We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux as an infrastructure support operating system across both x86 and s390 platforms. Specifically, we are running it on x86 Intel and Linux s390 mainframe on Zynq.
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It is easy to deploy, is scalable, and makes it easy to maintain compliance
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a stable operating system. We recently upgraded the majority of our systems from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. We were able to automate most of the upgrade process and did not encounter any major issues. As a result, we were able to bring our systems up to date quickly and easily. This is a major advantage of using Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
From an automation standpoint, we have been able to automate some of our patching workflows. This has definitely saved us time and money.
From a security and compliance standpoint, it is easy to maintain compliance. This is mostly accomplished by patching Red Hat Enterprise Linux on a frequent basis. The availability of security patches is also quick, which allows us to keep up with our client requirements quickly. Red Hat usually does a good job of making fixes available in a timely fashion, so we can remediate high-priority issues when they arise.
From a containerization standpoint, Docker and Podman now give us the ability to move workloads and structures around with little effort. It is very flexible and consistent, and the results also provide us with a stepping stone as we move towards an orchestration platform like OpenShift. Our ability to run Podman on servers and then migrate those Podman deployments to OpenShift is very beneficial.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are ease of support and the ability to run a read-only course on the operating system.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is easy to maintain. We currently use Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 with Docker for containerization. With Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, we are moving to Podman, which is a native container runtime that is part of the operating system.
What needs improvement?
I suggest that Red Hat move to a continuous delivery model instead of major releases. I know that this is a trend for many middleware products. We do not have a major release network. We only have monthly or quarterly roll-on releases on our continuous delivery model, which reduces the impact of a major version. This would probably be the easiest change to make.
The technical support has room for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Since we run a number of hypervisors for all of our real systems, I believe that a lot of the scalability comes from a level higher than the operating system. However, Red Hat Enterprise Linux can accommodate these tools.
How are customer service and support?
Red Hat support could be improved, and they should have a better relationship with IBM and VMware. This is because a lot of what we do involves working with IBM, both from a hardware standpoint and from a hypervisor standpoint. We have a long history with IBM, and we are now starting to work more with Red Hat on OpenShift private cloud solutions and other tooling. However, Red Hat and IBM are not on the same page. They are still very different companies, and they don't always know what the other one is doing. This can lead to contradictory information, inaccurate information, and frustration for customers. I think there is a relationship between Red Hat and IBM that could be improved. If Red Hat and IBM could work together more effectively, it would put customers at ease and make them more confident that they could get the work done. It would also help IBM and Red Hat to better understand each other's products and services, which would lead to better customer support.
For example, we recently had an incident that started as a severity two on the scaling. A number of our account representatives called and emailed us, saying, "Hey, we wanted to let you know that you have an open case. We need some help with this." The incident was not a production outage, but it was preventing us from doing something, so there was an indirect production impact. After about ninety minutes of back-and-forth communication, we were told, "Okay, go ahead and bump it up to severity one. That should get traction." We did not hear from anyone for four hours. This does not happen every time, but in this case, it needed to be dealt with well before four hours. It made things more difficult than they needed to be. Sometimes the support is an eight out of ten, and sometimes it is a four.
The end result was still good because they acknowledged what happened and got everyone together to resolve it but it was not done in an efficient way.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is very straightforward. It is not much different from any other Linux operating system. Most of the things we need to consider when deploying Linux are relatively standard. Therefore, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is easy to deploy and maintain. If we know how to administer Linux operationally, then Red Hat Enterprise Linux should be easy to deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I do not know enough to give a comprehensive answer, but other operating systems are in use at my company because they have more favorable licensing terms. This is a major factor in why we do not use Red Hat Enterprise Linux everywhere.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated SUSE Linux Enterprise and a few others. Depending on the computing platform, it is sometimes better and sometimes not. For some of our environments that are running on s390, SUSE Linux Enterprise gives us a better price point. However, for some of our other environments, such as x86 on VMware, it is more valuable. It is a better financial move for us in those cases. Therefore, the value of SUSE Linux Enterprise changes depending on the computing architecture.
What other advice do I have?
I give Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten.
We have a requirement to have a Linux operating system.
I'm not sure how our developers are building their images. I believe they use some desk start products.
We use SUSE Linux Enterprise for Linux on the mainframe. In a particular enclave, we have some government contracts where we use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for a number of reasons, including licensing for hosts. These hosts are hosted with OpenShift. We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for all our Bastion hosts and OLS for our other hosts.
The Red Hat knowledge base is generally an eight or nine out of ten, but it can be difficult to get the information we need. The initial level of support is a six or seven, but it improves as we escalate the issue.
A stable and easy-to-use product that is much simpler than other tools
What is our primary use case?
We use the product to use the virtual servers.
What is most valuable?
Compared to Windows, the solution is much simpler. The product is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The solution should provide demos so that users can learn to use it and improve their environments.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for three to four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have no complaints about the stability. It is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have no complaints about the scalability.
What other advice do I have?
We use the on-premises solution because we work for the government. We cannot use the cloud version because we have to maintain confidentiality. We are using versions six, seven, and eight. We also use Windows in our organization. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
RHEL Experience
What do you like best about the product?
Security and new features back-ported into stable kernels
What do you dislike about the product?
The ancient version of GNOME and time it takes for updates to database versions
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Flexible platform for developers , data engineers, and data scientists to build solutions
Easy to use, fast learning options.
What do you like best about the product?
I came into being a system admin with basically zero linux experience. Its been easy to learn and I've enjoyed working with it.
What do you dislike about the product?
Not always the easiest to look up solutions to my problems.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Extremely stable, low downtime. Simple to use.
System administrator
What do you like best about the product?
Very stable operating system. RedHat has a good support system.
What do you dislike about the product?
Expensive. With thousands of servers in our company, it takes a large budget to maintain.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Provides the platform to run Openstack.
Rhel9 review
What do you like best about the product?
redhat support is helpful when ever a problem occurs
What do you dislike about the product?
subscription cost associated with the product is downside
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
it integrates well with all the products in our company.
The and winding journey towards becoming a Linux bigot
What do you like best about the product?
Simplicity of system and stability that it provides the organization.
What do you dislike about the product?
I can not think of a dislike for Red Hat Enterprise linux
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Primary OS for internally hosted apps
RHEL Linux Server
What do you like best about the product?
Reliable, high-performing containerization
What do you dislike about the product?
I like all the features of Linux, improvements on multipathing
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Many applications and databases are hosted in Redhat Linux Server
A great stable enterprise OS
What do you like best about the product?
Red Hat Linux and a Subscription are sound combinations for a rock solid Production implemenation of Linux.
What do you dislike about the product?
That whole thing about not having the latest features (Like from Fedora)...Kinda like the Star Wars Christmas special....It happened yet no one likes to talk about it.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
A supported production quality OS that satisfies any PCI, HIPPA, SOX, and NIST standards.
Most powerful Linux tool on the market
What do you like best about the product?
Red Hat is the leading contributor to Linux and the greater open source community. They continue to innovate and improve features and reliability.
What do you dislike about the product?
I have security concerns about Red Hat and open source. I know they continue to improve stability and reliability, but If I had to say one concern, it would be security.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It allows my organization to deliver application services and our workloads rapidly
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