We performed a comparison between Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows Server based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Users of Windows Server 2016 feel that it is a very user-friendly solution. Furthermore, they note that its active directory feature is highly valuable. They also note that it is highly scalable. However, many users feel that its security capabilities could be greatly improved. They also feel that the graphical interface could be better.
Comparison of Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Red Hat Enterprise Linux seems to be a slightly superior solution. All other things being more or less equal, our reviewers found Windows Server 2016 rather expensive to purchase and not as secure as it should be.
"Its stability is most valuable. Its administrative aspect is also good. It is relatively easy to administer."
"The most valuable features of using RHEL for us are the standard way to run Linux and tools like NetworkManager. They make things easier for us."
"The features and tools help us to maintain security overall."
"We have support. If we have any issues with the distro, we can call their support team."
"We use this product's built-in tracing and monitoring tools such as syslog and SAR (system activity reporter) to provide us with greater insight and visibility into what's going on."
"We're very happy with the amount of security customization we've been able to do with RHEL. The fact that Red Hat is really on top of security issues is also valuable. We get daily emails from Red Hat letting us know of possible issues and fixes, which is incredibly helpful for us."
"The most valuable features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are the mobile applications and getting real-time notifications."
"This is a very robust product that doesn't require a lot of handling. It just works."
"The biggest advantage of Windows Server is the services. It offers the ability to configure services, so your application can run on a Windows Server."
"Setting up Windows Server is pretty straightforward. It takes anywhere from a few hours to a day. One person can do it if it's not a complex environment."
"The most valuable features I have found to be the flexibility and wide range of support training available."
"The platform generates a return on investment in terms of stability."
"When we deploy this operating system, we're primarily focused on managing virtual environments. There are different parts like the directory, data storage, and CPU usage which are really useful. We also compare it to other parts like group policy, all of which are related to users. Currently, I find that users are very involved when it comes to these applications or servers on the two other links."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is it works well overall."
"Overall, Windows Server 2016 provides a stable environment for some of the very large workloads that it is subjected to in our organization, and it is very easy to use."
"What I like most about Windows Server is that it's easy to use."
"The only change that stumped me was the networking in version 9. I preferred the ifconfig way of doing things, but the system changes of it have grown on me."
"If they can make the integration with Ansible easier, that would be ideal."
"Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization isn't up to the mark as compared to VMware and Hyper-V, but they're moving everything on OpenShift for containers and virtual machines, which is stable. If you go into the virtualization layer, they still need to improve a lot of things, but with regards to OpenShift, containers, Docker, and other things, they are doing well."
"It would be very good if we can easily migrate from CentOS to Red Hat. We are about to move from CentOS to Red Hat. It would be great if they can give us a free version. Otherwise, we need to purchase licenses, which are quite expensive."
"The labor required to maintain the on-premises storage systems has room for improvement."
"As a developer, I would like to have access to this software so that I can install the tools that I need."
"The Authselect tool needs improvement. This tool is used to connect your system to an identity provider or directory service, e.g., openLDAP. There is documentation and descriptions. While there are a few use cases and examples described, it is sometimes hard to use these tools to set up the configuration that we need for our specific environment. I would like it if there was more general information about the tool, not just describing a use case. For example, here is how to do it and how to connect to some kind of openLDAP service as well as more information about when you need to configure certificate services and mutual authentication."
"I believe it would be beneficial to notify the customer in advance of any planned maintenance so that we can better coordinate and plan our customer interactions accordingly."
"The security is not good."
"There are lots of improvements that can be brought by Microsoft, although for us Windows Server works mostly as expected. For how we're using Windows Server, security is a top priority, so when talking security, it can always be improved upon, no matter what."
"The security should be improved."
"Windows Server needs to introduce more dashboards."
"We are waiting for the solution to be more secure and more stable."
"Windows Server could be improved with cheaper licensing costs."
"The scalability could be improved a bit."
"The security policies need improvement."
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is ranked 1st in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 179 reviews while Windows Server is ranked 4th in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 180 reviews. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is rated 8.8, while Windows Server is rated 8.0. 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 Windows Server writes "Easy to setup, stable and caters to my wide range of use cases but lacks user-friendly interface". Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is most compared with Ubuntu Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise, Windows 10, CentOS and Oracle Linux, whereas Windows Server is most compared with Ubuntu Linux, Windows 10, Oracle Linux, Windows 11 and CentOS. See our Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. Windows Server report.
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