Our primary use case for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is as an operating system foundation for running a wide range of applications and workloads. It is commonly found on Linux workstations and is frequently used in conjunction with Kubernetes and containerization deployments.
Consultant automation engineer at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Facilitates standardization, streamlining automation and general server usage
Pros and Cons
- "I highly value its security measures, along with its user-friendliness, virtualization capabilities, and ease of deployment and automation."
- "To improve standardization, deprecate YUM and transition to DNF."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux facilitates standardization, streamlining automation and general server usage. Its seamless integration with Ansible simplifies network and infrastructure automation, ensuring consistency across development and operations for a more efficient workflow.
The hybrid use of Red Hat Enterprise Linux has positively impacted our operations by providing flexibility in where we run our systems. Whether in the cloud or locally, the consistency of the platform simplifies management. Potential network restrictions may arise, but it has streamlined our processes overall.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux enabled us to centralize development and standardize our platform. This means all developers, regardless of their programming language, like C# or .NET, develop for the same Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform. This standardization allows us to run applications consistently across different environments, whether on the cloud or on-premises.
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux with Podman for containerization. The combination of Podman and Red Hat UBI has significantly benefited our workflow, primarily due to the ease of use. Setting up Podman on other systems, such as Ubuntu, can be challenging because the installer from the Debian repositories sometimes has compatibility issues. However, on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, installing Podman with Yum is seamless.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is lauded for its robust security, though its strictness can tempt automation engineers to temporarily disable certain measures for specific tasks, potentially leading to oversights in reactivating them. While these stringent security protocols can pose challenges for some users, they ultimately enhance the overall reliability and stability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems and their applications, making them a worthwhile trade-off.
Containers built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux with Podman offer excellent portability, running consistently across various environments such as Kubernetes and other Linux distributions. While they run virtually anywhere, the containerization workflow on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system is arguably more streamlined and user-friendly for professional use.
Red Hat Insights is an excellent tool for addressing urgent security issues, non-compliant settings, and unpatched systems. It provides a clear understanding of areas for improvement and existing vulnerabilities within an organization, enabling a focused approach to remediation and enhanced security.
What is most valuable?
While Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers robust security, the complexity of some security features can be a challenge when automating tasks. Nevertheless, I highly value its security measures, along with its user-friendliness, virtualization capabilities, and ease of deployment and automation.
What needs improvement?
To improve standardization, deprecate YUM and transition to DNF. While backward compatibility is necessary, a decision to move to DNF was made two years ago. Run both in parallel for a period, then drop YUM or limit it to Red Hat Enterprise Linux eight, not nine.
Buyer's Guide
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
May 2025

Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
852,780 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ten years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is highly scalable due to the interconnectivity between installations and the central management capabilities like the Red Hat Cockpit. It allows for seamless scaling across different environments.
How are customer service and support?
Customer service is rated highly, with support available out of the box through the subscription. The support team assists with bugs and mitigation guidance, and knowledge base articles help resolve common issues.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
What was our ROI?
The biggest return on investment includes built-in security, ease of machine setup, and consistency across all deployments. These features contribute to efficiency in development and operations.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
While the cost of Red Hat Enterprise Linux may seem high, it's necessary to support Red Hat's extensive research and development, which includes maintaining long update cycles for the operating system. This cost, however, can create a barrier to entry for those new to the industry, making knowledge of Red Hat Enterprise Linux more exclusive. Despite this drawback, the price is ultimately justified by the benefits of using a stable and well-supported operating system.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux nine out of ten.
For small-scale or hobby projects, open-source cloud-based Linux is perfectly sufficient. However, for professional workflows in larger organizations, investing in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux license is recommended. This provides support, a more standardized development process, and enhanced features.
