on SAP HANA, which is on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux has a good support portal that I rely on.

The system rules are helpful for segregation of duties, as they provide us with more feasible access to the system, allowing us to register it accordingly.

We immediately see the benefits of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

From an administrative perspective, the cloud platform is the best because we don't have to wait long. It's a portal, so we can access whatever we want through it, whether the Azure portal or the AWS portal; we click, and it'll purchase it for us. Some deployments take 30 to 40 minutes. But in most cases, especially for small services, it's just a few seconds to three minutes. From a business perspective, the pay-as-you-go concept is where we only pay for what we use. So those are the two things I like most about the cloud version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the cloud can become costly over the long term.

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

Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the cloud is stable with a 99.9 percent uptime. Regional redundancies are used to ensure data accessibility.

The initial deployment was a little challenging until I became familiar with the solution through the portal. We did encounter a handshaking issue with Azure that required submitting a ticket to Microsoft, but otherwise, the process went smoothly. A team of four were involved in the deployment.

The implementation was completed in-house.

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

We have to apply patches weekly, monthly, or quarterly, depending on their purpose.

We had no concerns about using Red Hat Enterprise Linux in the cloud because both AWS and Azure supported it, and they provided support if needed.

The main use cases for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are all application-based; it's an enterprise-level OS based on open source. There are many applications. We are using it for Oracle databases and applications which need more security and flexibility. 

Red Hat provides support for a variety of file systems, making it easy to create and manage them. It also allows for straightforward management of volume groups. Although we have not used it for our client, Red Hat offers services such as Satellite service for online patching and automated patching, among other features.

The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is excellent. If you have an account created with even a single subscription, you get access to all documents available online free of cost. 

From the security perspective, IP tables are very important for firewall protection and network communication. While these features exist in other Linux distributions, the implementation in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is particularly robust.

Regular patching rollouts and immediate bug fixes help maintain compliance with cyber security requirements. 

All major Linux distributions should have common commands, which would make it easier for users to understand and remember. Each flavor has their own native tools and features, which can be confusing when managing multiple flavors in a single environment.

Documentation is comprehensive and available in one place on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) portal, but connection and integration could be better with more out-of-the-box connectors. 

Recently, I came across something interesting regarding the management of multiple environments. SUSE offers more flexibility in managing multiple environments, as their product can manage Ubuntu and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). However, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Satellite server can only patch Red Hat and CentOS, not Ubuntu or SUSE. Cross platform support should be implemented in their product.

I have been working with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for almost 15 years.

It helps to mitigate downtime and lowers risk. Most environments have very high uptime values with Linux machines. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) rarely crashes or has issues. All the security features are very good in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

The documentation clearly explains what each patching or update will do to your environment, and whether it is required. When asking for support, even for informational purposes, they provide detailed information about whether it is required for your environment, including bug fixes and CVEs reported by local cyber security personnel.

The business value of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) compared to other Linux distributors is their strong support process. While we haven't worked much with other flavors, we are satisfied with Red Hat support. Their technical expertise is excellent, especially for premium support. They helped us solve critical issues, such as when we had a file system corruption in a production environment that we couldn't mount or fix without their support.

Positive

There are other options such as Ubuntu, SUSE, and Oracle Linux. It depends on requirements. Some application vendors want to go with Ubuntu, so we have to provision Ubuntu. Some want to have SUSE. SUSE is used less frequently, but mostly people are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Ubuntu here.

Ubuntu is a Debian-based Linux distribution. While all belong to the Linux category, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is more mature and flexible but costlier in terms of support. Ubuntu is less costly but has a different system administration approach due to being Debian-based. SUSE has more inclination towards ERP systems, with most SAP environments running on it.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operates in a vast environment with multiple products including Ansible, containers, and OpenShift. System administration is straightforward in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) because people are more familiar with these open source tools and commands. There is extensive online documentation and free versions available, making administration preferred by most administrators.

The setup is very straightforward. Even someone with minimal experience can follow the documentation and install it.

It brings ROI and measurable benefits. When support is needed for issues such as security vulnerabilities, ransomware protection, or bug fixes, Red Hat will resolve system downtime issues.

The licensing cost for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is comparable to SUSE for premium support. For approximately $2,000 per year, you can get premium support for one subscription which allows you to run two VMs.

I have not tried the Leap or Red Hat Insights feature because we currently work with standalone systems. For image builder and system roles, we can get the recovery system built with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) tools, which are very good and handy for recovery.

Since most systems are based on VMs in private cloud or hypervisors, it's straightforward to take snapshots for any changes on Linux. If something goes wrong, reverting the snapshot is simple.

My advice to other organizations considering Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is that while other enterprise Linux distributions such as SUSE and Ubuntu are good in their respective areas, they should have cross-environment support for products, especially for patching, centralized monitoring, and user management.

Based on my experience, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) a nine out of ten.

The main use cases were certifying our product with this OS platform, installing our product on this platform, and identifying the challenges we face, such as memory leak issues or OS-level issues, such as some libraries not being supportive, permission-related issues, or glitches due to different folder structures because the paths vary from Windows. Developers mostly keep Windows in mind as they have Windows laptops for the development environment.

