Oracle Linux Reviews

The most valuable features are:

• It’s free.
• Kernel 4.x.
• RPM-based.
• RedHat clone.
• Support for Spacewalk.
• Easy and stable upgrades.

We use Oracle Linux for all Oracle database servers.

Updates are very slow in our part of world (Slovenia). Now, we use Spacewalk for distribution of updates, but replication to Spacewalk is slow.

I have been using Oracle Linux for seven years.

We have not encountered stability issues.

We have not encountered scalability issues.

I have never used support for Oracle Linux.

We are still using RHEL 5.x, 6.x and 7.x, SLES 9,10 and 11 and CentOS 6.x and 7.x.

Setup is straightforward.

I recommend Oracle Linux to everyone who needs the stability of RHEL and the newest kernel.

We did not evaluate alternatives.

Just use it.

It provides us with templates and Oracle-validated configurations that allows quicker install and configuration of Oracle Database software.

The existence of Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is special adjusted for the best performance of Oracle software. It updates the OS using Ksplice.

We have no downtime for OS upgrades, hence customer production isn't affected, and we have no security breaches and higher performance of Oracle stack software due to its usage of Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel.

Although Btrfs does a great job, I would like to see ZFS being part of future distributions.

Also, a distributed replicated block device (DRBD) feature would better provide a sort of mirroring over a network of block devices, becoming a superset of Oracle Database Data Guard for a range of applications with storage residing on related block devices.

From another perspective, the adjustments needed for implementing a powerful PPPoE server (PPP over Ethernet) in a similar way, what the guys from Mikrotik (www.mikrotik.com) did for X86 platforms (also starting from Linux kernel) could be interesting. Imagine how secure the connection to related OS using PPPoE would be, the simplicity of routing in the environment, and many more advantages.

We've been using it for two years.

For small and medium clients, there were no issues with deployment. For larger enterprises, Oracle VM is preferred.

For small and medium clients, there were no issues with stability. For larger enterprises, Oracle VM is preferred.

For small and medium clients there were no issues with scalability. For larger enterprises, Oracle VM is preferred.

They get an A for the outstanding customer service and technical support.

We had to choose this solution in order to have the technology used on the same line. Since Oracle Databases is the market leader, as well as other successful software platforms on the stack, the OS from the same provider needed to be considered and analyzed in-depth from technical and cost perspectives also. To keep the answer short, the balance leaned towards Oracle Linux and Oracle Solaris.

The initial setup was straightforward. The fact that the images can be freely downloaded from OTN allowed us to set up a lab environment and perform initial simulations of the targeted environment. The large number of existing templates saved lots of time for “in-depth” documentation, adjustments, configurations, and so on. Since the testing provided more than sufficient positive signs, the solution was chosen.

The operating system implementations were in-house. There is no need for a vendor team to perform the OS install once you have in-house system administrators with needed skills. Related skills can be quickly gathered by professionals familiar with various Linux flavors, and certification for Oracle Linux can be achieved by taking a rather simple exam in one of the many Pearson Vue centers. I've heard that for other Linux distributions the process isn’t as simple.

Yes, RedHat Enterprise Linux 6.5, but improvements in Oracle Linux and better support price incline the balance to that one.

My advice is to act on the pattern: Plan – Do – Check – Act. From the way the question is formulated, the first step is done. They should now download the product, install an in-lab environment along with the related applications, check how the framework responds to the specific needs, and make the Go / No-Go decision. My estimation is that for most cases the Go decision will be taken, but that can depends on specific other elements.

Another advice is to have one person providing infrastructure support with at least one Oracle Certification in this area, so easy issues become solved in agile style.

For me, I like that fact that Oracle Linux is very similar, of course, to CentOS and Red Hat. Plus, Application Testing Suit makes it a lot more customizable for us. We're also able to monitor it with our software. These features make Oracle Linux very simple with very little configuration changes needed.