The impact on the TOC is minimal because many people are already accustomed to it. This is a benefit of Red Hat Enterprise Linux's standardization, as widespread familiarity simplifies ownership. However, platforms outside the Red Hat Enterprise Linux scope, such as Ansible Automation Platform or OpenShift Container Platform, require specialization and have their own ownership structures. In my experience, this doesn't necessarily expand ownership of the underlying Red Hat Enterprise Linux virtual machines.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Oct 30, 2024
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System Engineer at Xifeo ICT
Helps us reduce risks in our environment through operating system patches
Pros and Cons
- "It is generally easy to initiate a support case with Red Hat, and there are clear escalation paths if needed. The support team responds based on the contract level."
- "Red Hat could add some AI features. There's a lot of talk about AI nowadays, but I don't think will be in Red Enterprise Linux itself. The cloud applications benefit from AI, but I don't think that will be integrated into the OS yet."
What is our primary use case?
We have RHEL running on our machines, which handle extensive computing tasks and data analysis. The team is responsible for managing the operating system and virtual machines that host various applications run by developers. My department doesn't use containerization, but other departments do.
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat's security patches and standard compliance ensure risk management and continuity.
What is most valuable?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux helps us reduce risks in our environment through operating system patches. In my previous job, we ran baselines through Ansible to ensure every server was compliant with the company's standards based on CIS standards. Red Hat Enterprise Linux has contributed significantly to business continuity and compliance efforts.
We haven't encountered any critical vulnerabilities that required Red Hat Insights to resolve. They all had low CVE scores, so they could be handled with regular patching. We haven't had to use emergency procedures yet. Red Hat Insights has dashboards you can use to see your performance, what systems are critical or require patches and all that stuff.
What needs improvement?
Red Hat could add some AI features. There's a lot of talk about AI nowadays, but I don't think will be in Red Enterprise Linux itself. The cloud applications benefit from AI, but I don't think that will be integrated into the OS yet.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for about seven years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've hardly had any downtime. It goes down occasionally, but the system performs well overall. There aren't many problems, and when we do experience issues, Red Hat support resolves them quickly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux can scale to meet the organization's needs as they evolve.
How are customer service and support?
Customer service is rated eight out of ten. Red Hat support has been instrumental. As an industry standard, it provides quick solutions to any technical problems that arise.
It is generally easy to initiate a support case with Red Hat, and there are clear escalation paths if needed. The support team responds based on the contract level.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Sun Solaris previously. It was nearly perfect, but it had some areas for improvement, similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
What was our ROI?
The benefits of investing in Red Hat Enterprise Linux include stability, continuity, and robust support.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Other Linux operating systems like Debian are community-driven but lack the large company support that Red Hat offers.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux nine out of 10. Red Hat is a large organization with a solid community that can provide upstream and downstream support. I don't give it a 10 because operating systems always have room for improvement. It's almost there, but there are a few things that Red Hat could do better.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Oct 30, 2024
Flag as inappropriateBuyer's Guide
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
May 2025

Learn what your peers think about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
852,780 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Linux Administrator at IBM
We have better security and management, but it's not easy to see deployed security features
Pros and Cons
- "Red Hat Enterprise Linux has given us better insights and allowed us to manage the environment more effectively."
- "When we first deploy Red Hat Enterprise Linux, it is very challenging to determine which security features have been deployed. It would be beneficial to have more insight into this."
What is our primary use case?
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux in the enterprise for production environments. We mostly use it on bare metal servers, which are dedicated. In terms of deployment, we use the on-premises version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has given us better insights and allowed us to manage the environment more effectively. In terms of overall performance improvements, it has provided us with increased visibility into security, which has been helpful for our cybersecurity team.
Its built-in security features seem pretty sufficient for our purposes, but we have other teams that manage the security and build aspects. I am more involved in the maintenance of it, but in terms of the built-in security features, I find it sufficient. The security team also takes care of the compliance aspect.
I mainly use the Red Hat database for vulnerabilities. It is pretty good for determining whether or not a vulnerability has been resolved.
We use Red Hat Satellite for patching. I like Red Hat Satellite for patching and keeping us secure.