Most of the time, we only certify our product with this OS. We perform most of the operations related to that only, leaving very little chance to explore features. However, as I read the news and newsletter from the Red Hat side, there are a good number of features, such as server editions, that can be really helpful.

System roles are helpful because we can achieve security through them. This is a good feature, as we can restrict permissions and policies with their help. 

When interacting with terminals, most of the errors can be a bit complicated for humans to read. If they used more user-friendly error messages, it would help people understand quickly. 

There are also a few changes needed at the library level. Some libraries supported by others, such as Oracle, are not supported by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Especially in terms of Java, as now Java is with Oracle, if the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) system could align with those libraries, it would be helpful for end-users, eliminating the need to figure out which library is causing issues.

I have been working with Linux solutions for four to five years.

It is stable.

We create a ticket when we contact Red Hat support, but most of the time, we are able to find solutions through the community. The support is good from both Oracle and Red Hat. I would rate their support an eight out of ten.

I have tried Oracle Linux and SUSE Linux, and we've explored different versions. It depends on the customer's requirement and whatever platform the customer is comfortable with; we have to certify our product with that.

There are multiple factors that led to our decision to move to Linux: pricing is one of the biggest factors, then security because Linux is more secure than Windows. Performance is another reason since malware programs do not run directly on Linux. Additionally, the command prompt is always faster than GUI mode.

When it comes to learning, it's all about perception because most people carry their perceptions from their college days. If someone is new or a fresher joining the industry, they have their own perceptions in mind. They often feel comfortable with Windows because most colleges provide Windows machines, but once they get hands-on experience with Linux systems, they start preferring Linux over Windows.

I haven't seen many complications with the initial setup of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) because whenever we provide a build or our product, we have a readme file with all the steps included. It's usually not that difficult. It's a couple of hours of work, and if any difficulties arise, it doesn't take long because we have a good community online to find solutions.

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

My main use cases for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are that I work at a university, and the infrastructure of the university is all based on open source, with the main operating system being Linux.

The feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) that I appreciate the most is the scalability. Scalability has helped my company grow in general by allowing us to handle the inscriptions of students simultaneously. We have to subscribe to tens of thousands of students at the same time, and only with an operating system that has scalability can we accomplish this.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has helped to mitigate downtime and lower risk, though I don't have specific numbers about this.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) can be improved in terms of applications to interact better with the operating system for monitoring, control, and a better administration interface, though I don't work in the technical department.

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

The stability of the platform is very good.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales with the growing needs of my organization very effectively. During the time of company growth, we needed to scale the services and equipment that use the operating system, and it performed very effectively.

The customer service and technical support with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are very good. We have technical support in Brazil that's very good, and I don't have any complaints about this.

A long time ago, I considered other solutions before choosing Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). I don't consider any other options anymore.

The deployment was very good. I liked hte process very much. 

I have only used one version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and have upgraded the operating system during its lifecycle. My experience upgrading it was very easy.

The biggest return on investment when using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for me is the security, the scalability, and the integration with other platforms and tools.

While there is always room for improvement as there's no perfection, I would rate this solution nine out of ten.

We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for our applications. I use it for many applications, especially SAP.

We install it on the server so that we can install our applications running on that server.

The benefits I get from this operating system are that it's secure, easy to use, and stable.

I find the clustering feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux the most useful. It helps us to cluster our application service to maintain high availability.

I access the knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux through their websites. The knowledge base is helpful to me.

The Image Builder is easy to set up, and overall, it is helpful to me.

I recommend that they improve their virtualization product, specifically the management console.

Support should definitely be improved.

I do not have any complaints with the stability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux in multiple locations. We are using it in the IT industry.

I would rate their support a three out of ten. I find them slow to respond. The quality of support is not acceptable in the way they provide solutions.

Negative

I manage Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems by installing it from the disk, specifically from a CD-ROM. It requires maintenance from our side. We have 11 people for maintenance in the team.

I have not seen a return on investment since I started using it. The cost is a reason for that.

I find the cost of this solution expensive.

I would recommend not using Red Hat Enterprise Linux because there are better products out there. I prefer SUSE because of the cost and other features.

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux as four out of ten.

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.

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.

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.

Live patching should be improved.

I have been using it for three years.

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

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.

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

Positive

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.

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.

We have seen about 20% ROI.

It is cost-efficient.

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

I used it previously in environments for APIs, Apache Tomcat, and JBoss. 

The most valuable aspect of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is its reliability. The support is very good. 

The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is excellent. It is very easy to search for solutions to problems and apply new features. 

The main concern is the price. 

I used Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for five years recently, and about ten to twelve years overall. The last time I used it was last year.

It's reliable. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) did not help much with our uptime or security.

The support with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is good, and it is similar to Oracle. 

Positive

In the bank, we use Oracle Linux, but previously we used CentOS.

It was easy to manage in terms of provisioning and patching. We used other products to update the systems, though I don't remember the name. I had other teams to manage the environment. I was satisfied with the management process and the management experience.

It's expensive.

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) a ten out of ten. I would recommend it to others. It is very stable.