Until recently, there had been no difference in the way Red Hat’s Linux (aka RHEL and RHL) versions worked when compared to Oracle Linux. They were, as people knew, functionally similar to each other. Red Hat would release open-source Linux code and would just follow it up with patches and upgrades. That was until 2011, when it started to release its improvements and patches already incorporated in the main Linux code.
So much so that Oracle even offered Red Hat Linux users technical support and patches. Back then, it was possible to run RHEL, but you call Oracle for help. For the longest time, too, Oracle Linux has been touting itself as a Red Hat Linux clone, but with better support. Oracle takes pride that it can find bugs in Red Hat Enterprise Linux and fix it immediately for its own customers.
To further illustrate the point of being similar, enhancements and third-party applications can run on both Oracle Linux and RHEL.
Just recently, Red Hat again riled against Oracle when it switched the default database to MariaDB from MySQL.
The Differences
Why should you choose Oracle Linux? For one, it is cheaper. A sample calculation on the Linux Cost Calculator page at http://www.oracle.com/us/media/calculator/linuxtco/index.html shows that if you have 10 servers with eight sockets per server allowing up to four virtual guests and you opt for a one-year support term, Oracle will only charge you $12,000. In contrast, Red Hat will be earning $78,000 from you for the same services. Oracle Support is cheaper and simpler, and Oracle Linux is free to download. Not to mention that it includes free updates and other patches.
Oracle Linux also includes management tools for server lifecycle out of the box. Red Hat, on the other hand, gets paid for its equivalent service, the Satellite Server. What’s more, different modules have different costs, so you pay more for management tools with Red hat.
What else does Oracle offer for free with a support subscription that Red Hat charges separately? Clustering software and XFS support.
Another thing that makes Oracle Linux better than Red Hat? KSplice. KSplice allows you to upgrade and patch your Linux installations without having to power down, thus saving you from inconveniences and down time. Oracle owns Ksplice and it is freely available if you opt for Premier support with Oracle Linux. It is not that easy for RHEL customers. On top of having to pay for RHEL support, you would need to pay Oracle to use Ksplice. Additionally, you also run the risk that Oracle would not be supporting future RHEL kernels. In fact, only RHEL 5 and 6 kernels are compatible with Ksplice.
Lastly, if you are running Oracle software, you might want to consider that Oracle Linux has been tweaked to work well with Oracle systems. Your IT team might also be more familiar with Oracle and MySQL than Red Hat Linux and MariaDB.
Why Pay More?
Why pay more with a Red Hat Linux system when you can get basically the same functionality with great support from Oracle? If you are considering migrating from Red Hat Linux to Oracle Linux, you do not have to worry about the whole thing.
Contact Four Cornerstone now and gain all the cost savings and extra benefits of running Oracle Linux for your enterprise!
