Oracle Linux 9 Hardened

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is used at the server level with our product, and various product teams host their applications on it. Some projects use it for microservices such as Docker or Kubernetes, while other projects use NGINX websites and Apache. These represent the different use cases based on hosting our services on top of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages.

I chose Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages because it has a Red Hat flavor, and I have more experience with the Red Hat side rather than Ubuntu or Debian. A major factor is that support packages are available freely. This is the primary reason for choosing it in the current organization because we estimated our total servers and the cost was going very high. Based on that assessment, we chose Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages to reduce costs.

We are using Docker as well as containerd for containerization features. In my experience, both Docker and containerd are very supportive with no issues running any containerization engine. I have tested both engines and they run perfectly.

For virtualization features, we are using two virtualization systems, which are Hyper-V and VMware, and Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages runs fine on both.

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages has good security features similar to Red Hat, so there is no difference in the security features. Although we are not using SELinux much because we run our environment behind a firewall and DMZ and generally disable SELinux and other ACLs, all features that Red Hat has, Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages has the same.

Sometimes integrated downline embedded packages are already end-of-life, but Oracle is using them, which is much different from Ubuntu or Oracle.

I have been using Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages for nine years total. When I was in Iberia, Spain, Madrid, we had enterprise Oracle Linux, and after that in the current organization I have been using it for the last three years.

I have never seen any crashing or downtime from Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages.

For scalability, we are using Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages in cluster mode. The biggest cluster is 45 nodes and three master nodes in Kubernetes.

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages initial deployment and installation is easy. We are getting requests from the project team to build new servers, so we are doing it almost daily. It took me earlier more than one hour, but what we did was create a template based on our selected packages and some hardening, so we are just using that template to provision new servers.

I am using the free version of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. Based on the competition, it is lower than what Red Hat charges.

Ubuntu is used as an alternative. I prefer Red Hat Linux more.

I have been working in my current field for nearly 25 years. For maintenance, we are using patching to resolve current vulnerabilities and advisories. I would give Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages an overall score of eight or nine out of ten because the packages from CentOS are released immediately, while Oracle sticks to a line like one release per month.

A few use cases for Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages include delivering our product using it as a base image, and during development, we also use Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages as our development environment.

Currently, for our product, we did not use Docker in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, but for development, sometimes when we need to build something quickly, such as a quick server for a dummy test, we can use Docker. However, for our production product, we did not use Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages with Docker.

Mostly all our DevOps teams are working with Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, which has helped in optimizing resources.

The impact of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages on our organization's security posture is significant because it is so easy to get the latest update. Every time we release our product, we also release our security patch based on the latest image that we get from Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. Everything is good, and because we have been using it for a long time, it is easy for us to manage our system.

The compatibility with third-party applications has not influenced our system integration process as we mostly handle integration inside our application with no issue at all.

What I appreciate about Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is that it is similar to the RPM-based image and Red Hat, making it easier for us to get the necessary libraries related to Red Hat Linux. It is supported by the Oracle Linux community with a lot of security updates still available for public use.

I have used the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, and we are using it as well.

Since we mostly use Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages as the base image, it would be great to have access to any latest image that already includes some binaries for programming languages such as Python or has the latest Java. Each time we need to install our system, we must update our Python library and then update our Java library and so on.

So far, all that we need is already included in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, so there is no major impact that I can suggest regarding missing features or functionalities.

We have encountered no issues related to the operating system as we have been working with Oracle Linux operating system for maybe twenty years. Moving from Oracle Linux 7 to Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, we have had no issue at all.

I find Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages very stable. During our deliveries, there are no issues related to the operating system, and security patches are delivered early, so if any issues arise globally, we already know that Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages has delivered updates.

I have not yet escalated any questions to the technical support team, as we mostly have our own knowledge base for resolving issues. Unless we do not find a solution, we approach support, but during my work with Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, we have not reached out to the support team.

We use Oracle ERP for our applications, not any third-party applications. Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is really great in terms of stability, performance, and operational perspective.

We are currently using containerization features such as Docker in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. We are implementing it and enabling it for one of the American media customers. We are working on that to implement and roll out all those components. The prototype is done and accepted by the customer, and we are proceeding with implementation.

