Oracle Linux is mainly used for deploying Oracle databases. It can be used for a multitude of other functions. There are modules that can be implemented on systems to cater to your organization's needs.
Cyber security manager at Apparel
Highly secure, frequently updated, and great technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are performance, frequent update patches, and security."
- "The solution could improve by giving the client or customer more control."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are performance, frequent update patches, and security.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by giving the client or customer more control.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately five years.
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August 2025

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be scalable. They have other options available, such as cloud and hybrid versions.
How are customer service and support?
If you have premium technical support it is great, they have been responsive in solving our issues.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is easy, there are readily available reference guides you can utilize to complete the installation. It took approximately two hours to complete the install.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment and maintenance are done by vendor teams.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license required for this solution and we are on an annual license.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others.
I rate Oracle Linuxan eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Data Solution Architect at Econet Wireless Zimbabwe
Easy to install, stable and scalable, with good support
Pros and Cons
- "The good thing about Oracle Linux is that it's free, as long as you don't want support."
- "They should increase security."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution internally to develop our systems.
Our developers work in another section to develop the data center. We provide services to the developers and other business units.
What is most valuable?
It's a good product, and the areas to improve are quite limited.
The good thing about Oracle Linux is that it's free, as long as you don't want support. If you want the support you have to pay for it.
What needs improvement?
They don't provide updates.
It could be more secure. They should increase security.
Also, the scalability should be improved.
In the next release, I would like to see it more secure and more usable to adapt to the new technologies that are coming up.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years.
We are using the latest version. We are always updating.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a very stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable solution. It's basic Linux clustering and high availability. We have approximately 20 users in our organization.
Their support is quite good.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are satisfied with technical support. There is no need to be improved. There is no need to be faster, more knowledgeable, or customer friendly.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use SUSE Linux, Ubuntu Linux, CentOS, and Red Hat Linux.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is quite straightforward.
It takes about an hour to install.
We need a team of two people who concentrate on Oracle Linux.
What about the implementation team?
I am able to complete the installation myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Oracle Linux is free, you only pay for support.
If you don't want support you can fully pay for the enterprise solution.
It's cheaper than RedHat. Oracle support is a bit cheaper than Red Hat's support.
Oracle Linux is very cheap at this time.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I would rate Oracle Linux and eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Linux
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about Oracle Linux. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
866,685 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Sr. System and Storage Administrator at a government with 51-200 employees
Useful for hosting other Oracle products
Pros and Cons
- "It's very useful for hosting other Oracle products."
- "We'd like it if it was a bit more secure."
What is our primary use case?
We are primarily using the solution for our Oracle Database.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very, very stable. The performance is reliable.
It's very useful for hosting other Oracle products.
The solution is very scalable. You can expand it if needed.
Technical support is very good. They have been responsive and they understand the product.
The initial setup is quick and easy. It doesn't take too long.
The pricing of the solution is not too high. It's reasonable.
What needs improvement?
The security could always be slightly improved on the product. We'd like it if it was a bit more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for a couple of years at this point. It's been a while. I have some experience with it at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable in terms of performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so with relative ease. It's not a problem.
We currently have about 50 people on the solution.
We do plan to increase the usage in the future.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good. They are helpful and responsive. We are quite happy with the level of support we have received from them so far. They are available when we need them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we had a mixed environment and we were using all sorts of operating systems.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not overly difficult or complex. We found the process to be very straightforward. The deployment itself was fast.
We have two members of the technical team that can handle any maintenance required.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the implementation ourselves. We did not need the assistance of a consultant or implementor.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay for a license on a yearly basis. It's not an overly expensive product. It's affordable.
What other advice do I have?
We're using the latest version of the solution at this time.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We're quite happy with the capabilities of the solution so far. It works as expected and does what we need it to do.
I would recommend the solution to other users and organizations.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Has a more stable kernel than Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Pros and Cons
- "We use Oracle Linux to test our software, and we also recommend Oracle Linux to our customers."
- "The download speed is not good. Oracle can improve their servers capacity, especially in Asia."
What is our primary use case?
We used Oracle Enterprise Linux to replace a Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment because Oracle Linux rolled out a new kernel. We thought it might be more stable than our previous edition.
How has it helped my organization?
We have maybe 10 to 15 engineers using Oracle Linux to test the software environment. It has a more stable kernel than Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What needs improvement?
