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Ingeniero en sistemas en infraestructura at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
May 12, 2026
Linux has streamlined middleware deployments and has reduced incidents across environments
Pros and Cons
  • "A concrete result I have observed after the migration to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is that deployments are now much easier, going from about six to ten days down to three days for delivering a complete environment across development, testing, and production, while incidents caused by antivirus issues, library blocks, and application blocks that prevented installation or access to the operating system were completely eliminated."

    What is our primary use case?

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is used in my organization primarily to install platforms and middleware, such as WebLogic or WebSphere. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) makes it easier to install and run platforms like WebLogic or WebSphere because the installation is more transparent and less complex, and it can be automated more easily with commands.

    What is most valuable?

    The best features offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) include scalability and ease of use. The aspects of scalability and ease of use that are most valuable for me in my day-to-day work with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are that it integrates much more easily with automation applications. Java-based platforms run better on those platforms. Antivirus solutions are less invasive on that type of operating system, and the code is more stable and less prone to crashes or instability of the operating system.

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has positively impacted my organization as we have practically migrated to installing middleware applications on Red Hat. It is much simpler, there are no library conflicts, there are no conflicts with antivirus, and they are more stable.

    A concrete result I have observed after the migration to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is that deployments are now much easier. They went from about six to ten days down to three days for delivering a complete environment across different environments: development, testing, and production. Additionally, the incidents that always caused conflicts with antivirus issues, library blocks, and application blocks that were not allowing installation or access to the operating system were completely eliminated.

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is an extremely stable operating system. It is very open in terms of integration with other applications and migrations, and the applications developed for this type of operating system or that support these operating systems are more stable for a financial company like the one I work for.

    What needs improvement?

    At the moment, I do not think there is any functionality, documentation, or support that could be optimized. I have not had any problems with it. In fact, external documentation is very extensive, which is a big advantage because you can find documentation through searches on the internet itself.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) in my organization for approximately four years.

    Buyer's Guide
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    September 2026
    Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2026.
    914,109 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is an extremely stable operating system.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The aspects of scalability and ease of use that are most valuable for me in my day-to-day work with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are that it integrates much more easily with automation applications.

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

    I give Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) a rating of 10 because I used to work with Windows and found too many integration issues. Even though it is visually easier, I prefer working with the command line and the stability and scalability.

    What other advice do I have?

    I use VMware as the private cloud provider to deploy Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). I hardly handle patching in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), but Satellite is used for patching and updates, and I am satisfied with that management experience.

    I have not tried tools like Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Image Builder or System Roles, so I cannot speak to how useful they are.

    The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is extremely useful and truly well documented.

    The most important security features in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) include user levels, which have very good restrictions at the file level and at the execution level and obviously at the modification level. Additionally, viruses are still very restricted.

    An example of a specific situation in which these levels of restriction and security have made a difference for my organization is that end users try to delete files, and it does not allow them. The audit features, which it handles very well, allow you to track down any problem, any execution or modification.

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps me solve challenges and pain points in my daily work regarding integration and interaction with artificial intelligence. I gave this review a rating of 10 out of 10.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Private Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    Last updated: May 12, 2026
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    PeerSpot user
    reviewer2587590 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Platform Engineer & Manager at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Top 5Leaderboard
    Jan 7, 2026
    Automation has reduced downtime and supports reliable zero‑disruption deployments
    Pros and Cons
    • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a robust operating system, and I believe it is much better than Windows."

      What is our primary use case?

      I am currently working with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as I administer a lot of Kubernetes clusters installed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

      For Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I use it as an operating system for our platform which powers all our company's software, mostly for Kubernetes or for IBM BPM or IBM PEL.

      What is most valuable?

      Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a robust operating system, and I believe it is much better than Windows. I work with Windows and Ubuntu, but Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is the best distribution I have worked with.

      The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is excellent. Red Hat documentation is the most valuable documentation in the market.

      For Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I think the most time-saving aspects come from Red Hat Ansible because we use Ansible to automate many tasks and repetitive tasks on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Windows. Ansible automation and the Ansible automation platform are the most valuable products that save us time and money.

      Overall, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps me save time through automation using Ansible. For OpenShift, the core of containers saves time by automating the DevOps processes using the Red Hat pipeline built into OpenShift, Tekton, and source-to-image build. All of this saves us time.

      Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps to mitigate downtime and lower risks for me, as most of my work is with OpenShift which enables us to do a zero downtime deployment. The deployment is done without any downtime. Red Hat OpenShift is a stable system. Red Hat OpenShift and Linux are very stable and the downtimes are very minimal.

      What needs improvement?

      I think Red Hat needs to implement more AI features in the operating system or Red Hat OpenShift.

      For how long have I used the solution?

      I have been working with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for about 14 years.

      What do I think about the stability of the solution?

      Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is very stable. The product is very stable and very mature. All issues are documented in documentation or in the support portal and support knowledge base. When I have an issue, I primarily search the knowledge base and the support portal and find the solution. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a very secure operating system, and they provide security patching every month.

