We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux as our core operating system for hundreds of our critical systems including our databases, complete middleware, and over 500 VMs.
CIS Hardened Image STIG on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Center for Internet Security | 2.0.0.7Linux/Unix, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 - 64-bit Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
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Facilitates our compliance with security standard certifications.
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The portability of applications and containers built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux is exceptionally high due to the utilization of Java as the middleware and Oracle as the database. This enables seamless portability across various platforms, regardless of the specific infrastructure employed. As long as Oracle continues to provide support for a particular platform, the applications and containers can operate effectively on that platform. Therefore, the decision regarding the deployment platform rests solely with the company's preference.
The consolidation into a single operating system has brought about significant improvements. Previously, companies often had to manage three or four different operating systems, which was not only costly but also inefficient. With a unified operating system, we can now streamline operations and reduce the number of teams required for maintenance.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux facilitates our compliance with security standard certifications. We receive daily reports and recommendations specifically for applying security patches and related measures.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the most used Unix platform in the cloud. We can build with confidence knowing that it is available across physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructures.
What is most valuable?
The integration with Oracle is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
The patching process with Red Hat is disruptive and not very cost-effective. This is why I would like to switch to Oracle Linux, which allows for security patching on a running system. This is a significant advantage of Oracle Linux over Red Hat. With Red Hat, we have to shut down all of our machines at least four times a year for large patches. Oracle acquired the technology for applying these online patches from MIT, and this technology is integrated into Oracle Linux. This allows for systems to be patched without disrupting the work of employees and their organization, which is a major improvement over Red Hat's patching process.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for over ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a stable operating system. In most cases, the issues we have encountered have been related to hardware, not the operating system itself.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scaling Red Hat Enterprise Linux is easy. We have clusters and simply need to add machines to those clusters to scale.
We have more applications being added all the time.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used HP for our database site before transitioning to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. As we were already utilizing Red Hat Enterprise Linux for our applications, it proved to be a more optimal choice for our database site as well.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was completed in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have to pay for the support and features.
The distinguishing feature between open-source competitors and Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the comprehensive support that Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides. Red Hat Enterprise Linux no longer faces competition from HP and Digital in terms of support services, as these companies have ceased offering their solutions. IBM remains the sole competitor, but they recently acquired Red Hat, essentially consolidating the support landscape.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux eight out of ten.
Numerous open-source Linux operating systems are available, but Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides robust support and a stable platform for large organizations that would benefit from the support.
Organizations should base their decision on which operating system to use for their specific requirements. For Windows or Oracle systems, the corresponding OS should be chosen for support reasons. For Unix systems, Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides the best support.
When I first used Linux 1.0 over ten years ago, I was surprised at how well it worked. I never expected it to become so successful that it would surpass all the major Unix systems, but that is exactly what happened. Today, Linux is used for a wide variety of applications, regardless of the platform. This is due to its exceptional scalability and the low cost of hardware.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Offers role-based access and the ability to seamlessly connect multiple systems with ease
What is our primary use case?
I work as a consultant for a bank. They were using another type of Linux and facing some scripting issues. We are using Ansible for infrastructure, but they depend on different languages. In this fintech use case, the bank performs transactions between two banks. The transactions were getting stuck, but they detected that the money had been transferred.
The money comes from the bank. They transport it from the cloud and deliver it to the channels like Visa, MasterCard, etc. The national bank is also involved at that stage, so there is a pause. When we are using auto-scaling, it requires a small amount of time, so your application will have an error. This is a millisecond process. That is the duration. We were looking for issues like bank fraud. You need to conduct an analysis and restart the service. The data is on Red Hat Linux, and we use EKS for containerization.
We have a hybrid solution combining AWS with an on-premise environment. Moving data to the cloud requires a stable connection because we have multiple systems on-premises and on the cloud. This platform helped us communicate among multiple clouds and our private cloud network.
How has it helped my organization?
Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux enables us to subscribe to other Red Hat services from our portal. We can connect to Satellite with single sign-on logins. We can use the Spring CLI call and the Docker hub. We have a direct subscription.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has helped us avoid cloud vendor lock-in. We could easily migrate between cloud services from AWS to Azure if we wanted to. Everything is an SCL, so we could deploy the same thing on another cloud. It's highly useful. We can make a script and move the entire infrastructure.
What is most valuable?
The Red Hat Linux comes with Anaconda, a fascinating tool that is useful if I need to connect multiple systems. I also like role-based access.