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages's virtualization features have helped optimize resources to a significant extent. It is seamless and operationally hassle-free. I can utilize resources, especially between production and non-production environments, and can optimize and allocate resources based on need. It is genuinely helpful for our operations. Being a senior managing the business, it is tremendously beneficial. When we do sizing and capacity planning for our end customers, it helps substantially.

More than a feature, I would say when I work on OCI or virtualization and when I work with Oracle technology products, it becomes seamless. From a business point of view, the features are definitely flexible, and my area of focus and business focus is only Oracle. It is a one-point contact and is robust. Patching and related processes have no confusion. These types of things are handled smoothly, and it is really helpful from that perspective.

Security-wise, we have a cybersecurity practice. Anything we do, even for our customers, must pass through our thoughts and design before submitting to the customer's security organization. I have not come across a single instance where it does not pass through all those security postures or possible threats. I think it is a very stable kernel and a stable product.

Being an Oracle practice professional, my first portfolio is this one. When I deal with third-party applications, especially through Oracle applications or enterprise workloads, we have not seen any greater challenge from the operating perspective. There are absolutely no issues. I have not come across a situation where a problem exists because of the operating system. I can confidently state that.

As an infrastructure professional managing the business and passing value to the customer, I believe Oracle should look for further optimization in terms of resource utilization.

Resource optimization and resource utilization should be enhanced so that customers will receive additional value. Because today, CPU and memory are very expensive, so it is better that Oracle focuses on those areas further so that customers benefit.

One area is the licensing model. If I bring it on or am implementing any application on Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, whether on OCI or anywhere else, and if I am able to bring down my compute usage by twenty or thirty percent just because I am implementing on Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, that represents a decent amount of savings for the customer on a continuous basis. If Oracle induces that kind of stability, performance, and capability, that would be great.

From a business point of view, optimization of cost so that customers see the value is a priority.

I have been managing Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages for approximately twelve years.

Application management is stable, and that is one great aspect of it. It is absolutely stable. Performance-wise, it is great. Whether on-premise or on-cloud OCI, that is a great advantage we carry. It is an absolutely positive experience and a great experience. When I manage a business and this infrastructure, I do not have to struggle or run around for these things.

Technical support by Oracle was good, always. However, for the last few months, my customers have expressed significant frustration. Oracle should focus on improving this. It is not only for Linux but for all products which we are dealing with. Oracle has enabled AI, and there are serious problems with those AI-enabled support options. Getting proper support from those AI-enabled systems is problematic. The escalation matrix to get human-based support is a tedious process. I need to put a senior person in my organization to handle escalations. Generally, they do not engage in technical aspects. Do we expect a senior vice president or executive vice president to look into a Linux issue? That is how their workflow is set up, which represents a huge room for improvement.

Technical support used to be excellent, and I would rate it between eight or nine. However, today, I would rate it between six and seven. Once an issue is escalated, it is good and gets resolved. However, we cannot do escalation every time. Whether a product company or a service company, they should operate things without escalation. We cannot run the business with escalation only. This is a situation where there is a strong recommendation for Oracle to improve.

From a product perspective, Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is great. I do not want to rate it ten out of ten because I believe there is always room for improvement. I would rate it around nine out of ten. However, from a support perspective, it is currently a six out of ten, not just for Linux but for other technology products which I deal with.

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages offers software delivery features that I utilize for secure file transfer protocol as an SFTP service.

I have utilized containerization features in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, and all of our code is sitting in Docker.

Application management is aided by the security of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. We do not do any automated services, but we find it secure, which is why we are using it and continuing to use it.

Virtualization features have helped in optimizing resources.

I do find Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages compatible with third-party applications. This compatibility is evident as most of the other clients are using something else, though we are using Linux. We seamlessly connect, except that there must be a VPN connection to be established. So far we do not have any problems using the Linux server, and I do not think we or the client will change it to anything else at this stage.

I cannot suggest how Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages can be improved because I am not technical, and I would not know. I do not think there is room for improvement as it is an evolving product. We are Oracle partners as well, so if we find any issues with the Oracle product, we have a tool to log issues.

Technically, I would not be able to tell you that answer because I do not work technically on the product.

I have used the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, but I am not sure about it because the technical team is not very technically involved in these applications. However, we have been using it for more than eight years now. From the team side, we do not have any problem using Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages and its client server as well, so we do not have any other choice than using it.