We have used Red Hat Enterprise Linux in hybrid environments. It seems to work fairly well. For hybrid environments, it is probably one of the easier ones to deploy because it allows us to scale.
We were able to realize the benefits of Red Hat Enterprise Linux immediately after the deployment.
What is most valuable?
In terms of the organization and structure, the support is on point. The reporting and other things are very standardized. It does not leave much room for error when working in production environments.
What needs improvement?
When we first deploy Red Hat Enterprise Linux, it is very challenging to determine which security features have been deployed. It would be beneficial to have more insight into this. Additionally, once it is built, there does not seem to be an option to retroactively change security features, which can make it difficult to ascertain which ones have been deployed.
Their knowledge base is very verbose. There is too much information. It can complicate things a little bit. It is very detailed. If they can shorten it, that might be helpful.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for a few years now, approximately seven to eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux as seven out of ten. We do encounter problems, most of which can be resolved. Occasionally, we face issues that cannot be resolved until the kernel developers address them. These are typically dealt with through quarterly releases or major upgrades.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of scalability, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux about a nine out of ten. It is easy for us to make snapshots when we are patching. If we need to clone, we can do so, although they might not be full backups necessarily.
How are customer service and support?
We use their portal for contacting support. The support from Red Hat is quite quick because it operates on a service-level agreement (SLA). For the paid support features, they are very responsive.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I am familiar with CentOS, and I have used OpenSUSE and SUSE Enterprise for testing and comparison purposes.
CentOS did not have as many security features. Of course, CentOS had the community support. CentOS was bought by Red Hat, and then the support started lacking. It was then discontinued to promote Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
How was the initial setup?
We have done some physical to virtual migrations using VMware. We have been mostly involved in that. We have done a little bit of virtual-to-cloud migration but not as much as physical-to-virtual.
The migration is more on the complex side. There are quite a few players involved. We need to collaborate with different teams. We need to make sure that the database is there, and that the database team is always involved. It is not terribly simple. It requires quite a bit of project planning and coordination. We usually have a six-month project so that it can be planned and tested.
It does require maintenance on our end but not very frequently.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux licensing is quite costly, but I personally do not deal with pricing.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to new users would be to focus more on the build aspect because it can be overlooked by many new users.
The Leapp utility works well when you do not have a much-customized environment. The more customized your environment is, the more complicated it gets to get Leapp to work to switch over to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It is possible, but the more customized your environment is, the harder it is because it will require the kernel module. Convert2RHEL is pretty much the same as Leapp. The more customized the environment, the harder it is. It is feasible. It is just a matter of how much time you are willing to spend on it.
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Oct 14, 2024
Flag as inappropriateSenior Webmethods Integration Support Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
Provides enhanced system availability with improved security and file performance
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of RHEL are the availability, file system performance, and overall system availability."
- "There are performance issues with the response time when accessing the console, but I'm unsure if that's RHEL's fault or if it's due to the lack of CPU or memory on our machines. The enterprise interface could be improved. I can only use the keyboard to transfer files from one system to another. I want to use my mouse on the interface, not just scroll up and down. I would also like my logs archived as an RAR and sent to me."
What is our primary use case?
I use Red Hat Enterprise Linux to control my Docker systems and build and run containers on them. I also use it for a tokenization project I'm working on.
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has improved the availability and security of our systems. The knowledge base, Wiki forums, and other resources are very helpful in simplifying my daily operations. We realized the benefits immediately after deployment.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are the availability, file system performance, and overall system availability. The kernel is more secure than my previous operating systems, such as Windows. Red Hat's knowledge base is helpful. I consult it several times in my daily work. I can ask questions on the forums and get help in my daily operations.
Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux's image builder is easy. I can use GitAI to pull any image I want to build on my system and reach into it using Red Hat. I use Convert2RHEL to publish my work on tokenization. I'm publishing more than 70 prints on my system daily, and saving this file. It's easy to use.
What needs improvement?
