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.
"Errata is the most valuable feature, which is supported by Red Hat."
"It's been great since we have it. It's been reliable and fast."
"We also use Ansible. Ansible is a wonderful tool for automation. We use it to automate our patching. We use Ansible to get playbooks to take care of anything that's manual."
"It is a good operating system. It is very stable. It does not take a lot of maintenance. You set it up well and it runs."
"The solution has good availability and is easy to use."
"The support and the stability are Red Hat Enterprise Linux's most valuable areas."
"I like its integrations. I would put it higher than any other Linux version when it comes to availability. Its integrations with different applications and solutions are the best. We work with a lot of clients that use RHEL, and we could easily and quickly integrate any cloud solution, virtualization solution, storage solution, or software with the RHEL system. It is better than the other solutions we have worked with."
"The product is optimized for resource utilization."
"It is very useful, and it is easy to use."
"The performance is very good."
"The active directory that the server provides is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"As I said, it was the the simplicity of the solution. It's easy to use or easy to identify what company's been what beneficial for the company, would be I guess it was easy to distinguish what we needed or what Perfect."
"PowerShell is a great feature of the solution."
"I have found Windows Server to be easy to use and the performance to be good."
"The scalability it offers is great."
"The platform generates a return on investment in terms of stability."
"I really think that the upgrade policies between the major versions, like from from RHEL 5 to RHEL 6, should be much easier, similar to what is in place for upgrading from RHEL 6 to RHEL 6.8."
"Large application vendors may not have certified RHEL, or they have certified an older version. Most of the large application vendors are unfamiliar with the versioning that RHEL introduced, which I strongly support. They will support a given sub-version up to a point, not realizing that the sub-versions are essentially additive."
"The solution lacks proper documentation."
"I'm also using IBM AIX, which supports a tool called Smitty. You just put Smitty, and you can do anything. At the backend, the command will run automatically. It is not exactly like a GUI, but you just give the input and it will give you the output. That is something that Red Hat should work on. That would be an added advantage with Red Hat."
"The solution should be made more secure."
"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."
"Red Hat Enterprise Linux should provide more training because many people are not very familiar with Linux's user interface."
"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."
"There should be the ability to add other databases to be installed and configured instead of going to other virtual machines. They should be better integrated so they are all in one place."
"They could make it more company-specific to some of the tools that we use."
"The solution should improve its stability."
"The solution could improve by being more user-friendly."
"Windows Server needs to improve stability and pricing."
"We've had a few minor compatibility issues."
"The solution needs container compatibility."
"A typical user will find implementing it on their own difficult."
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is ranked 1st in Operating Systems (OS) for Business with 167 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, CentOS and Windows 11. See our Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. Windows Server 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.