I have been generally satisfied with Oracle products and Oracle HP products, as they do not fail. I am fine with it.

I would rate their technical support an 8.5 definitely.

When it comes to response time and first-level support quality, if I escalate the SR, that is when I get more attention. I wait for two to three days, and if I do not get a response, then I escalate it, and then the response is fine. I think maybe some automated response would help to indicate what is happening. You cannot go without any response for more than two or three days, or you start to get panic. If there were any automated responses from the service side or from the customer support side to say that they are busy working on it or something is happening in the background while I wait, that would assist us.

As for the implementation of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, it was fine. The guides are very clear, and we just have to follow the guide. We never had any issues with the Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages server.

I find the licensing part reasonable and fine. The license is reasonable because it comes as a package, and there are virtual machines as well, which are not very expensive either. They are cheaper products, but with our IT infrastructure as well as our strategy, we use mostly Oracle products.

I would rate Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages as a nine out of ten. I believe the best thing that Oracle should push clients to do is move from a virtual server to the cloud.

My main use case for Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is to run an Oracle Database server using a virtualization cluster, as Oracle Unbreakable Linux allows us to produce a cluster that runs under Oracle licensing restrictions, meaning we can use virtualization without paying for all the cores.

The main reason we switched to Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is that Oracle Database licensing made it a very economical way of running our application, allowing us to allocate only the number of CPUs we needed for the database server, which provided flexibility for future expansion.

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages has positively impacted my organization by significantly reducing our Oracle licensing costs due to hard CPU limits, which is the entire reason for using the product.

I do not have specific numbers on how much Oracle licensing costs were reduced, but I can say that during a previous audit we agreed with Oracle to switch to Oracle virtualization to comply with licensing requirements.

The best feature Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages offers is the virtualization layer that allows for hard allocation of CPUs to the Oracle Database, making it a great product for our needs.

The virtualization layer and the ability to hard-allocate CPUs do not simplify management or give us more control; they serve primarily to address Oracle Database licensing restrictions, similar to what VMware can provide, yet running with Oracle reduces our licensing costs.

To improve Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, I think having a robust method for building and maintaining clusters with the help of an AI assistant would be fantastic for simplifying the deployment process.

I have been using Oracle Linux for about 25 years.

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is stable; once it is installed, running, and configured correctly, it performs very reliably.

The scalability of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is good; we can easily scale our virtual machines by adding CPUs and memory as needed, but scaling the actual service requires purchasing new servers.

I gave Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages a rating of nine and Oracle support a rating of five because of the difficulty in reaching a working solution and the lack of experienced consultants provided.

Customer support for Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages from our partner in Saudi Arabia is quite poor, rated a four, but direct support from Oracle receives an eight.

Before using Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages, we were using Red Hat on VMware.

The return on investment is primarily due to reduced Oracle licensing requirements; switching to Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages saved us around one million SAR in licensing uplift, but it did not save on employees or time, and switching required additional training.

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is that it is very competitively priced, cheaper than Red Hat or Windows, with reasonable setup costs and good licensing terms.

We did not evaluate other options; we would have continued with Red Hat Linux if it had not been for the audit from Oracle that required us to switch to Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages.

I would rate Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages a solid nine overall, while the support we received from Oracle would likely be a five.

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is deployed in our private cloud and on-premises.

My advice for others considering Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is to ensure that there are trained personnel available for the technology you are looking to implement. I give this product an overall review rating of nine.

The major use case for Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages that I have is basically confirmed.

Most of the cases I have used Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is for the Oracle database, as it is more suitable for the Oracle database because Oracle has customized it for Oracle database and Oracle software. The major use cases are Oracle database, followed by a few Oracle WebLogic servers and some BI servers, which are now analytical servers.

Oracle database packages have a tie-up with this specific kernel whenever they release. The performance of memory consumption, CPU consumption, and SQL performance all depend on the kernel performance. Whenever this Unbreakable Kernel performance is integrated with the database, Oracle RAC, and WebLogic, the performance is very high and stable. The main thing is that it is very stable and does not cause hanging, lagging, and other issues. The main use case for customers is that whenever they use the operating system, it should not have bottlenecks such as lagging, memory leaking, and other issues, which Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages overcomes. Previously it had memory leakages in versions 7 and 6, but that problem has resolved in 8 and 9. In that scenario, using it in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages environment with free software, customers prefer Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages.