What needs improvement?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a little expensive for some customers who don't have the budget. It depends on the client. They can save money by not purchasing some of the added packages and services. If the client has a budget of $10 million, we can go for the whole bundle.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Red Hat Enterprise Linux for four or five 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?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is scalable, but it depends on the deployment.
How are customer service and support?
I rate Red Hat support 10 out of 10. I'm a big fan.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Ubuntu, which has its own cloud service. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a better option if the client has a budget. Red Hat Enterprise Linux can be certified and meet compliance requirements.
How was the initial setup?
Deploying Red Hat Enterprise Linux is straightforward, but the complexity and time required depend on whether we are deploying on a virtual machine or a desktop. If we have the correct documentation, the total process can be completed in three to five days.
I have used the Image Builder Tool, but in the latest deployment, I pulled down the repository from the Docker hub. We use our own XML file and create the repository. It's a two or three-day design process for Red Hat Linux. We need one data resource for that process and a second engineer on the support side if we want to set up more servers from their on-site services.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's affordable, but everything costs money. At the same time, everything adds value for our clients. For example, I was working on a machine-learning project, and they needed more team resources, and all the projects used computing power. By running multiple clusters, the client exceeded the rate for that data. We buy services from AWS, the Azure Marketplace, or directly from Red Hat.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux nine out of 10. I recommend buying the services in a package if you can afford it. If the client doesn't have the budget, we can find alternatives. It depends on the client's needs.
Easy to use with good command line capabilities and offers easy access for admins
What is our primary use case?
We have almost thirteen servers. There are SaaS applications installed on this server. We leverage Java and the functionality during installation. We install it on the platform and configure it there. Some are custom applications. Our database is also in the Red Hat Linux environment.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution offers users easy access. It's very simple to have and use, from an admin perspective.
What is most valuable?
The offering provides me with all I need to serve the operation in terms of usage and capabilities.
The general user commands are good. They are helpful for starting and stopping applications and restarting and editing files. The maintenance of user-level processes is easy.
We're not using it in a graphical environment, we're only using command line mode. There may be a lot of features, however, I don't use everything since I don't need to.
There are millions of commands you can use, although we use only five or ten.
Likely the solution has helped our organization save on costs. I'm not sure by how much, as I don't have visibility into that aspect.
It's very easy to use across physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructure. Specifically, on the cloud side, I have noted it's quite easy. Also, on a virtual machine, you can create a cloud version of your infrastructure in a minute.
What needs improvement?
For my work, the solution is not missing any features. We;re only using the command line and that is enough for us.
Maybe they need to make it easier to apply patches from different resources. That said, at my level of usage, I never have to apply patches.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for almost ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
While I'm maintaining 30 servers, there are hundreds of servers in use.
The scalability is good. We are able to increase capacity and functionality based on our demands.
I'm not sure if the company has plans to increase usage in the future.
How are customer service and support?
I don't directly deal with technical support. I might send a ticket to my side, and if they have to, they would be the ones to reach out to Red Hat.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Oracle Linux before we moved over to Red Hat Linux. We likely switched due to costs and licensing. We also use Windows extensively. Since we used the same architecture, we didn't need to use any third-party applications.
How was the initial setup?
As an admin, I was not involved in the setup process.
If there is any maintenance needed, we get support from the Red Hat team. If anything comes up on the operating side, our team will take care of it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm only using this solution as an admin and, therefore, have no visibility on costs.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate other options before choosing this solution.
What other advice do I have?
I'm an end-user of the solution. I had admin-level access to the product.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux does not enable us to achieve security standard certification.
I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Enables users to increase the file systems dynamically and provides excellent support and subscription models
What is our primary use case?
I work in infrastructure. We have various use cases for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. We use it for the compute feature, which runs on some applications on the front end and databases on the back end.
What is most valuable?
LVM is a valuable feature. It enables us to dynamically increase the file systems or logical volumes. My journey with this feature started 10 to 12 years ago.
LVM is the reason why I started using the solution initially. Nowadays, there are a lot of applications. We can use clustering, security, and optimize security.
What needs improvement?
The product's availability is on the main cloud hyperscalers, like GCP, IBM Cloud, Azure, and AWS. The product should be made available on Oracle Cloud.
I would like to see Ansible as a default in future releases.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for 13 to 14 years.
How are customer service and support?