When we work with customers who are more Oracle-based, then Oracle Linux seems to follow more along the lines of what they want to do. The licensing is simpler because they usually don't have to go to VMware, Microsoft, or any other company to get different things. The functionalities they need are already built-in.

The installation needs some improvements because, as my admins have told me, it's a little bit tedious compared to others. Also, it takes a little bit of time to actually find files, download them, and install them. That kind of goes for anything with Oracle in that unless you know exactly where to go, it can take a bit of time. But once it's installed, it just works.

We've had no issues with the deployment.

A handful of customers that are using it haven't had any issues with the stability.

We have been able to scale using Linux just fine.

I would say that the initial setup is pretty much straightforward. It falls along the lines of the others. Some of the newer versions of other flavors of Linux make it a little bit simpler, but overall it's straightforward and we've hadn't had any trouble once it's been installed.

We implemented it ourselves with our in-house team.

I would probably have them explain, at least to themselves, what they're going to use it for, what applications are going to be running on it. And if it's going to be Database or something more Oracle-based, it's going to be great for that. If it's going to be something else, it may not be the best fit, depending on exactly what they are going to do with it.

The most valuable feature for us with Oracle's Linux product is the online kernel patching.

It gives us the ability to cover kernel bugs by using Oracle Ksplice online patching. The best part is that we can do this whole process without any unnecessary downtime.

In terms of improvement, from my experience the documentation and resources are not complete and I sometimes have to refer to Red Hat for Linux documentation.

Also, because we use HP servers, the drivers for Oracle Linux are not complete yet.

I've been using Oracle Linux for about four years.

I've had no issues with the deployment.

I've had no issues with the stability.

There have been no issues scaling it for my needs.

I'd say that technical support is good.

For the initial setup, you need some expertise to configure a good and stable system.

I perform all Oracle Linux implementations myself. The most important point that I've found is to plan, plan, plan, and then deploy.

The price is good.

• Performance – Running on an operating system that is optimized for Oracle software provides significant performance gains.
• Stability – Oracle Linux provides a far more stable platform than Microsoft Windows.
• Supportability – Oracle releases security fixes and bug fixes first on Oracle Linux. Environments are more secure and easier to support.
• Cost – Oracle Linux is roughly half the cost when compared to other comparable Linux distributions.

When designing a new Oracle database platform, Oracle Linux provides built-in benefits for database customers that are not available on any other platform. This has improved the performance, availability, scalability, and security of our architecture.

While the Oracle Linux software is perfectly suited for our needs, the related support processes within Oracle can often be challenging. Having your ticket routed to a capable support engineer can involve several escalations, and there is then a risk that the ticket is transferred to another engineer when the original person’s shift ends, often resulting in a frustrating process of answering many of the same questions again.

Similarly, the time to receive a bug fix can often be longer than in open-source equivalents. Therefore, we always recommend that Oracle Linux implementations are handled with an experienced Oracle Partner, specialized in Linux, who can supplement Oracle’s own support structures with a deeper level of expertise and faster response.

We have used this solution for seven years.

We hit a couple of bugs in the early days of Oracle Linux 5 but in the last few years, the platform has been extremely stable.

The platform is extremely scalable, either in a virtualized fashion or by using the available clustering technology.

I would rate the support provided as a 6 our of 10, due to some slow responses and some delays on getting senior, experienced technical support personnel engaged.

In the past, we had primarily used either Oracle Solaris or Red Hat Enterprise Linux as a standard. Oracle Linux provided a more-agile, easy-to-deploy platform than Solaris, at a lower cost than Red Hat, and including optimizations not available in either of the previous platforms.

The initial setup is very straightforward for a basic server. However, there are complex configurations that can (and should) be added in for enterprise-level environments to provide better performance, stability, and redundancy.

Oracle Linux is roughly half the cost in terms of licensing and support when compared to other comparable Linux distributors.

