Oracle and Red Hat’s rivalry is just epic. A lot of things have been said by both camps and these are all widely written about in tech blogs and even on mainstream media. So much so that any move by Red Hat is rarely seen as just a company movement but a swipe against Oracle, and vice versa.
Two recent examples include Red Hat’s rumored switch to MariaDB as its default database management system, rather than Oracle’s own MySQL, and Red Hat’s move to make it difficult for Oracle to copy their code.
Much of this animosity comes from their Linux system. Red Hat has its Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Oracle has Oracle Linux. Truth be told, both versions should be functionally similar, which means that when it comes to functionality, there is really no better version between the two. However, there are some differences elsewhere.
Lower cost
For example, Oracle Linux is freely downloadable and you could distribute it without paying anything. It also comes with free binaries and updates. And support costs are reportedly up to seven times lower than the fees asked by Red Hat. On the other hand, you cannot download RHEL unless you have a very complex and expensive support subscription from Red Hat.
Oracle also gives you free downloads for all source and binaries. You could get a DVD for free, and distribute and use it as you would like. This is NOT the case for RHEL!
Integrated management tools
A support subscription to Oracle Linux comes with Oracle Enterprise Manager, a full range of server lifecycle management tools. This can be licensed to manage everything from disk to applications. In contrast, for the equivalent Red Hat Satellite Server, you would need to pay separately for each server that you use RHEL on.
Better availability
Oracle Linux also offers users higher performance by making use of the Unbreakable Linux Kernel, which is a modern, reliable and fast kernel that has broken TPC-C benchmark records. Red Hat relies on a four year-old kernel, the RHEL 5.
Other money saving features for Oracle
Oracle Linux already has OCFS2 for higher availability. But users can get even a Basic Support subscription so that they could use Oracle Clusterware. As always, you need to pay separate charges in Red Hat’s case.
A Premier Support subscription also comes with free XFS support.
There are other advantages that Oracle Linux has over Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Oracle is integrable with Oracle VM. It is also being tested internally by the company representing over 80,000 hours of quality assurance. Even its own servers run on Oracle Linux.
All in all, you get better support and features with Oracle. You also get the convenience of having only one source of support and contact. No more getting passed from one customer service rep to another trying to find somebody who could help you with your problems.
Are you ready to go with the best and install, configure and deploy Oracle Linux? Are you going to switch over from Red Hat Enterprise Linux? Four Cornerstone can help you with both of these moves!
Photo courtesy of Oracle.