      What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

      I find Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scalable.

      How are customer service and support?

      We have many cases where Red Hat helped us with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or OpenShift, and their support is great. On a scale of one to ten, where ten is the best, I would rate the tech support a nine.

      How would you rate customer service and support?

      Positive

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

      Most enterprises work on Linux, and as I am a DevOps and platform engineer, most of our systems run Linux, including Kubernetes, OpenShift, and the DevOps pipeline, all working on Linux. This is why I switched to Linux.

      How was the initial setup?

      For Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), the setup is very straightforward. OpenShift is a little complex, but once you do it once, you will master it.

      What about the implementation team?

      I performed the deployment all by myself.

      Which other solutions did I evaluate?

      When it comes to our business value, most of our customers are enterprise-grade customers from banking and government sectors, and they prefer to use an enterprise-grade operating system, not Ubuntu or CentOS. Additionally, in many cases, we need enterprise support from Red Hat as Ubuntu does not provide this.

      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.
      Last updated: Jan 7, 2026
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      PeerSpot user
      Buyer's Guide
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
      September 2026
      Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2026.
      914,109 professionals have used our research since 2012.
      reviewer2757639 - PeerSpot reviewer
      Software Dev at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
      Real User
      Top 20
      Oct 19, 2025
      Commands and packages have supported automation through shell scripting and cron job management
      Pros and Cons
      • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales very well with the growing needs of my organization, and within on-prem, it's very easy to scale it, so we've never had any problems."

        What is our primary use case?

        I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) on and off for at least 10 years, as I've changed many companies. My main use cases for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are mostly on the server-side for deployment.

        What is most valuable?

        The features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) that I most appreciate are the inbuilt commands and the packages that come with it, which are pretty helpful for us, as we usually deal with a lot of shell scripting. These features benefit my organization by allowing us to write cron jobs and related tasks.

        What needs improvement?

        I don't have much to say about how Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) can be improved.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        I have been working in my current field for 20 years.

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps me solve the pain point of periodically needing to keep it updated, but apart from that, it's very stable, which is one of the best things about it. We have already expanded usage.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales very well with the growing needs of my organization, and within on-prem, it's very easy to scale it, so we've never had any problems. The process has been smooth; even on-prem, it's all automated, and we are using OpenShift, so using that software makes it very easy to scale.

        How are customer service and support?

        I evaluate customer service and technical support from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as very good; I have personally called customer support and was surprised at how easy it is to get a hold of someone. It was easy for them to come to a solution.

        How would you rate customer service and support?

        Positive

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

        Prior to adopting Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), my company was using different Linux environments before moving to RHEL, although mostly the companies that I've worked in have always used Linux for deployment.

        How was the initial setup?

        The deployment model for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) includes both on-premise and cloud, as we are using OpenShift for on-prem and cloud also.

        What about the implementation team?

        We have our migration and upgrade team which manages Linux; as soon as the new, stable version of Linux becomes available, we try to update our Linux version to the latest.

        What was our ROI?

        I have seen a return on investment with the solution; in our team, we have noticed that the cost doesn't increase drastically, and it's a very stable product, although this is not my domain since mine is very specific, mostly development.

        Which other solutions did I evaluate?

        Before selecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), my company considered different Linux environments, as I have worked in Fedora, Red Hat, and Ubuntu, but I feel most companies now are adopting or going with RHEL due to its stability and better pricing; again, this is not my domain, I can just surmise.

        What other advice do I have?

        My advice to other organizations considering Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is to go for it, as it's a pretty stable product. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) overall around an 8.

        Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

        Hybrid Cloud

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

        Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
        PeerSpot user
        Geetha D - PeerSpot reviewer
        DevOps and infrastructure work at Societe Generale
        Real User
        Top 20
        Sep 1, 2025
        Saves time with automation and improves operational efficiency
        Pros and Cons
        • "By using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), our team saves approximately 10 hours per week on routine patching and monitoring housekeeping tasks, which allows us to focus more on innovation topics."
        • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is stable and secure, but I think one area for improvement is that licensing should be automatically updated, particularly in multiple environments."

        What is our primary use case?

        I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) regularly in my current role since 2021, and I leverage RHEL for our daily Linux administrator administration tasks, orchestration tasks, patching, monitoring, and self-healing, while ensuring compliance with all security standards. From a product perspective, RHEL's robustness allows us to use Ansible, Jenkins, and ArgoCD to optimize our CI/CD processes, and we manage more than 50 clusters across five regions: Amer, Paris, Hong Kong, North Singapore, ensuring all deployments are secure. It is reliable and offers enterprise support, making it suitable for scaling workloads in both on-prem and cloud environments.

