We performed a comparison between Oracle Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux RHEL based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison of Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Oracle Linux seems to be the superior solution. Our reviewers feel that the question concerning whether or not Red Hat Enterprise Linux is easy to deploy, the difficulty that it has integrating with non- Red Hat solutions, and the fact that it is upstream from Oracle Linux make Oracle Linux a better investment.
"It's very useful for hosting other Oracle products."
"The speed is quite good."
"There are several valuable features in Oracle Linux. For example, it's very secure and stable. You don't have to reboot it frequently."
"We don't have any failing cases. Oracle releases regular hot patches, so we don't have many difficulties."
"One of the main features of this solution is it is secure."
"The product is 99.99% stable."
"It is a stable solution. We rarely face any issues with the machine."
"I feel the stability to be the solution's best feature."
"By implementing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we wanted to solve some of the reboot problems of Windows. Every patch on Windows affected our applications because the system had to be rebooted. Red Hat Enterprise Linux has improved the uptime of the applications."
"The solution’s security feature is the most valuable feature for my company."
"The solution's stability is great, and patching it with Ansible is very easy."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux has a good file system type and good kernels."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a reliable operating system that can run for long periods of time without any issues."
"The solution's SELinux feature is a gold standard for security. It also has the best ecosystem."
"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 thing about Red Hat is its stability, uptime, and support for various hardware vendors. Linux servers, in general, are relatively secure and they are more secure than Windows and other products."
"They should increase security."
"Another notable aspect that could be improved is minor compatibility with Red Hat."
"Time drifts happen frequently, and the database restarts automatically to protect data integrity."
"It does not have any reporting on attempted intrusions."
"The tool’s user interface needs to improve."
"Performance can always be improved."
"I think the pricing could be improved to be more competitive."
"It could be easier to reach a higher support level."
"There's too much information on the support page sometimes."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux's patching process needs improvement, particularly in achieving consistency. Currently, when you patch, you might not have control over the timing, leading to different software packages ending up at different patch levels. This lack of consistency can make it challenging to manage and control the various components effectively."
"An area for improvement in RHEL has to do with security policies. I know they are doing something about this in RHEL 9, but I haven't worked with that version yet. When it comes to security policies in RHEL 8, it is a bit behind. It would be better if we could just enforce a certain security policy such as CIS Level 1. That was not available, out-of-the-box, in RHEL 8."
"Maybe they need to make it easier to apply patches from different resources. That said, at my level of usage, I never have to apply patches."
"A feature that I would like to see in the image builder is the ability to open the image in live mode and access a command line interface."
"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."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux should provide more training because many people are not very familiar with Linux's user interface."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a little expensive for some customers who don't have the budget. It depends on the client. They can save money by not purchasing some of the added packages and services. If the client has a budget of $10 million, we can go for the whole bundle."
More Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Pricing and Cost Advice →
Oracle Linux is ranked 3rd in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 109 reviews while Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is ranked 1st in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 167 reviews. Oracle Linux is rated 8.4, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Oracle Linux writes "The operational system is the best and is packed with free features like CapsLive". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) writes "Highly stable, good knowledge base, and reasonable price". Oracle Linux is most compared with Ubuntu Linux, CentOS, Rocky Linux, Oracle Solaris and Windows Server, whereas Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is most compared with Ubuntu Linux, Windows Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise, Windows 10 and Rocky Linux. See our Oracle Linux vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) report.
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We monitor all Operating Systems (OS) for Business reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
I have been working on both Linux (RHEL from RedHat and OLE from Oracle) in many projects for more than 10 years now.
firstly, RHEL is the main Linux Distribution whereas OLE is just a clone version of RHEL with some enhancements in Kernel to makes it more compatible with Oracle hardware and software.
secondly, there is no point to use OLE in heterogeneous Data Centers which they are equipped with multi-brand hardware.
Third, Oracle's policies regarding open source projects are unacceptable. As far as I can remember, projects such as Open Solaris, OpenOffice, and etc were owned by Oracle disappeared. Moreover, Oracle releases OLE to keep its product list complete on the other hand Oracle Linux fans are most people and companies that work with Oracle products. And the lack of knowledge in the Linux field leads to accepting Oracle's recommendations that my Linux works better and should be used. Based on my experience in various projects as a Linux expert and SAN storage admins with an expert colleague in the Oracle database have obtained interesting results.