I have worked with Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages KVM in many customer environments whenever they want to comply with the Oracle license policy, because Oracle licensing requires a full core of the server. Many people use hard partitioning of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages with the KVM. In that scenario, customers can minimize their license requirement and purchase also for Oracle.

The virtualization features of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is a modified kernel of Red Hat Linux. Red Hat KVM is now becoming Oracle KVM. The KVM feature is stable and many customers state that VMware has a new policy for licensing, and their VMware licensing policy is very high. In that scenario, people prefer Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages KVM for cost minimization. The KVM in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is free if I do not require support, so I can use the KVM in a small or large environment. I mostly work in the banking sector, where most of the core banking systems run on high-end servers and other applications run in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. Sometimes when customers want to optimize hardware utilization, they go for Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages KVM to run multiple applications on a single server with network, hardware, and operation segregation. This helps to highly utilize existing hardware in the production environment.

The major advantage of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is that the update is free. Not just the patching and other things, but the update, some classes and other things, and some packages which I get free updates. If someone wants to use it, the license is free. If someone needs support, they can purchase the support. If someone does not purchase the support, there are free updates from Oracle. This is the major advantage to the customer, as they say that they are getting updates free. With Red Hat Linux, I have to purchase the support, otherwise I cannot get the update. Customers prefer that they are using it free and getting the update, and if they need support, they can purchase it anytime. The other part is that Oracle database runs well on Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. Whenever there are Intel servers in customer places and customers want to run Oracle database, they prefer Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages.

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages has very better security, but a few of the packages of Oracle still are not compatible with Oracle 9. So still in database perspective and grid perspective, I prefer 8. The feature is that it is very stable, memory consumption is low, and no additional service runs in the background. I can minimize the additional services if I want to stop it, it will stop. It is basically Red Hat Linux modified kernel, so those who know Red Hat Linux earlier can easily use Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. The other thing is that whenever I require, I can use the KVM of Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages free of cost for virtualization.

The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is a valuable feature.

Security part differs, as it is built by the security team and the operating system team must enforce it. However, installation is very easy. Anyone can install it within twenty minutes without issues.

The management feature still has some limitations. The graphical management is not yet up to the mark compared to Red Hat Linux. Built-in KVM management in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is also lacking compared to VMware and other virtualization solutions, which offer proper graphical interfaces. This indicates an improvement area for the management of the virtualization environment within Linux.

I am working with IBM and Oracle products today and I am still working with IBM and Oracle products.

It is definitely value for money. When you run your data center in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages and use Oracle KVM, the value of your ROI is a maximum of two years.

If you compare them, the open-source model becomes Red Hat Enterprise, and then Red Hat Enterprise becomes Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. In comparison with Red Hat Linux and Oracle, they are basically the same. Oracle just changes the kernel and publishes it under their name. There are advanced features in SUSE Linux and Ubuntu. However, in my opinion, I always prefer Red Hat Linux or Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. If it is an Oracle product such as Oracle database, I suggest going for Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages. If it is other applications developed by a bank team, I recommend Red Hat Linux if applicable.

Basically, compatibility with third-party applications depends on the application the customer is using. A few applications built in ASP.net must run on Windows, and nowadays, people are moving from ASP.net to other languages such as Java and PHP, which run on Linux. Customers understand that Linux security is superior to others, so integration and multiple developments are smooth in Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages or Red Hat Linux as opposed to Windows servers. Integration is efficient due to the in-built security. I can use KVM for virtualization. Most applications operate through TCP/IP, so there is typically no issue in integration. For application-to-application communication, customers frequently use APIs such as Open API, WSO2, and IBM API Connect, making integration over API gateways more preferred than direct server-to-server connections.

Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages is affordable. There are two types of licensing. A single server license may be costly, but in a virtualization environment, there is a data center edition for Red Hat Linux, whereas Oracle offers unlimited KVM with premium plus support. The overall license price is generally lower.

Security has to be built and it is not in the product, I have to build it. In that scenario, customers say that Oracle Linux 9 | Support by SupportedImages has very strict security. I do not find anyone saying that there are security issues. The security part is maintained by the customer's security team. I just advise on the requirements, and they maintain it. My knowledge in this area is not vast, but I can say that the security feature is good based on customer feedback. I would rate this review an eight out of ten.