We had primarily been using Red Hat Linux in the past. We also evaluated SUSE Linux and CentOS.

While it is very straightforward to set up an Oracle Linux server, seek advice from experienced Oracle Partners to ensure that your new servers are customized and optimized to provide the performance, availability, and redundancy you need.

As a DBA, I prefer Oracle Linux as it is fine tuned to run Oracle databases. I can easily install pre-requisite packages using pre-install rpms. ASMLib is pre-installed with Oracle Linux.

Most of the patches are publicly available and free via public repositories. Any application that is certified in Red Hat Enterprise Linux is certified in Oracle Linux by default, as they both share the same source code.

Desktop environments should be designed better. Red Hat Enterprise Linux's desktop environments are much better.

I have been using Oracle Linux for 3.5 years.

We have never had stability issues.

We have not had scalability issues.

Technical support gets 3.5/5.

I was using AIX, Solaris, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The main reason for switching was that Oracle Linux is much cheaper compared to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Setup was straightforward.

Oracle Linux itself is free. But, if you need support, you need to purchase a support license. Following is the price range:

• US$500 for a 2-socket server.
• US$1600 for unlimited number of CPUs in a machine.

I have worked on AIX, Solaris, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The UEK kernel is optimized for Oracle databases, Oracle applications, and Oracle engineered systems. So, go for it.

Native support with Oracle database and these features:

• OCFS2 (Clustered File System): Open-source alternative to proprietary cluster file systems.
• Ksplice: Apply patches to the kernel without rebooting the system; zero downtime for critical security updates.
• Dtrace: Excellent diagnostic tool for analysis and troubleshooting ported from Sun Solaris.
• Docker containers: Full support, framework optimized and integrated with WebLogic Server Docker containers.
• Btrfs: Detects file system corruption and fixes it; improves backup operations and improves file system and storage capacity by reducing disk seeks and disk I/O operations.

Each month, my team makes a full update of the environment, including: Windows system, databases, Linux system and network systems. We reduced the downtime considerably on our Oracle databases by using Ksplice on our Linux systems.

Hardware vendors certified by Oracle for installing Oracle Linux are: Dell, HPE and Oracle. The product needs to be certified by more vendors to gain more clients and increase the size of market share.

I started using this solution four years ago.

I have not had any stability issues. My databases servers have been up since the last maintenance and there have been no issues during the business day.

I own a RAC cluster with two nodes. It is a medium-size environment supported by Oracle Linux. Scalability never was a problem in my scenario.

Technical support is technically good, but the response time is high. It can take up to weeks to actually solve the problem.

We used Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but licensing costs with Oracle VM decreased significantly, which motivated the change.

Setup was very complex, using cluster resources and fine tuning at the OS level to improve performance.

If possible, use Oracle VM; prices decrease absurdly!

I didn’t evaluate any other options, because we use Oracle Linux only for Oracle databases. And the Oracle database was in Red Hat and was supported only for two OSs available for my employer: Red Hat and Oracle Linux.

Study and learn about the Red Hat kernel and follow the news releases on the manufacturer site. Read the rich manual that Oracle offers.

It’s a good product. It’s Linux.

Oracle Linux is Red Hat Linux is Linux. It is a good and evolving platform that is an excellent base for today’s world where uptime and commodity hardware are the expected norm.

Linux is a cost effective substitute for Unix.

Support could be improved.

I have been using Oracle Linux for over five years.

Of course, we have had stability issues. Linux is a work in progress.

We have not had any scalability issues.

I rate technical support 3/5. The support for Oracle Linux is effective for less difficult problems. We had problems with support when an engineering level of review was required; Oracle basically said they couldn’t help.

We were using Red Hat Linux. We went to Oracle because of licensing problems. We went back to Red Hat because of support problems.

Setup is somewhat complex. It’s Linux.

Oracle Linux saves money, but it is at the expense of support.

We evaluated Red Hat Linux.

Support for difficult problems is lacking.