There are performance issues with the response time when accessing the console, but I'm unsure if that's Red Hat Enterprise Linux's fault or if it's due to the lack of CPU or memory on our machines. The enterprise interface could be improved. I can only use the keyboard to transfer files from one system to another. I want to use my mouse on the interface, not just scroll up and down. I would also like my logs archived as an RAR and sent to me.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is critical to us. Red Hat Enterprise Linux ensures our machine's availability and reduces the need for frequent restarts.
How are customer service and support?
I have not contacted customer or technical support myself. Our infrastructure team handles any contacts with Red Hat support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Ubuntu before. Red Hat has a more robust knowledge base, and finding solutions to any problem is easier.
How was the initial setup?
The infrastructure team handled the initial setup. I'm a software engineer working on my applications. The infrastructure team builds the machine, and I only use it. It was relatively easy, depending on the complexity of the deployment configuration. After deployment, we have maintenance on our machine if there are new patches to deploy. I have three machines, and each one is identical, with the same containers, so I don't need to do maintenance on our machines more than once monthly.
What other advice do I have?
It is important to use the knowledge base and familiarize oneself with key commands to gain more about Linux and ease its usage.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Oct 7, 2024
Flag as inappropriateAnsible Specialist at a energy/utilities company with 5,001-10,000 employees
An enterprise solution for standardization, compliance, and great support
Pros and Cons
- "The enterprise aspect of it is valuable. There is security patching, security scanning, and compliance. There are all kinds of features around managing and keeping it up-to-date and secure. Everything is in a box for us from Red Hat which makes it very easy to manage them."
- "It is constantly improving. It is important to continue to improve."
What is our primary use case?
When we are looking for Linux servers or developers need Linux, we have standardized around Red Hat Enterprise Linux. We do not use Ubuntu or any random flavors of the day. If it is a Linux deployment, it is Red Hat.
How has it helped my organization?
It helps with standardization. If someone comes to us and requests a Linux server, we have one product offering. We have a couple of different flavors of it, but people know what they are getting from us. The consistency, reproducibility, and standardization of it have been fantastic.
We are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux on-prem and on the cloud. We have it in Azure, VMware, and on-prem. We have it on bare metal. It is all over the place. Our operations are simpler, more efficient, and easier to handle. Our Linux team now supports one OS rather than a whole bunch of flavors that everyone has brought in. It has just made things more efficient and simplified.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has enabled us to centralize development. Those developers are now developing on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Previously, we had people who were developing on Ubuntu and trying to push Ubuntu to production, but we did not necessarily support it. Red Hat Enterprise Linux gave us a clear path to production. Our developers also get an easier experience. They know which OS to use and what they are using from day to day. There is less confusion for developers.
We are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for containerization projects. It has helped with simplification. We do not have to create too many of our own custom container definitions and do our own thing. We use minimal images and whatever is provided is supported under our subscription. It simplifies things and puts guidelines around things.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux's built-in security features are good when it comes to risk reduction, business continuity, and maintaining compliance. We use Red Hat Satellite to manage our Linux. That makes it all very simple. There is a feature called OpenSCAP. We use it for security scanning. All the features that they provide on top of the base OS make it very easy to manage.
The portability of applications and containers built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux is great for keeping our organization agile. We know we can rely on that middle layer. We can start with the container and then build on top of that. Having a solid and standard foundation makes it all easy to do.
What is most valuable?
The enterprise aspect of it is valuable. There is security patching, security scanning, and compliance. There are all kinds of features around managing and keeping it up-to-date and secure. Everything is in a box for us from Red Hat which makes it very easy to manage them.
What needs improvement?
It is constantly improving. It is important to continue to improve. That is another reason I like it. They are using newer kernels, which gives us access to newer hardware. They are already doing that. I cannot pretend to tell them what to do better. They can just keep on doing what they are doing.
For how long have I used the solution?
Personally, I have been using it for about 12 years. I have only been with my company for about four months, but I know they also have been using it for years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. They define scalability. I am a basic user. I just deploy more VMs if I need to. It is easy to do. Its scalability is great.
