External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
We have a multitude of use cases for Red Hat Enterprise Linux within our organization. We have machines running this operating system, and in our landscape, we also have combined database services.
We are currently using it on-premises but have a roadmap towards a hybrid cloud solution. Because of the way our business operates, it is something that we utilize only on-prem currently.
They are a technology enabler for us. It is a part of one of the core functions in the organization, where the operating system supports running various services, not just on devices but also SQL-based services and applications. They are definitely a technology-enabling organization for us.
We have the ability to manage all of our infrastructures in one area. The support is also there. We utilize it in our organization due to the fact that it is very good.
The regular updates and fixes from them for vulnerabilities help with risk reduction. To maintain compliance, we have a relationship with the vendor. They assist us in making sure that we have all our vulnerabilities covered. From a business continuity perspective, we make sure that we use the technology to its best capability.
Red Hat Lightspeed provides vulnerability alerts and targeted guidance. It definitely minimizes your downtime. You have more proactive monitoring than reactive monitoring. A lot of the tools out there only give you the capability to handle something that has already happened. This is something that enables you to be more proactive and do your patch management for security vulnerabilities and so forth.
The high availability capability and the support functions we get from Red Hat Enterprise Linux are among the most valuable features.
Also, Red Hat Lightspeed is a key feature. You have a central view of all of the infrastructure in the organization. It is definitely something that other organizations need to invest in. It also streamlines things. You have the capability to have reporting, insights, and other things within one space.
One area for improvement could be moving towards a more agile DevOps way of working. Other technologies out there have enabled agile and DevOps practices, and this is something Red Hat Enterprise Linux could focus on.
Our organization has been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for quite a few years. Following LCM, we always stay up to date with the current version.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is definitely stable.
It definitely has scalability from an up-and-side perspective.
Customer service and support are very good. We can always rely on them to assist when we run into issues. I would rate them a ten out of ten.
Positive
We have multiple operating systems in our landscape, but Red Hat is most likely the leader as an open-source solution. The choice of a solution comes down to fit for purpose. Red Hat Enterprise Linux fits our purpose.
The biggest return on investment is reliable support, as we can always rely on them to assist with any issues.
In terms of total cost of ownership, it is definitely something for which you have to work with the vendor and ensure that you have a cost-effective solution in place.
I work closely with the licensing department in determining licensing costs and requirements. Pricing is something that needs to be worked out with the vendor. The more you have, the less you pay. That is the model nowadays in IT, but it is very cost-effective. You get what you pay for.
When choosing a solution, it is crucial to ensure it is fit for purpose. There is a reason why you pay for support. At the end of the day, it comes down to the support that you get from the vendor.
We do not utilize the containerization part, but definitely, in the future, we will move to a hybrid way of working. Everyone is moving to more of a hybrid cloud solution these days rather than having it only in the cloud or on-prem. Red Hat Enterprise Linux supports working in a hybrid environment. It is definitely an enabler.
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten.
My customers primarily use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for application hosting and small databases. It is used for hosting Java applications and small web servers.
Cloud-based Red Hat Enterprise Linux deployments provide cost savings. If customers are purchasing a physical server, they need to have a proper setup. They need to have a data center, cabling, and a lot of other things. For cost-saving purposes, they are going for a cloud. As an operating system, it offers the same functionality on-prem or on the cloud.
It saves money for company owners. It helps our customers save money and do things quickly. They can build servers quickly. There is a menu where they can fill in the VM name and other details and attach storage. In ten minutes, they have a server ready.
I am Red Hat certified. I train people in corporations and educational institutes. Red Hat's material is very good. Their testing system is awesome. If someone is certified in Red Hat, you know that they know it well. There are millions of videos on YouTube, but they are not always updated. On the Red Hat site, the documentation is very clear. You just need to focus and study for two to three months to get certified.
Nowadays, delays are common with their support, and it often takes time to get assistance from experienced engineers.
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for seven to eight years.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is an excellent product, and its stability has improved significantly over time. It can operate for extended periods, like six months to one year, without issues.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux scales well with increasing user demands or infrastructure size. It is easily available and efficiently adapts to varying needs.
Most customers host medium-sized applications on the cloud. Storing a big application can lead to higher costs.
The technical support from Red Hat has declined over the past four or five years. It could be because there are not many skilled people. When we raise a case, it is attended by junior people or new people, which wastes two to three days. We might even have to raise the severity of the ticket. However, when senior people take ownership of the case, the support is awesome. They give proper support. This was not the case earlier, so whenever we raised a ticket, we got an immediate response from Red Hat.
Positive
The initial setup is smooth.
We have Cloud-based deployments. We are using AWS, GCP, Azure, and other cloud platforms. We also have on-premises deployment. Some customers also have a mixed deployment with the cloud and on-prem but in such environments, I have seen problems in terms of performance. For example, if my database is on-prem on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and I am storing my application on the cloud on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, whenever someone hits the website, there will be latency issues. I sorted out such issues for a customer. I suggested they migrate their server from the cloud to on-prem because their database was quite big. With a mixed setup, they were having a lot of issues in terms of performance and storing data. It was very slow. After they moved it on-prem, it was much faster. This is not a Red Hat-related issue. From the operating system side, no improvements are required. However, cloud providers need to improve their facilities.
For patching, I use Red Hat Satellite, and for configuration, I use Red Hat Ansible. Leapp upgrades are also awesome. A month back, I upgraded Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. I created detailed documentation about the procedure. There were about 14 steps. It was straightforward.
With Red Hat Insights, we can see the security threats. Red Hat Insights is integrated with Red Hat Satellite. It will be helpful from the patching point of view. It lets you do subjective analytics of servers.
I did some research on pricing a long time ago, and at that time, it was much cheaper than Windows. I do not have current details about pricing, but it is affordable.
Overall, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten.