These projects have used OLE, RHEL, and CentOS Linux with IBM or HP servers also EMC, HPE or Hitachi storage.
And we found that:
1-RHEL Linux is better compatible with different hardware.
2-Not only are RHEL Documents more clear but also Red Hat has better support compared to Oracle.
3-RHEL and CentOS have better repositories and quicker security patching compared to OLE.
Finally, Red Hat (RHEL, CentOS, Fedora) communities are much greater and active than the Oracle Linux community.
Hi Nawazish,
I have worked with both products. I strongly recommend Oracle Enterprise Linux.
The reasons are as follows :
1. Oracle Enterprise Linux has some key features which are suitable for running enterprise class workloads. KSplice is one of such key feature.
2. If you are planning to run Oracle database / MiddleWare / E-Business on Intel/ Linux then select Oracle Linux. Because you get one support portal "Metalink" to manage your support issues for all the software components. In case you run RHEL, you will end up in managing Oracle and RHEL support separately.
3. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) runs on Oracle Linux, and Oracle Exadata runs on Oracle Linux. In case you plan to migrate your Oracle workload to Oracle Cloud (OCI) or Exadata in future, the migration will be seamless.
4. Oracle has announced Autonomous Linux during Oracle Open World few weeks back. I am sure they will get all Autonomous features in Oracle Linux in future versions.
5. Commercially Oracle Linux gives you better price as compared to RHEL. Simply compare Oracle Linux Standard Edition with Ref Hat Linux with 24x7 support and you will understand the difference. This is because Oracle Linux support comes from Oracle Metalink 24x7 by default. Thats not the case with Red Hat
Let me know in case you need additional help.
Thanks
Shrikant
Hi, Did you see this Oracle Linux review ? -> www.itcentralstation.com
Is the information given in that review enough for satisfying your curiosity? If not, please update.
Just the location of the repository for the most part. If you're running Oracle databases on RHEL I recommend purchasing Oracle X-8 hardware and running Oracle Enterprise linux instead, you will save a lot of money in the long run.
The biggest advantages OEL has is that if you buy the Oracle hardware you get support for the OS for free. If you run databases on Oracle hardware your core licensing costs are usually cut in half. Oracle Linux on Oracle hardware also allows for the use of OVM (like vmware) The main disadvantage of the OVM over VMware is that the OVM software is still underdeveloped a little and requires a little more effort for disk functions.
Oracle Linux is developed by Oracle Corp. Oracle ULN (unbreakable Linux (UEK) as they call it, has come into existence since the time Oracle started to invest in Cloud computing. It is again Kernel-based under GNU license. It is now majorly used in Oracle cloud platforms and Oracle Exadata or Oracle Database appliance.
RHEL Linux is developed by Red Hat which also uses Kernel-based under GNU license. RHEL can be used in local desktop, servers and also it can be used on IBM mainframe Hardware (Z13/Z14) as Zlinux and LINUXONE platform as well. They both have similar interfaces (GNOME) except Oracle has KDE as well. Moreover, they use the same terminology and commands to execute on their Linux versions. Oracle Linux uses RPM packages where RHEL Linux using RPM as well as YUM packages and both support containerization and dockerization.
Oracle Linux is best suited for Oracle products because of its support and compatibility with the Oracle products.
Hi Nawazish,
I have experiences with both products and both companies.
Both Linux distributions are binary compatible with very similar functions and utilities. The same is also CentOS, that is build on the same source codes.
I choose RHEL for:
1. better support (at least for problems that I faced with)
2. quicker security patching
3. additional products that are build on RHEL (RHEV, Middleware products, GlusterFS)
I'm not sure about the performance of Oracle DB on Oracle Linux with comparing to RHEL. I would like to see some independent performance analysis.
I like Red Hat more as a company, because It is not Evil like Oracle. I have very bad experience with Oracle products licensing and software audit.
These is the reasons, why I chose the RHEL.
Regards,
Petr
I share this article with you, the publication is from this year, where this difference is explained. I hope this information is useful.
www.muylinux.com
Oracle Linux is RHEL, rebranded. It includes the Oracle Unbreakable Kernel which you can read about on the Oracle website. I have found no practical extra value from it.
Redhat support of the Redhat OS is better than Oracle support on a Redhat OS.