Although some questions are not business-critical and high priority, they are still urgent. The support identifies such questions as P3 or P4 incidents. Although there's no business impact, we depend on the support team for answers.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used SUSE Linux. We have also used open-source tools like Ubuntu, Fedora, and CentOS. We switched to Red Hat Enterprise Linux due to its vast exposure to security vulnerabilities. Its support model, subscription model, and its support for HANA are valuable.
What other advice do I have?
We use the product on-premise, on IBM Cloud, and on Azure. The subscription model of the solution enables us to use hybrid environments. We can enjoy the benefits of the hybrid environment with the bring-your-own-subscription model.
We have plans for upgrades. We have a legacy Red Hat Enterprise Linux. One of the customers has version 5. We are trying to build an upgrade plan for it. We would like to know whether we can directly land on version 9 or if we should go step by step to each version.
The solution's built-in security features are exciting. I like that the solution covers the recent vulnerabilities in the CVEs. The solution should continue to do that.
Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Enables organizations to achieve security standards certification
What is our primary use case?
We are an Azure shop that runs middleware applications like Java and JBoss, running on the Azure back end. We have to redeploy everything via ARM templates. Anytime we do an upgrade of the application itself, it's a redeployment. We have custom images that we set up through Azure pipelines. We use Ansible for code changes and server changes.
What is most valuable?
The solution's stability is great, and patching it with Ansible is very easy.
What needs improvement?
The solution's licensing sometimes could be a little bit confusing for someone who's not a full-blown system admin and doesn't have a lot of experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It took a while for me to understand the licensing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for three years.
What other advice do I have?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux’s built-in security features for simplifying risk reduction and maintaining compliance are pretty good. My only exposure is just packet management, but packet management gives me everything that I need.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has enabled us to achieve security standards certification. We have to stay on top of things because we work with the Ontario District School Board. There's a big emphasis on keeping everything secure, and the solution has helped us to do that.
Right now, our company is migrating to 8.8, and I think we will stay on 8 for a few years. We're doing everything through the images, and we keep everything updated with Ansible. I don't think we have any plans to use any of the automation tools other than Ansible.
Overall, I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux ten out of ten.
Can be used for virtualization and multi-cloud environment integrations
What is our primary use case?
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for virtualization and multi-cloud environment integrations.
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has improved our organization by at least 10% in the business unit and multiplies across the other business units as well.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are the mobile applications and getting real-time notifications. With other solutions, each cloud infrastructure is hard to manage with different notifications coming on, but Red Hat Enterprise Linux is able to go on-premises and cloud.
What needs improvement?
A lot of improvement is required to get security compliance, especially with the privacy of the data, managing it, and storing it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for five to seven years.
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup involves initial hiccups going back and forth to the requirements and the architecture, but so far, so good.
What was our ROI?
We have seen a return on investment with Red Hat Enterprise Linux regarding timely customer delivery, leading with innovation, and going into cloud solutions. It has progressed, and the maturity level has improved. So, we are learning as we go along this journey.
What other advice do I have?
A lot of improvement is required to get security compliance, especially with the privacy of the data, managing it, and storing it. I'm sure Red Hat Enterprise Linux will be able to improve in the future.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux's effect on our system's uptime or security has been really positive. Especially with the customer's feedback coming out, I would definitely like to continue its usage.
It has enabled us to achieve 50% security standards certification. It doesn't fall into that domain, but the overall security policies do help integrate with it.
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux in a hybrid-cloud environment. It has not yet supported our hybrid cloud strategy. It's still a work in progress, but I'm sure they will be able to do it in the future.
The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux is really helpful, especially in connecting different cross-functional communities.
Our in-house monitoring services team with the network operating center manages our Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems regarding provisioning and patching. It has quite a good integration with Red Hat.
We have tried Red Hat Insights, and it's really helpful for the market competitive intelligence portal we have in-house and how it interacts with external parties.
We have tried Red Hat Enterprise Linux system roles, and it is helpful for on-time delivery.
We have tried the Red Hat Enterprise Linux web console. It has helped us 50%, and it still needs to be reviewed in more detail.
Overall, I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux an eight out of ten.
Gives us the confidence that our packages are legitimate and genuine
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case is for web applications and database applications. I've come across quite a few use cases at different companies.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the package management. It helps a lot. I also like the support.
Red Hat is a Linux-supportive and well-managed offering. It helps a lot in terms of when we're working in production, it gives us the confidence that our packages are legitimate and genuine and we always have support available. It helps a lot. Red Hat Enterprise Linux gives peace of mind compared to other unsupported Linux distributions.