        I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) on a daily basis as a foundation for my DevOps and Kubernetes infrastructure tasks, where it stands out as a primary tool for managing clusters. I regularly monitor system administration tasks such as patching, performing OS level troubleshooting on RHEL servers, and executing kernel updates on a monthly cycle, all while leveraging automation using Ansible. For monitoring, we utilize Prometheus, Grafana, and Kibana to visualize performance metrics, health checks, and set up alerts for CPU, memory, and disk usage on RHEL nodes. Regarding container orchestration on Kubernetes, we are responsible for deploying and maintaining workload shifts on OpenShift and Kubernetes clusters, which are built on RHEL nodes to ensure stability and scalability. Thus, RHEL is a core VM for both Kubernetes and OpenShift, with OpenShift being the main focus to ensure our infrastructure is stable and ready for daily use.

        What is most valuable?

        The best features I have seen in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) include its scalability, enterprise-grade security, and stability. It incorporates features such as SELinux, kernel live patching, and RBAC systems, making it very reliable for production environment workloads, allowing for automated cycle processes akin to Kubernetes, which can manage itself over long-term stability, demonstrating good, consistent performance along with integrated Linux support via Ansible and OpenShift. Thus, RHEL is a trustworthy platform.

        Compared to other operating systems, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is specifically designed for production environments. It integrates tightly with OpenShift, Ansible, and other tools that others cannot deeply support. RHEL seamlessly works in hybrid cloud and container platforms, and in comparison to Windows, RHEL provides greater flexibility for containerization and DevOps-related tools, making it a more reliable option.

        In Societe Generale, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has helped us maintain a secure environment across our container platforms through SELinux and kernel patching, which has directly lowered the risk of downtime and improved trust in the system. Notably, the ability to automate server patching and manage cluster upgrades has eliminated the need for manual intervention, significantly reducing errors and saving several hours of work. As a result, our team can focus on more innovative topics rather than repetitive tasks, leading to improved deployment times and increased reliability by around 20 to 25%. Overall, RHEL has made scaling applications in hybrid cloud environments much smoother, positively impacting my organization by providing a stable and secure platform.

        By using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), our team saves approximately 10 hours per week on routine patching and monitoring housekeeping tasks, which allows us to focus more on innovation topics. The time saved has led to improved knowledge among the team on how to create pipelines and better support application teams, thereby positively influencing delivery timelines and productivity.

        What needs improvement?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is stable and secure, but I think one area for improvement is that licensing should be automatically updated, particularly in multiple environments. Additionally, a faster GUI experience would save time, which would enhance usability.

        From the suggestions for improvements, I would advocate for simplifying license management and providing a more efficient web console that can run RHEL faster. Furthermore, built-in tools for monitoring and automation should be made easier to grasp, as we create many dashboards using Grafana, which are much needed.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        I have been working in my current field for more than four years.

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

        I have only used Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and did not evaluate other options, as RHEL is very stable and designed according to its lifecycle. My consistent experience with RHEL underpins its foundation for OpenShift and Kubernetes clusters, supporting critical applications without unexpected failures, especially with Ansible handling our patching, which contributes to better stability.

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

        From an organizational perspective, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) pricing is justified for entry-level support, especially given the long lifecycle of kernel patching. Once deployed, RHEL demonstrates smooth operations that considerably reduce long-term operational costs. Utilizing RHEL with automation saves both time and money by preventing manual patching and minimizing downtime, allowing users to focus on more valuable tasks. Despite the initial setup effort, once implemented, RHEL significantly delivers savings in both money and time through automation, resulting in smoother daily operations.

        What other advice do I have?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) exhibits high scalability, as adding more CPU, memory, and storage to a single system is seamless within my organization, enabling applications to scale easily across on-premises clusters. I could rate its scalability between 8 to 10 on a scale, as it provides enterprise-grade stability and flexibility for workload scaling in various environments, whether they consist of a few servers or thousands. The primary area needing improvement is the speed of scaling operations.

        My advice for others considering Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is to take full advantage of its automation capabilities and how the system is set up. Utilizing tools such as Ansible can save considerable time across patching, upgrades, and other administrative tasks. I recommend focusing on RHEL's scaling capabilities compared to other operating systems and highlighting the efficiency of the monitoring tools available, such as Prometheus and Grafana. Thus, I believe RHEL is an excellent choice for facilitating organizational growth and enabling smooth scaling without issues. I rate this solution 9 out of 10.

        Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

        On-premises

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

        Other
        Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
        PeerSpot user
        Systems administrator at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
        Real User
        Top 20
        May 21, 2025
        Offers efficient process automation, maintainability, and reliability
        Pros and Cons
        • "The command line feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) specifically helps me find ways to address problems. If there's a bottleneck, something slowing us down, or a manual process that we're spending significant time with, I can determine ways to either script around it or use an Ansible playbook. Having these different tools at our disposal is particularly useful."
        • "My rating for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 10 out of 10."
        • "Regarding areas for improvement, I can suggest streamlining SELinux, which currently feels heavy-handed in its approach to security. It's a system that requires deep immersion to understand. While there's probably justification for its current implementation, making the security component less intimidating for users would be beneficial."
        • "We don't use SELinux because it gets in the way too much. It's a good product if you have the time to devote to it."

        What is our primary use case?