Oracle Linux is almost the same as Red Hat, but it takes a long time to download, in comparison. The download speed is not good. Oracle can improve their servers capacity, especially in Asia.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Oracle Linux for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. We use Oracle Linux because it has a stable kernel, perhaps, more so than other vendors.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable product.
How are customer service and technical support?
It's not easy to obtain Oracle Linux support from emails or telephone support. We tend to look at the Knowledge Base. Oracle's Knowledge Base is excellent.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to install and only took about 30 minutes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We use Oracle Linux to test our software, and we also recommend Oracle Linux to our customers. We also recommend the purchasing of a license to activate the product. If our customers want to install Oracle Linux on multiple servers, perhaps Oracle could offer some good discounts, but these would need to be negotiated.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We used several kinds of Linux. Something like SUSE Linux, Red Hat Linux, Ubuntu Linux, and Oracle Linux but especially those with stable kernels. In some software environments, we do not need a stable kernel's performance level, but the machine may be stable in most cases. Before this year, we used Ubuntu. Ubuntu is speedy but not very stable. Its development is very quickly rolled out, and they change it every half year.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Oracle Linux an eight out of 10. Linux Enterprise is used in our customer's data center. The users may use a lot of server resources, so we recommend they buy a license. Sometimes they need to buy hundreds of server licenses, so the price consideration is important as the licensing is expensive. Our customers tend to use other editions such as CentOS, and other free editions. However, the free editions are not stable. Indeed, the free version provided by Oracle is not stable.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
Manager of Customer Services at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy to use, stable, good patching capability, and secure by default
Pros and Cons
- "The user interface is comfortable and easy to use."
- "The GUI could be made more attractive."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it as a DNS server.
We also have Oracle Vault and Oracle Fire installed on it. We are planning to use it as a model system, for learning.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is its stability. I adore the stability.
It is easy to use. The patching, connectivity, and storage are all good.
The iSCSI support is helpful.
This product is very secure by default. You should be able to use everything that you want to use. If you need to employ any service then you should enable the security for it.
The user interface is comfortable and easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The GUI could be made more attractive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Linux for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
it is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Oracle Linux is not really scalable.
We have two or three direct users, on top of 1,050 who use it indirectly.
How are customer service and technical support?
We do not use any technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have also used Red Hat Linux, although we stopped using it about three years ago.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It takes maybe two days to complete. the first day is for installation and preparation, and another day is required for patching. It takes a long time to complete patching and updates.
What about the implementation team?
I deployed it myself. Only one administrator is required for deployment and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
There are many different flavors of Linux but I haven't gone deep enough in them to compare them all.
What other advice do I have?
Oracle Linux is a product that I recommend.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Master Consultant - RedHat & Oracle Cloud, Virtualization , Automation at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable with good pricing and an easy initial setup
Pros and Cons
- "The stability is excellent and the initial setup is easy."
- "It would be ideal if they added a faster implementation of the security fixes, if possible."
What is our primary use case?
Our organization uses mostly Oracle engineered systems and appliances such as Oracle Exadata, PCA Private Cloud Appliance, Oracle Database Appliance, etc. Anything that is an engineering solution from Oracle, essentially. We also use Oracle Virtualization, OVM. These are on Linux.
What is most valuable?
Ksplice is the solution's most valuable aspect. Basically, what that allows us to do, is it allows us to patch and update the Kernel without a reboot. To me, that is the most outstanding feature of Oracle Linux.
The pricing is quite good.
The stability is excellent and the initial setup is easy.
What needs improvement?
Oracle Linux is downstream from Red Hat Linux. This solution has the same pain points. I would probably mention that fleet deployment and management could be improved.
It would be ideal if they added a faster implementation of the security fixes, if possible.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution since 2010.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is extremely stable. There aren't issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of adding on features, it's pretty scalable. It's similar to Red due to the fact that it is pretty much adjusted downstream from RHEL.
We have between 50-100 users on the solution at any given time.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've used support in the past. I'd say it's pretty typical. It's not extraordinary, It's fine.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We switched from Red Hat Linux. Oftentimes I work with the appliances and Oracle engineering systems on hardware and software, which come from Oracle.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment was not complex. It was very straightforward. How long deployment takes depends on how many OS instances are being implemented. A single OS instance may take about 30 minutes or less.