How are customer service and support?
They are great. I would rate them a ten out of ten. A big selling point is that when you submit a support ticket, you know you are reaching out to experts. That is great, and that is one of the primary reasons we went with Red Hat.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In my company, they were using AWX for automation, and we moved them to AAP. For Linux, I was a part of a project to migrate some of the other operating systems over to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. I am on the tail end of the move or standardization to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
There were a lot of Ubuntu operating systems in the environment, but they had challenges standardizing around it. There were different versions. There was also CentOS, but it was old CentOS. They are naturally moving that to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
The support and the standardization around it were the main reasons for going for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. CentOS is more of a community thing now, whereas we can call Red Hat and they help us with everything. The support and the enterprise features we needed pointed at Red Hat Enterprise Linux rather than CentOS. It is a better choice for production.
How was the initial setup?
We deploy them from AAP and then we deploy them into VMware. We deploy them into Azure, which is our main provider. We do that all orchestrated through Ansible and Satellite.
What about the implementation team?
We have outsourced support. TCS is a general contractor, but for Red Hat deployments, we generally go with Red Hat Consulting. We just finished a consulting engagement with them for that. I know they have used them in the past prior to me being here. We generally just use Red Hat Consulting.
What was our ROI?
We have standardization. I know what I am walking into every day. I know there is support behind it. There is the support of Red Hat and the community behind it. I feel confident using Red Hat Enterprise Linux. I might use other Linux operating systems at home, but a lot of the time, there is no documentation for them. There might be three guys in a forum from ten years ago who may have talked about my problem. With Red Hat Enterprise Linux, when I am going to work, I know what I am walking into. I can feel safe and assured using something industry standard that works, and I can get help with it very easily. It makes life a lot easier.
Our total cost of ownership across our enterprise landscape has gone up because we were using a lot of mixed and free open-source solutions. However, there was an extra cost of operations and extra cost of hiring for specialized skills and things like that. With the Red Hat portfolio, I feel that we spend more on subscriptions, and we save in terms of efficiency and operations. I feel that we spent some money to save money on the backend, and I hope that is how it ended up.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I do node counts for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. I am gathering data for our decision-makers about how many nodes we need and how many things we need. Once or twice a year, they ask us to true up and find out how many nodes we are using and what the actual consumption is. I then report that, and then the account team usually works on the money part of it. I just work on the count.
What other advice do I have?
We use Red Hat Insights a little bit. I am more of an Ansible guy, and we use Red Hat Insights for our licensing and a few other things. We have not been using Red Hat Insights as much as we wanted to. I know that on the Linux side, they are using it a lot for license count, monitoring, and other things.
I feel we are underutilizing Red Hat Insights. Our account executive has shown how it works and where it is, but we have not committed to it yet. That is coming soon. As we gain more Red Hat products and standardize more, we will have to rely on a single pane like that, so we will be using it more. I know that Red Hat Insights provides vulnerability alerts and targeted guidance, but we are not utilizing it right now.
To a colleague who is looking at open-source, cloud-based operating systems for Linux instead of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, I would say to go for whatever they find to be the best. My standard for an enterprise solution is Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It works very well, but they have to make sure that it fits their use case. Fortunately, Red Hat Enterprise Linux fits most use cases. They might end up there, but if there are licensing or cost restrictions, there are other free options, such as CentOS. The ecosystem of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is healthy, so I would recommend it, but if they want to use something else, they need to come up with all the standards around that.
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten. It is my preferred enterprise operating system. Everywhere I go, they are using it. It has been great. There are no complaints.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Officer at Bank of Abyssinia
Convenient to use with good features and helpful support
Pros and Cons
- "One of the valuable features is that it's convenient."
- "There should be more upgrades to the security features."
What is most valuable?
One of the valuable features is that it's convenient.
The rest of its features are really nice.
Red Hat enables us to achieve security standards certification. We have been certified for the PPI certification last year.