        We have our in-house applications. We have several edge applications at our store locations. There is an in-house written app that we host on a basic Linux VM. Additionally, we have a few on-premises installations at headquarters. One of our major applications is being rewritten to be hosted on a Linux server, so that's in the process of migrating.

        How has it helped my organization?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps me with configuration management. It has become a standard in many ways. There's substantial support and different applications that we run on it. The available options for configuration, maintainability, and stability are valuable, and it's not a rapidly changing base that we're working with.

        What is most valuable?

        My favorite feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) isn't narrowed down to one specific aspect. As someone who grew up using command line interfaces, the ability to access a command line and have the system at my fingertips is beneficial. There are multiple options and different ways to approach tasks with Linux, allowing for creativity in the process.

        The command line feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) specifically helps me find ways to address problems. If there's a bottleneck, something slowing us down, or a manual process that we're spending significant time with, I can determine ways to either script around it or use an Ansible playbook. Having these different tools at our disposal is particularly useful.

        What needs improvement?

        While I don't have an immediate answer, there may be ways to lighten up the underlying system. There are many components I haven't investigated, making it difficult to pinpoint specific areas. It has always been reliable, and I haven't encountered many major issues. I've been content with Red Hat since I started using it.

        We don't use SELinux because it gets in the way too much. It's a good product if you have the time to devote to it. A lot of management is involved in it. We typically set it to notify rather than completely disabling it, though vendors often request reduced security settings during application setup. Regarding areas for improvement, I can suggest streamlining SELinux, which currently feels heavy-handed in its approach to security. It's a system that requires deep immersion to understand. While there's probably justification for its current implementation, making the security component less intimidating for users would be beneficial. This is a recurring observation, as many users working on Red Hat systems or Linux systems tend to disable SELinux because it becomes an obstacle. With proper knowledge and usage, it could be beneficial, but it's similar to training a wild dog - it can be loyal, but without proper training, it becomes an impediment.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) professionally since around 2011, though I've been using some form of it since the late '90s.

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        We haven't experienced many problems with downtime. Our operating systems have been consistently stable regarding uptime. Any downtime issues have been related to upstream factors, networking, and power infrastructure.

        In terms of stability and reliability, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is very stable. I rarely recall having issues where the OS wouldn't boot up. Any stability issues have typically been hardware, network-related, or facility-related rather than OS-related.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales with the growing needs of my company very effectively. We implement it in any place where we can find a suitable application.

        How are customer service and support?

        The customer service and technical support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are very good. I would rate it approximately eight or nine out of ten. It has been particularly good recently. Though there were past instances where support initially took a hands-off approach due to gray areas in their support scope, which was disappointing, they ultimately delivered when crucial support was needed.

        How would you rate customer service and support?

        Positive

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

        We are largely a Windows shop. I'm probably the only Linux person on the staff. We have legacy systems, including HP-UX and Stratus VOS, with some RHEL outliers that are being phased out. While Red Hat will likely absorb some of that capacity, many people coming from a Microsoft environment are bringing Windows .NET applications. We're currently evaluating Azure as a hosting platform, which is already in place but not actively used yet.

        How was the initial setup?

        I've been involved in Red Hat Enterprise Linux upgrades and migrations since Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. We still maintain one Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 server due to legacy applications. We have successfully removed all Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 installations and currently maintain a large base of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 at our store locations, which we're migrating from. We've implemented both Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, completing the entire cycle. We've been through all the versions. We don't do in-place upgrades or anything like that. We just rehost the applications, which is probably pretty typical. This is largely a VM-based environment.

        I use Satellite combined with the Ansible automation platform for provisioning and patching. I implement kick-starting via Satellite for most systems, with Ansible handling the final configuration. As Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 approaches, I'm interested in exploring image options to streamline the process, particularly regarding CIS benchmark compliance.

        We are going to move to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. We've been pretty good about getting up to the latest version once it's available. It took us a while with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, but we jumped to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 fairly quickly. I had my process down, so with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, I got right on to it and rewrote my configuration. I'm hoping to streamline that to get Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 up and going once it comes out. I'll have a new service based on that. Our footprint is shrinking a little bit because a lot of our apps are being rewritten in a Windows .NET environment. It's not going to be as big as it used to be, but we're still going to have Red Hat.

        What was our ROI?

        The biggest return on investment when using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is time. Time is a crucial factor, and attempting this level of automation with Windows would be challenging. While automation is possible with Windows, it comes naturally with Linux. Being able to transform common manual tasks that previously took all day into processes that take an hour, half an hour, or even less, demonstrates clear value.

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

        Management handles much of the pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), though I receive many of the invoices. While it isn't inexpensive, it has proven to be a worthwhile investment. The virtualized environment has provided good value. Each of our Satellite locations has its own physical license, which adds complexity, but Red Hat and our partners have worked with us to secure competitive pricing.

        What other advice do I have?

        My rating for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 10 out of 10.

        Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

        On-premises
        Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
        PeerSpot user
        Senior software engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
        Real User
        Top 20
        May 20, 2025
        Leverage image mode for accelerated deployment while enhancing Kickstart functionality
        Pros and Cons
        • "It's the flexibility, almost the one-stop-shop nature, that Red Hat provides, that really creates an administrative-friendly environment."
        • "It's one of those nice things, similar to your refrigerator—you don't notice it until it breaks."
        • "My number one request for improvement would be better Kickstart functionality, as I feel the Kickstart notation is outdated and it's not programmatic, so that would be my focus point, based on what I do."

        What is our primary use case?

        My main use case for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is application servers, and it's all of our VMs. Most, if not all, of our physicals, on the Linux side, are Red Hat. The only thing that we run that isn't Red Hat is our Kubernetes nodes.

        What is most valuable?

        The feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) that I find most interesting is image mode, which has ramifications far beyond just upgrading the OS. Speed to market and zero day could really be accelerated leveraging it. 

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) benefits my company at the end of the day by providing the foundation of Red Hat Linux, over 20 years and more. Coupled with the backing of a company such as IBM, you've got a company that can help solve pretty much any problem. 

        It's the flexibility, almost the one-stop-shop nature, that Red Hat provides, that really creates an administrative-friendly environment.

        The package manager is pretty solid now with DNF, which is the industry standard.

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps solve quite a few pain points; I would say that in RHEL 8 to RHEL 9, when they went to AppStreams, it really helped simplify the repository structure and made package management significantly easier.

        I wasn't part of the discussion about whether security requirements were a consideration in choosing Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for our cloud operations, however, my guess is that it had to do with being able to do configuration management across on-prem and cloud in the same manner in both environments.

        We manage our Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems through Red Hat Satellite, which we do not use to provision but only to patch, while provisioning is done through vRealize Automation. That's how we provision all of our VMs and custom builds, though there is additional infrastructure behind that.

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) supports our hybrid cloud strategy as we are currently in the process of investigating different VM hypervisors, and as that investigation goes on, OpenShift is definitely at the forefront of the things we are looking at.

        What needs improvement?

        My number one request for improvement would be better Kickstart functionality, as I feel the Kickstart notation is outdated and it's not programmatic, so that would be my focus point, based on what I do.

        From my perspective, I would prefer to see more of the knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) be freely available and not tied behind a Red Hat account, as there's a lot of common knowledge content that would be really helpful to many people. Now, I have a Red Hat account, so it doesn't matter to me. Still, that would be a great show of faith on Red Hat's part to open up many of those knowledge articles and make them freely available.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for probably 12 years.

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        My thoughts on the stability and reliability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are quite positive; my stuff doesn't go down, so I don't have problems. 

        It's one of those nice things, similar to your refrigerator—you don't notice it until it breaks. It just works, and that's really the key factor; I can't remember the last time we had a system go down and had to restore it due to a bad patch. Those things just don't happen. The way they have things set up with Fedora, CentOS, and all of that user testing and integrated testing feeds into a really good final product, one that's stable and that you can rely on.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales with the growing needs of my company effectively, as we are currently running approximately 11,000 Red Hat VMs, and we manage, patch, and do everything all the time without issue. 

        I've seen a significant decrease over my twenty-ish year career of needing backup tools to restore files since files just don't get corrupted the same way that they used to, making me feel Red Hat has really kept up to date with all of the intricacies and small components of the OS to provide a great ecosystem.

        How are customer service and support?

        I cannot speak to the customer service and technical support of the platform, as I don't have to open tickets; there's a whole other team that does that. My understanding is that we have a regular cadence with our Technical Account Manager once every other week or once a month, and we've had good successes to the best of my knowledge.

        How would you rate customer service and support?

        Positive

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

        While working with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), we actually considered other solutions, specifically SUSE Enterprise Linux, which we were running for quite some time until their pricing model changed. Red Hat offered a better pricing model, a more mature product, and it was just overall better in my opinion.

        How was the initial setup?

        I have been involved in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) upgrades and migrations in my company, and it depends on what your approach is, however, we don't do in-place upgrades, as they're just dangerous, no matter what anybody says.

        I always say a fresh install is always the best thing, so for us, it's a matter of leveraging Kickstart and Packer to generate the VM images or Kickstart to generate ISOs and install them on physicals. It's just a matter of taking and being able to easily set it up for repeatability, although it takes probably more time than I would prefer to get that consistency.

        What was our ROI?

        The biggest return on investment when using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for me is its close coupling with Ansible, which I am a big fan of. I've been here since the beginning, and Ansible is a great marrying tool with RHEL to really manage those systems at scale, allowing me to do pretty much anything, which I do every day; it's awesome.

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

        Assuming you can leverage virtual data center licensing, I don't see the costs as being terrible. There are a lot of viable ways to decrease those costs while increasing the value you get from RHEL by leveraging CentOS and lower environments. 

        Overall, I don't end up having to write the check at the end of the day, however, I've heard that the licensing models have changed a bit since I've had to work with them directly and that they're less painful than they had been before, with a lot of moving licenses from one pool to another pool, which I've heard you don't have to do now, so that's nice.