I also like Red Hat Satellite.
I haven't used Insights yet but it seems interesting.
The ability to patch Red Hat Enterprise Linux through Satellite is a huge contributor to mitigating all of the compliance requirements.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux has absolutely affected our security's uptime. None of the other distributions are nearly close to what you can get with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is something that helps a lot in ensuring that your secure application is up all the time and that you're not getting hit by vulnerabilities. It is an easier way for you to mitigate vulnerabilities when they're around.
The knowledge base is very useful. The only thing is that you need to have an account to get access. In terms of the content, the relevance, and being able to use the knowledge base to address things I've needed to deal with, it's awesome. For example, I was trying to add proxy configuration to the package manager once and if it wasn't for the knowledge base, I wouldn't have been able to do it.
What needs improvement?
I like it the way it is.
It's getting easier for the community to use it free of charge. If you have an account, you get to use it. It would be better if the community could use it on their own for lab projects.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux since 2011. It's been 12 years.
How are customer service and support?
On the few occasions I needed to reach out to support, I was very satisfied.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Linux distributions but when it comes to the work I'm doing at my company, we always use Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
The biggest differences between Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the other OS' are the support, Satellite, Insights, and the fact that Ansible was acquired by Red Hat so you can use all its automation and toolings. The entire ecosystem works very well together.
What other advice do I have?
Red Hat has not personally enabled me to achieve security standard certifications in the projects I've worked on but I could see how it would help.
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux a ten out of ten. I really like it.
We do a lot of patching and upgrading with Ansible and we keep the host up to date all the time.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Comes with patching feature but needs improvement in support
What is most valuable?
Red Hat Enterprise Linunx's most valuable feature is patching.
What needs improvement?
I am not happy with Red Hat's support. It is difficult to find knowledgeable people. It's hard to troubleshoot.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linunx since 2009.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Solaris before Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Solaris' environment is closed, while Red Hat Enterprise Linunx is open-source.
What other advice do I have?
Red Hat Enterprise Linunx's knowledge base is good, and you can find answers there.
I rate the product a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Frequent need for updates and lack of stability can be problematic
What is our primary use case?
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux across different versions, from six to nine, to run various applications. Our main area of focus involves using Satellite support to manage and patch both the Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS and specific applications like OpenShift and other products supported by Red Hat. We have multiple environments, including Azure, AWS, and a standalone eXs host.
What needs improvement?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux's patching process needs improvement, particularly in achieving consistency. Currently, when you patch, you might not have control over the timing, leading to different software packages ending up at different patch levels. This lack of consistency can make it challenging to manage and control the various components effectively. My background is in IBM AIX, so the patching is based on the technology level and the service pack level, so all the related patches stay at the same level.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ten years.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the knowledge base offered by Red Hat as average. I would rate their support as a three out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Negative
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use IBM AIX. I prefer AIX, but Red Hat Enterprise Linux is cheaper. However, IBM has real technical support. You can call a 1-800 number and get a technician on the line. That's real technical support. Red Hat requires you to email them and schedule a call.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux as a five out of 10.
I don't see Red Hat Enterprise Linux's built-in security features as effectively simplifying risk reduction and compliance. We use AIX, but still, we face a lot of vulnerabilities from Red Hat that need frequent patching, often monthly. This frequent need for updates, along with the rapid changes in Red Hat Enterprise Linux releases, can be frustrating and lead to instability. In the banking industry, where we take vulnerabilities seriously, these frequent releases and lack of stability can be problematic.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Can be leveraged without resource constraints but should have more open-source options
What is our primary use case?
We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux in different application servers.
What is most valuable?
The tool's most valuable feature is simplicity. There is value in having a fully CLI-based operating system instead of a GUI-based one. It is lightweight and can be leveraged without resource constraints.
What needs improvement?
I want Red Hat Enterprise Linux to stick to the open-source routes. As a company, we experience challenges in managing the budget.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for three years.
What other advice do I have?
From a licensing perspective, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is flexible. We leverage our licenses based on the VMware cluster.
Accessing the knowledge base from the public perspective is challenging. You can get much more from the documentation if you are a supported organization. If Red Hat Enterprise Linux continues to keep the documentation open-source, it will benefit us.
We leverage Ansible to help with the upgrades. It makes upgrades easier. We rely on a reseller for Ansible AWS upgrades.
We are shifting our Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers from version 7 to version 8.
I rate the product a seven out of ten.