Red Hat has been good when it comes to building with confidence and ensuring availability across our infrastructure. We are really confident about the security process.
It is implemented across multiple physical and virtual infrastructures. We have applied it on most production servers. They are integrated quite well.
We use the Red Hat system roles feature. We have been using this for automation purposes and to find some tests.
What needs improvement?
The response could be better for urgent issues. If there's an issue with live services, they need to be faster.
It would be nice to have antivirus services.
There should be more upgrades to the security features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for a long time. My organization has used it for more than three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good. I'd rate it eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is decent. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. Different teams and departments, including application and development teams.
We do not have plans to increase usage in the future.
How are customer service and support?
I'm very happy with the technical support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have got some other open systems like CentOS. We just have most of our production services to ReadyX from CentOS and Oracle. Red Hat is more secure. The support is very nice as well.
How was the initial setup?
I joined the organization after deployment and wasn't involved in the implementation.
I'm not sure if the solution requires any maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not really involved in the pricing or the licensing. However, it may be expensive. We have different licenses.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated different options.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a customer and end-user.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Cloud engineer at Ilionx
A stable solution that provides a complete ecosystem to organizations and has a helpful support team
Pros and Cons
- "The technical support is very helpful."
- "The product lags a bit behind in the market."
What is our primary use case?
I use the product mostly for Red Hat OpenShift. We use the solution mainly for stability and to have a fallback within the Red Hat community.
How has it helped my organization?
There was a worldwide security breach, and everybody needed to patch their servers. Since we were running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the product patched a lot of it. It took a lot of effort out of our hands.
What is most valuable?
It is a complete ecosystem. That is its main feature. If you take all the latest products, it just works together.
What needs improvement?
The tool is very, very close. It makes some things difficult. On the other hand, that is what makes the product so stable. The product lags a bit behind in the market. The things we are running are pretty old. Yet again, that is why it is stable. The solution doesn’t switch with every new thing there is. The solution does not need to change that because that's what makes it good.
The product could run more recent tools and packages in the repositories. However, it might bring instability because they are new and less tested. I looked at CentOS, which was close to Red Hat. It had a system working, but a few months later, it didn't work again because the packages and contracts had changed. We couldn’t communicate anymore. It’s not desirable with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. We want stability. The price we pay for it is that we run on some older features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution on and off for the last 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have no complaints regarding the tool’s stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is scalable. We use the solution all the time. We use it in multiple locations. We have two physical data centers where we run it. We run it on a few 100 machines.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is very helpful.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used CentOS and Debian.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment is straightforward. However, there’s a learning curve to understand it. The deployment would be difficult for a newcomer, but it’s normal. We use automation tools. The deployment takes us a few minutes because we use scripts.
The solution is deployed on the cloud. However, it’s an on-premise solution from the Dutch government. We do not have control over the physical servers. We just work on virtual machines. The license fees are paid by another government agency. We take machines, and then they bill us for it.
What about the implementation team?
We used some integration for the deployment. That's why it was so fast. We use a base image as the setup, and then, on top of that, we install some extra things. It’s just about cloning an image and starting it.
The solution does require maintenance, but nothing more than the usual. We need a team of four people with Linux knowledge to maintain the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is on the expensive side.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Very early in my career, we had evaluated SUSE Linux as an alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. SUSE has its own niche market now.
What other advice do I have?
We are not working in a hybrid environment. I work with the Dutch government, and the regular cloud solutions are not sufficient because of data safety.
Moving workloads between the cloud and our data center using Red Hat Enterprise Linux is not really an issue. The network connectivity is good. The data storage is fast enough. Cloud vendor lock-in is always a debatable discussion. Whatever we do, we always get vendor lock-in. We just choose what works for us at the moment.
The cost savings are mainly in time. We don't have to figure out everything if there's a priority-one issue. We can raise a ticket with the vendor and ask them to help us. It saves us costs. The savings are mostly in time because the product is not cheap. If you compare it to a free Linux OS, the total cost savings will be about the same. Our level of stress and effort is far lower. It's the real saving.