        What other advice do I have?

        On a scale of one to ten, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and eight out of ten.

        Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

        Hybrid Cloud

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

        Other
        Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
        PeerSpot user
        CIO at Clayfin
        Real User
        Top 10
        Jan 8, 2026
        Linux platform has transformed banking deployments and simplifies secure containerized scaling
        Pros and Cons
        • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps me solve the pain point of having a huge monolith of big AIX boxes because I could have smaller Linux boxes with Red Hat, and I was able to do both vertical and horizontal scaling much faster."
        • "One area that could be improved with Red Hat is probably pricing."

        What is our primary use case?

        In the banking industry, we provide software for banking, from our development infrastructure to deployment infrastructure for the banks. We generally use Linux RHEL. It is only for on-premises, but what we did was try out Red Hat OpenShift, basically on top of Linux platforms to run it on the Kubernetes enabled architecture to see how it would perform.

        What is most valuable?

        For us, the best features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are that running it in a containerized environment makes setting up multiple Linux environments much easier than any other high-end or risk-based machines like AIX or Sun Solaris. Having more Linux boxes and setting up RHEL was much faster.

        In terms of security, the most important feature in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is that it has a good sandbox with policies and features that are very effective. Whatever we could do in terms of hardening the Linux software, it was much easier for us.

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) helps me solve the pain point of having a huge monolith of big AIX boxes because I could have smaller Linux boxes with Red Hat, and I was able to do both vertical and horizontal scaling much faster.

        What needs improvement?

        One area that could be improved with Red Hat is probably pricing. Discounts that are slightly cheaper would be better.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        In Enterprise Linux, I have dealt with it for probably more than five years.

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is definitely stable.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        In my opinion, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is absolutely a scalable solution. That is why I was able to do both vertical scaling and horizontal scaling very seamlessly.

        How are customer service and support?

        Regarding their support, we did not reach out to support too much, but I thought it was good. I would rate it a nine.

        How would you rate customer service and support?

        Positive

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

        Before using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), we used Windows, basically, and then moved everything to Linux.

        We switched to Linux from Windows because there were a lot of server hangs happening on Windows, with antivirus and virus problems. Basically, it was a nightmare managing Windows, so we moved to Linux.

        How was the initial setup?

        With the initial setup, it is very straightforward and much easier to set up.

        On a scale of one to ten, if ten was the easiest, I place it at a nine.

        What other advice do I have?

        We also do Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) with Red Hat. I would rate this review a nine overall.

        Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

        On-premises

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

        Other
        Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
        Last updated: Jan 8, 2026
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        PeerSpot user
        Abdullahi Osman - PeerSpot reviewer
        Database Administrator at Seneca College
        Real User
        Top 5
        Nov 11, 2025
        Has improved server monitoring and helped manage hundreds of databases with strong security and performance
        Pros and Cons
        • "The most valuable feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is the security and also the performance for scheduling and tasking for the memory, which benefit the organization because we have hundreds of servers, databases, and many files, and we have the ability to use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)."
        • "The most common challenges faced with the deployment are mostly enterprise related, such as resource compatibility and making automation instead of active compatibility."

        What is our primary use case?

        The main use case for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is to manage the database and the server.

        The solution helps solve pain points for monitoring servers, for example, databases and servers.

        What is most valuable?

        The most valuable feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is the security and also the performance for scheduling and tasking for the memory.

        These features benefit the organization because we have hundreds of servers, databases, and many files, and we have the ability to use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

        What needs improvement?

        I am interested in migrating to the cloud platform, so we are trying to implement that in the organization.

        For how long have I used the solution?

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

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        I have not experienced any downtime, crashes, or performance issues with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales well to meet the growing organizational needs.

        We are looking for containerization for scalability, and it is easy to scale out and scale in.

        We have expanded usage and tried manually to increase the number of servers, and we see the disk increasing exponentially, which is why we are looking for scaling.

        How are customer service and support?

        I would evaluate customer service and technical support as quite good, since I technically get 24/7 support if I encounter issues from updates or new features.

        I would assess the level of support from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) team as very informative; we learn a lot from the documentation from the Red Hat support team.

        How would you rate customer service and support?

        Positive

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

        Before selecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I considered the availability of resources and security, as we have files and a lot of data with not enough time to handle that from the internet, and distribution is mostly for security.

        How was the initial setup?

        The experience deploying Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) was easy, as we use different methods, such as installing or using some source files by using some servers to deploy.

        What about the implementation team?

        The most common challenges faced with the deployment are mostly enterprise related, such as resource compatibility and making automation instead of active compatibility.

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

        The opinion on pricing and its cost-effectiveness for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is that it is quite good for production on-premises.

        What other advice do I have?

        The advice I would give to other organizations is that they should mostly rely on the Linux operating system; it is quite reliable and easy to use, install, deploy, and manage, so I would advise them to use it.

        I would rate this product a 10.

        Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

        On-premises

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

        Other
        Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
        PeerSpot user
        Arsalan Orayedh - PeerSpot reviewer
        Service Delivery Engineer at Gulf Air
        Real User
        Top 5
        Jun 18, 2025
        High-level support team ensures strong system reliability and simplifies critical system management
        Pros and Cons
        • "Among all Linux flavors in the market, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has a very high-level support developer team, which is important for our critical systems."
        • "They should be more generous in providing documentation in a friendlier way."
        • "The Asian support could use improvement."

        What is our primary use case?

        I am a system administrator using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for handling applications and databases. The machines I manage handle applications and databases, along with some JBoss.

        How has it helped my organization?

        Ever since IBM has come into the picture, Red Hat and Ansible have been developed very well. The reporting and workflows have become very good.

        What is most valuable?

        Among all Linux flavors in the market, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has a very high-level support developer team, which is important for our critical systems. We need a solid platform that provides one spot for vulnerability fixes, unlike Ubuntu, CentOS, etc. They only provide low levels of support. 

        The management is fine. We're doing regular patches with Satellite. We're happy with it. It is manageable.

        We can manage a hybrid cloud environment. Red Hat doesn't come fully into our picture with our environment since we're using the Amazon environment and VMware for virtual machines. Red Hat is just an OS, and it is easy to set it anywhere with no issues. 

        What needs improvement?

        They should be more generous in providing documentation in a friendlier way. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) documentation is good, yet not as good as other products such as IBM. Oracle, on the other hand, is the worst; they are very limited in sharing their documentation with engineers.

        The Asian support could use improvement.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        I have total experience in Unix/Linux of 25 years, which includes five years of Solaris, IBM HP-UX, IBM AIX, and HP-UX, along with Sun Solaris, while the other 15 years is with Linux.

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        We never faced any issues with stability, and we never faced any limitations.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        We never faced any issues with scalability, and we never faced any limitations. For our company,  it is more than enough. I'd rate scalability nine or ten out of ten.

        How are customer service and support?

        Red Hat support is good, actually. It depends on the region. I have dealt with several regions including Asia, Middle East, and Europe. The majority of European support is excellent. I would give it nine to ten out of ten. In the Middle East, it is between seven to eight out of ten, while in Asia, very rarely do we get nine or eight out of ten. I'd rate it five out of ten there.

        How would you rate customer service and support?

        Positive

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

        We have moved to another technology since we are no longer working with Dell EMC or Networker. With Veeam, we are currently working for that vendor. We are using Veeam exclusively nowadays.

        We're working with 80% Linux, 10% Unbuntu, 10% Oracle.

        How was the initial setup?

        The initial setup was very simple. 

        Management is fine, since we have the Red Hat Satellite, which allows us to do regular up-to-date patches. We are happy with the Red Hat Satellite. It is manageable.

        What about the implementation team?

        I am handling the storage, backup, and operating systems of Linux flavors personally.

        What was our ROI?

        This question of ROI would be unfair for me to answer. We are not using the full range of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) products and are depending on other things. However, Ansible is doing very well with the new version, and in terms of workflow, it is easy to manage. Ansible has been performing very well, especially after IBM acquired Red Hat. IBM has enhanced Red Hat and Ansible very well, as they are famous for reporting and managing workflows.

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

        The pricing is very simple. Compared to something like IBM, Red Hat is the cheapest.

        Which other solutions did I evaluate?

        Without something to compare it with other than Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I cannot do a direct comparison. However, compared to Unix products such as Oracle Linux or IBM, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is less expensive.

        What other advice do I have?

        Regarding Linux Image Builder and system roles, I have tried both, however, cannot recall which one I downloaded. The last time I built it was more than five months ago. 

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

        Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

        Hybrid Cloud
        Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
        PeerSpot user
        Ahmed Shamil - PeerSpot reviewer
        Solutions Architect at InfoTech Business Solutions
        Real User
        Top 10
        May 22, 2025
        Built-in security features and comprehensive support streamline user management
        Pros and Cons
        • "It makes my system more secure, which is another important point since no one can have direct access."
        • "Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has helped me mitigate downtime and lower risks by about 80%."
        • "Unfortunately, any MasterCard or Visa card from Iraq is blocked by Red Hat."
        • "Unfortunately, any MasterCard or Visa card from Iraq is blocked by Red Hat. The Red Hat website works for Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, VMware, etc., and we can purchase learning and vouchers. With Red Hat, it's blocked, so I have to travel to Dubai to buy it outside the country."

        What is our primary use case?

        My main use cases for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) are for the core banking systems. It is a much more stable OS than other competitor operating systems, especially with Databases.
        Most banks in Iraq use Linux, whether it is free like CentOS for a UAT environment or enterprise like Red Hat.

        What is most valuable?

        The Red Hat Satellite makes my life much easier when it comes to managing my Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems for provisioning and patching. Before few years ago, each server had to have internet access to make updates or deployments. After joining the Satellite, it's just one push, and all the patching is done. And all the datacentres prohibit having external access. So we can create a local repository at our Red Hat Satellite and then push it to other servers, with the option of choosing a specific version to push for all servers.

