Compare Oracle Linux vs. Red Hat Linux (RHEL)
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros | |
"Oracle Linux is very compatible with other platforms." "The stability is excellent and the initial setup is easy." "Once installed, the product is good, I like it. The core of the software is really good." | "The solution has features that simplify adoption for non-Linux users. There is an interface that you can activate on RHEL systems, and on other Linux systems as well, so that you will get a graphical user interface instead of just a shell. It's easier for an administrator who is used to only working on Windows." "Its security is the most valuable. It is very stable and has many features. It also has good performance. Some of our clients were using Windows servers and products. I suggested Red Hat Linux to them and described the features. They switched to it, and they really loved it. There were around 50 servers in my last company, and they switched all those servers from Windows to Red Hat. I used to manage those servers." "Customer support is valuable." |
Cons | |
"I think they should also pay more attention to the open-source community." "It would be ideal if they added a faster implementation of the security fixes, if possible." "The installation documentation needs to be improved" | "Sometimes they don't have new versions for applications like Apache or PHP. I understand it's because they have to have support for them, so they can't have the latest version all the time, but that's the main thing I see that could be improved." "It is mostly better than other solutions. However, it is sometimes difficult for disaster recovery, so we have to plan accordingly." "Their pricing and documentation can be improved." |
Pricing and Cost Advice | |
"Nowadays, Oracle is very open toward price negotiation; they negotiate well with their clients" | "In terms of the solution’s single subscription and install repository for all types of systems, we can have as many RHEL installations as we want because we have a specific subscription that entitles us to have as many RHEL services as we want. We pay for a subscription and with that we get RHEL and Satellite as well." "Red Hat Linux is inexpensive. Linux solutions are generally inexpensive." "RHEL is expensive." |
 Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Operating Systems (OS) for Business solutions are best for your needs. 455,301 professionals have used our research since 2012. | |||
Answers from the Community | |||
See all 13 answers » | |||
Questions from the Community | |||
Top Answer: Read this blog post as well ->
Oracle Linux / Linux for Oracle Database / Why?
http://ermanarslan.blogspot.com/2020/01/oracle-linux-linux-for-oracle-database.html | Ask a question Earn 20 points | ||
Ranking  | |||
Views 21,914 Comparisons 16,384 Reviews 3 Average Words per Review 508 Rating 7.3 | Views 22,202 Comparisons 19,808 Reviews 2 Average Words per Review 972 Rating 8.5 | ||
Popular Comparisons | |||
 Compared 25% of the time.  Compared 23% of the time.  Compared 15% of the time.  Compared 6% of the time.  Compared 3% of the time. | Compared 46% of the time. Compared 14% of the time. Compared 5% of the time. Compared 4% of the time. Compared 3% of the time. | ||
Also Known As | |||
| Oracle Enterprise Linux | Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL | ||
Learn | |||
| Oracle | Red Hat | ||
Overview | |||
Oracle Linux and Oracle Virtualization are powerful open source foundation products optimized for building both Private and Public Cloud Infrastructure. They provide a secure, scalable, and flexible platform for running both legacy and next generation Cloud Native Applications. As the foundation for Oracle’s Public and Managed Clouds, customers benefit from the comprehensive co-engineering which ensures a robust and highly manageable platform that is battle-tested in one of the worlds largest public clouds.. Unlike many other commercial Linux distributions, Oracle Linux is easy to download and completely free to use, free to distribute, and free to update. And Oracle Linux Support levels are simple and low cost, featuring Premier lifetime support, access to additional management tools such as Oracle Enterprise Manager, zero-downtime kernel updates using Ksplice, and access to award-winning Oracle support resources and customer support specialists. For more information on Oracle Linux, visit Oracle.com/linux and see a whitepaper here | To put your enterprise in a position to win, you have to break down the barriers that hold you back. With Red Hat Enterprise Linux, a platform with unparalleled stability and flexibility, you can reallocate your resources toward meeting the next challenges instead of just maintaining the status quo. | ||
Offer | |||
Learn more about Oracle Linux | Learn more about Red Hat Linux (RHEL) | ||
Sample Customers | |||
| See here | Travel Channel | ||
Top Industries | |||
Retailer14% Comms Service Provider14% Computer Software Company14% Financial Services Firm10% Computer Software Company34% Comms Service Provider25% Government7% Manufacturing Company5% | Financial Services Firm29% Security Firm14% Computer Software Company14% Manufacturing Company14% Computer Software Company34% Comms Service Provider23% Government8% Manufacturing Company6% | ||
Company Size | |||
Small Business32% Midsize Enterprise8% Large Enterprise59% | Small Business33% Midsize Enterprise17% Large Enterprise50% | ||
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Linux vs. Red Hat Linux (RHEL) and other solutions. Updated: January 2021.
455,301 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Oracle Linux is ranked 5th in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 4 reviews while Red Hat Linux (RHEL) is ranked 4th in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 3 reviews. Oracle Linux is rated 7.6, while Red Hat Linux (RHEL) is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Oracle Linux writes "Offers leading performance and security for hybrid and multi-cloud deployments". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Red Hat Linux (RHEL) writes "Allows us to offer our customers an easier way to get a WordPress site or to have POSTGRES or Tomcat installations". Oracle Linux is most compared with CentOS, Ubuntu Linux, Oracle Solaris, SUSE Linux Enterprise and Windows Server, whereas Red Hat Linux (RHEL) is most compared with SUSE Linux Enterprise, Windows Server, Oracle Solaris, Windows 10 and Ubuntu Linux. See our Oracle Linux vs. Red Hat Linux (RHEL) report.
See our list of best Operating Systems (OS) for Business vendors.
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.
Oracle Linux with little effort (adjustments) can enhance the Oracle DB Performance. And most of the Oracle Products are tested under it.
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 ? -> https://www.itcentralstation.com/product_reviews/oracle-linux-review-42176-by-it_user600741
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.
https://www.muylinux.com/2019/07/22/oracle-linux-8/