What about the implementation team?
I work at an Oracle partner company and assist clients with their implementation in my role as a consultant.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing cost is fairly small. It's pretty much in line with Red Hat licenses. I cannot recall the actual pricing, however, it's my understanding that it's just a few hundred dollars for a CPU core per year. I would just say it's fairly reasonable and low.
Oracle Linux subscriptions can actually come free if they're purchased with other products.
What other advice do I have?
We're a partner and reseller of Oracle.
I would recommend the solution, especially for the organizations that could be interested in zero downtime patch-ins. That is what the Oracle Linux case flies provide. I don't think the same feature are available in RHEL.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Site Reliability Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Offers leading performance and security for hybrid and multi-cloud deployments
Pros and Cons
- "Oracle Linux is very compatible with other platforms."
- "I think they should also pay more attention to the open-source community."
What is most valuable?
I am not an Oracle expert, I'm a database expert. From my standpoint, Oracle Linux is more compatible with the latest open-source software than other operating systems like Ubuntu Linux and CentOS Linux. I have faced a lot of challenges with different operating systems but it turns out that other database packages are not very compatible with different operating systems. They are not very compatible with Arch and Ubuntu Linux; however, Oracle Linux is highly compatible with all of the open-source projects.
I wouldn't say that we had many major challenges with Oracle Linux. I can't say it's the most advanced operating system, but I can definitely say that they patch regularly. We didn't have major challenges with Oracle Linux, to be honest.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Linux for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I don't think that we had any kind of stability issues. Most of the time, if I remember correctly, we worked with Oracle Linux when it was a part of the private cloud. By private cloud, I mean it was in VM. Being in VM with limited resources, sometimes the software packages would crash, but I don't recall the operating system ever crashing. The issues we experienced were due to the software and filter packages, not the operating system.
How are customer service and technical support?
Oracle tech support is pretty well organized. They have a long history of offering support for their Oracle packages. It doesn't matter if it's an Oracle database, an Oracle operating system; they give support 24/7, covering every time zone. They have multiple experts available for every issue you could experience. They can always be reached no matter what. They are very well organized with their support.
How was the initial setup?
Oracle Linux is very easy to set up.
Oracle Linux is very much compatible with other platforms. Installing VMs is very easy. If you are installing on a hard metal server, it's still very easy. I installed Oracle Linux myself, I didn't have major challenges with it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Nowadays, Oracle is very open toward price negotiation; they negotiate well with their clients.
What other advice do I have?
If you're interested in Oracle Linux, make sure you know the infrastructure of where it's going inside and out. You have to have a clear idea of where exactly your organization is heading in the future, whether private cloud or public cloud. These decisions are not made in seconds, minutes, or even days or weeks. But you have to have a clear idea. For example, if a company wants to use Oracle Linux and they think after two or three years they might be in a hybrid cloud, or maybe a public cloud, they had to make sure they aren't too dependent on the operating system. Whatever software packages they are using should be very compatible with the existing infrastructure like a hybrid or a public cloud.
Picture two containers that are very much independent: you can implement Containerization in Oracle Linux and the same containers can and will work well in both a private cloud or a public cloud infrastructure.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Oracle Linux a rating of eight.
Because nothing is perfect, I wouldn't give any operating system or any other software packages a rating of 10. They have bugs sometimes. For some extra points, they should keep aligned with the ope-source community. Oracle is very loyal to their own customers. If a client is experiencing an issue, they will work with them until it is fully resolved. But what about the open-source community? I think they should also pay more attention to the open-source community.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Independent Consultant at Unaikui
A stable solution for servers with easy deployment
Pros and Cons
- "The product is 99.99% stable."
- "Pricing could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution on our server and premises.
What needs improvement?
Pricing could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Linux for a few years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is 99.99% stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable. Sixty-five users are using it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It comes with an annual subscription.
What other advice do I have?
If you were to buy Oracle Data Vault or something similar, it includes a firewall. Securing the DPU with Oracle Data Vault is great, but it costs a fortune.
In data center operations, we use distributors. As far as I know, it's distributed across sixteen sites. Besides Oracle Linux, we have other solutions such as Oracle Forms, Reports, and EDS.
I would advise knowing the number of calls and CPUs required for each application and their allocation.
Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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