        Furthermore, the IDM, which is FreeIPA, is great. I appreciate how it makes the management much easier for me, even when managing more than 500 users same time. Like when someone leaves the company or someone joins, it's easier for me to onboard or respond to other things. It makes my system more secure by monitoring all the user's activity, which is another important point since no one can have direct access to the server without being authenticated and authorised by the IDM.

        The Red Hat Satellite makes my life much easier when it comes to managing my Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems for provisioning and patching. At first, we had to access each server to make updates or deployments. After joining the Satellite, it's just one push, and all the patching is done. All this distribution also helps us as we use it on-prem, and all the data centers prohibit external access. So we can create a local registry at our Red Hat Satellite and then push it to other servers without issues regarding version changes.

        I am a big fan of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) built-in security features, which simplify risk reduction and maintaining compliance, and I would just say we achieve 99% success. I remember a few years ago when there was a zero-day attack. Red Hat was the fastest company to respond. We found out about it at six o'clock PM, and the next day at eight AM, they had some fixes and pushed updates. So we could respond directly and implement the fixes. Any security breach with Red Hat, I do not want to speak about others, since we face worse responses from other companies.

        My upgrade or migration plans to stay current involve understanding the concept of OpenShift, which has not yet become very popular in Iraq. I try to keep pushing the client to understand the concept of containers and other things. It will take some time, however, it's a good feature to move ahead with OpenShift containerization. Even with the Central Bank regulation, we have to remain on-prem, thus OpenShift supports this point and offers a flexible solution. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has helped me mitigate downtime and lower risks by about 80%.

        I am a big fan of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) built-in security features, which simplify risk reduction and maintaining compliance, and I would just say we achieve 90% success. I remember a few years ago when there was a zero-day attack. Red Hat was the fastest company to respond. They had some fixes and pushed updates in few hours from discovering the security breach. So we could respond directly and implement the fixes. I don't like to mention the other competitors, since we face worse responses from other companies.

        My upgrade or migration plans to stay current involve understanding the concept of OpenShift, which has not yet become very popular in Iraq. I try to keep pushing the client to understand the concept of containers and other things. It will take some time, however, it's a good feature to move ahead with OpenShift containerization. Even with the Central Bank of Iraq regulation, we have to remain on-prem, thus OpenShift supports this point and offers a flexible solution. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has helped me mitigate downtime and lower risks by about 80%.

        What needs improvement?

        I can't pinpoint something specific to improve Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). I feel they are doing good. I haven't thought much about what they could enhance to become even better for me.

        Currently, I manage an issue not related to the OS. It's more about how to purchase vouchers or training from them. Unfortunately, any MasterCard or Visa card issued by a bank inside Iraq is blocked by Red Hat without a clear reason.

        While other vendors like Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, VMware, Veeam, Nutanix, etc., we can purchase learning and vouchers directly without any issue. Only Red Hat it's blocked, so to solve this, I have to travel to Dubai and buy it outside the country. This is a significant issue for me and all Red Haters in Iraq, and that's why I also develop myself with non-official content and stopped pursuing their certification since I must travel each time I need it.

        For how long have I used the solution?

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

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        Regarding stability and reliability, I didn't face any issues with that. It's 99%. Any issue I face with it is due to some mistake from a colleague or something pushed the wrong script, yet I haven't faced a sudden crash.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales to my company's growing needs very effectively; I didn't face any issues with scalability. Before working in my current company (Red Hat partner), I was a work at a payment gateway company. And we made a successful story by scaling out our datacenter and migrating the version from 6 to 8 without any major issues. Also, we did clustering with Enterprise Linux and other things, and all scalability was good, just requires specific knowledge. That said, it's manageable.

        How are customer service and support?

        In my six years working with Red Hat, I only remember opening cases three times since the technical documentation on the Red Hat site is so comprehensive that if you carefully check it, you often won't need further assistance.

        The support itself is satisfactory, and they solved my issues. They understood my concerns about the side effects of some changes, however, and they were perfect in their response.

        How would you rate customer service and support?

        Positive

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

        I did consider other solutions before or while using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), including Ubuntu, CentOS, and Debian. I am a big fan of Red Hat. This is why I will always choose them. When you love something that much, you just stick with it. That's why I will consistently recommend it to clients as a Red Hat partner.

        How was the initial setup?

        For the first time, it was a little bit complicated. However, once you know how it works, it's very easy.

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

        My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) it's a little bit higher. I suggest that if they could make the price more affordable, it would be great. Some clients are just startups and when opening a budget with Red Hat, it doesn't cover what they need. Perhaps they could create a specific version for startup companies or offer discounts for first-time users.

        What other advice do I have?

        On a scale of one to ten, I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) a ten out of ten.

        Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

        On-premises

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

        Other
        Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partnership
        PeerSpot user
        Buyer's Guide
        Download our free Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
        Updated: September 2026
        Buyer's Guide
        Download our free Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.