When my Red Hat Knowledgebase account works, it works fine. However, there are some issues at my company. I cannot log in sometimes. It's not Red Hat’s fault.
Look at what your priorities are. Do you want to switch fast, run the latest stuff, and be agile? Then, use open-source tools and contribute to that community. If you work for a big enterprise and mainly want stability, choose Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
I’m very happy with the solution. If someone is a technical person, they must get some training and an in-depth technical course on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It will help them a lot. Although it is Linux, it is very different from other open-source Linux packages.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Principal IT Infrastructure Engineer | Specialist II at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
A highly resilient operating system that has a good file system type and good kernels
Pros and Cons
- "Red Hat Enterprise Linux has a good file system type and good kernels."
- "There was a reduction in the amount of detail provided in backlog messages between Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions six and seven, compared to versions eight and nine."
What is our primary use case?
I work in the financial industry in Brazil and my first job was to use Linux.
We deploy Red Hat Enterprise Linux on-prem and in the cloud. Our cloud provider is AWS.
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for web applications, including the JBoss data bridge. We also have some applications for prevention and risk. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is used for most of our applications in Brazil, so it is used for almost everything.
We run our workloads and applications on AWS.
How has it helped my organization?
There are many Linux-based operating systems. We wanted an operating system that was mature and reliable, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux was the best choice for us.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a highly resilient operating system. It has a strong XFS file system, kernel, and package build.
Migrating workloads between the cloud and our data center is easy. There are no problems.
The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux helps a lot. It is very useful and has helped me to resolve the issue by looking at the documentation.
What is most valuable?
The integrity of our operational systems is very stable. Red Hat Enterprise Linux has a good file system type and good kernels. It does not crash for any reason. This makes it a very stable platform for me. It is the best solution for our needs.
What needs improvement?
There was a reduction in the amount of detail provided in backlog messages between Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions six and seven, compared to versions eight and nine. This makes it more difficult to troubleshoot errors in versions eight and nine, as users must dig deeper into the operating system to find the source of the problem. Versions six and seven provided more detailed error messages, which made it easier to identify and fix problems. Deploying applications using Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions six and seven was seamless. However, there is a chance that something could be broken when deploying with versions eight and nine, and we may not know it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux since versions four and five.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is extremely stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
One of the reasons we adopted the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ecosystem is because of its ability to scale.
How are customer service and support?
I have not had a good experience with Red Hat engineers. When we have an issue, it is very difficult to have it resolved in the first call. They always have to escalate the issue and involve multiple people. At a minimum, we have to escalate an issue three or four times before it is resolved. The support team in Brazil has helped me a lot because they work with me to resolve the problem, but if I have to open a ticket and follow the steps I never get proper service.
I give the technical support of Red Hat a zero out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Negative
How was the initial setup?
The initial deployment is easy. I can deploy Red Hat Enterprise Linux myself using a base image within a few minutes both on-prem and in the cloud.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation is completed in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We purchased our license from Red Hat.
What other advice do I have?
I give Red Hat Enterprise Linux an eight out of ten.
Cloud vendor lock-in is inevitable when we adopt the cloud. This is because once we adopt a cloud service, such as DynamoDB or AWS, we become dependent on that provider for support and maintenance. It is very difficult to work with multiple clouds 100 percent of the time, as this can lead to problems with failover and other issues in multiple cloud environments because the risk is high.
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux ecosystem is more attractive because we are not just buying an operating system. We are buying an ecosystem that helps, supports, and secures our platform. I believe this is the better option.
Applying patches in the new versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is more time-consuming than in Oracle Linux because Oracle Linux does not require legacy environments to be patched or changed through applications.
For someone looking for an open source cloud-based Linux OS instead of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, I recommend AWS Linux. It is a very stable version of Linux and does not require a subscription.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: May 2025
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