We compared Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Rocky Linux based on our user's reviews in several parameters.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is highly praised for its containerization capability, in-place upgrade ease, reliability, and scalability. Its comprehensive documentation, security features, and support services are valued by users. In contrast, Rocky Linux is commended for profitability, stability, and security, with seamless migration from other operating systems. Users appreciate its reliability, customer service, and compatibility with CentOS, although some recommend enhancements in system compatibility, user interface, startup times, package management, multimedia support, and customization options. Both operating systems offer favorable pricing, setup costs, and licensing terms, with RHEL delivering exceptional ROI, while Rocky Linux provides strong support and regular updates.
Features: The valuable features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) include containerization capability, in-place upgrade, reliability and stability, Podman and package management, copious documentation, longevity and stability, security features, SELinux, scalability and ease of setup, specification and technical guides. On the other hand, Rocky Linux is praised for its stability, reliability, security, long-term support, regular updates, ease of installation, intuitive user interface, compatibility with CentOS, and seamless migration process.
Pricing and ROI: The setup cost of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is reported to be straightforward and hassle-free, allowing for smooth implementation. On the other hand, users find the setup cost of Rocky Linux to be minimal, making the installation process smooth and hassle-free., The ROI from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) was highly positive, with cost-effectiveness, scalability, and reliability highlighted. Rocky Linux also offered profitability, cost-effectiveness, enhanced productivity, impressive performance, and stability.
Room for Improvement: Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has room for improvement in system compatibility, user interface, startup and shutdown times, package management, multimedia support, customization options, updates and upgrades transition, and documentation. Users have also provided feedback on areas where Rocky Linux could be enhanced.
Deployment and customer support: The user feedback indicates that the duration required to establish a new tech solution in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) involves separate phases such as deployment, setup, or implementation. However, in Rocky Linux, some users reported spending three months on deployment and an additional week on setup, while others mentioned spending a week for both., The customer service and support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) have been praised for their prompt and satisfactory assistance. Users appreciate the reliability and knowledge of the support team. The customer service of Rocky Linux receives positive remarks for its prompt assistance and helpfulness. Users commend the timely responses and expert guidance provided by the support staff. Overall, customers express satisfaction with Rocky Linux's customer service.
The summary above is based on 151 interviews we conducted recently with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Rocky Linux users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"I like the speed of the OS data and the ease of Ansible automation. I don't need to spend much time managing everything."
"Technical support is excellent."
"Its scalability and ease of setup and configuration are most valuable. When we have a hardware failure, we just save the configuration files, and in about half an hour, we have another server running with the same configuration. It is really easy to replace servers. This is the best feature."
"The security updates and the support that comes along with it for applications are valuable."
"I like its user-friendliness for the admins administering the servers and the ease of doing fix packs on the servers and upgrades with the Red Hat software. It saves time and cost because we don't need to have expensive hires to do the work. We can do it ourselves a lot of times. It's a pretty straightforward, easy-to-learn, and user-friendly operating system."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 updates the Cipher Suites and the security proceeds it. I wasn't pleasantly surprised because a bunch of our server communication didn't work. Having the Cipher Suites updated is a good thing but was not convenient."
"The Red Hat support is most valuable. My team and I are really good at Linux, and we can do almost everything in any kind of Linux solution, but sometimes, we have a really nasty problem, and the Red Hat engineering support at the third level has been fantastic. They know how to fix almost everything. The reason why I pay so much money to them is to have this kind of service and assurance."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is easy to manage, update, and integrate. I also like Red Hat Enterprise Linux's built-in security features. You need to enable them by default or keep them enabled if you want your system to be secured. It protects most of the system components."
"It's very simple to work with, easy to learn, and know where things are."
"I haven't needed to use customer service or support, which speaks volumes about their product's reliability and ease of use."
"It helps us keep our workstations in sync and ensures consistent settings across most of our machines."
"We had issues migrating from the old to the new RHEL version in the virtual environment. It forced us to spin up a new virtual environment to have the new RHEL version."
"The product should provide a portal to manage licenses."
"I have seen that the upgrade from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8 can be a bit problematic since I have seen some issues during the upgrade of libraries, along with some conflicts with the other libraries in the tool."
"The biggest thing that the solution could introduce is an even slimmer version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux."
"The DNF package manager could be improved."
"The labor required to maintain the on-premises storage systems has room for improvement."
"I want RHEL to stick to the open-source routes. As a company, we experience challenges in managing the budget."
"The cockpit server doesn't work and is useless. I don't like the images shown in GCP. I prefer the ones in AWS. It seems like the solution is in tune with what we deploy on the private cloud."
"In terms of improvement, Rocky Linux needs to clarify its identity and target audience."
"One of the potential issues is that if you don't pay for support, you may need to manage certain aspects on your own and rely on the community for assistance."
"The solution's audio integration for virtual machines could be improved."
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is ranked 1st in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 167 reviews while Rocky Linux is ranked 11th in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 3 reviews. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is rated 8.8, while Rocky Linux is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) writes "Highly stable, good knowledge base, and reasonable price". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Rocky Linux writes "Very simple to work with, easy to learn, and has a competitive pricing". Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is most compared with Windows Server, Ubuntu Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise, Windows 10 and Oracle Solaris, whereas Rocky Linux is most compared with Ubuntu Linux, Oracle Linux, openSUSE Leap, SUSE Linux Enterprise and Windows 10. See our Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. Rocky Linux report.
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