Sign in
Categories
Your Saved List Become a Channel Partner Sell in AWS Marketplace Amazon Web Services Home Help

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 (RHEL 8.8) w/ support by Rinne Labs

Rinne Labs | Rinne Labs rhel-8.8-20250719

Linux/Unix, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 - 64-bit Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

Reviews from AWS customer

55 AWS reviews

External reviews

224 reviews
from

External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.


4-star reviews ( Show all reviews )

    Arvind Chaturvedi

Empowers enterprise management with automation and evolving features

  • October 16, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux serves various functions, including operating system tasks, satellite management, and OpenShift deployments. Additionally, we utilize Red Hat's Insight and Subscription Manager products.

Our organization utilizes Red Hat Enterprise Linux, both on-premises and in the cloud. While we maintain on-premises systems, certain departments also leverage Red Hat Enterprise Linux in a cloud environment. As the license manager for Red Hat in our organization, I can confirm that we have a substantial number of Enterprise systems operating in the cloud.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers key benefits for enterprise management, including features such as patch management, resource isolation, enhanced stability, and improved performance through automation. Unlike its earlier versions, Red Hat now provides these functionalities out-of-the-box, eliminating the need for extensive scripting and streamlining administrative tasks. Red Hat introduced an online patch management system in Red Hat nine, similar to what AIX offered years ago. This system, which likely will be included in Red Hat ten and eleven, allows for online patching without requiring a reboot. This is a significant advantage for enterprise companies who cannot afford downtime, making Red Hat an even more attractive option for them.

Looking beyond a Red Hat-centric view, hybrid cloud computing significantly enhances customer service. Whether through new service offerings, modernized workflows, or improved scalability, automation, and high availability inherent in cloud solutions, the benefits are clear. Furthermore, Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides stability, avoiding the reboots and challenges often associated with Windows environments. Therefore, hybrid cloud adoption is a strong strategy for enterprise companies, offering substantial advantages.

To enhance future development centralization, our development teams are transitioning to Red Hat Enterprise Linux on our development servers.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux has robust built-in security features that effectively contribute to risk reduction, business continuity, and compliance maintenance. Red Hat demonstrates a solid commitment to security by providing timely updates and fixes to its customers. While the operating system itself is secure, it's important to note that Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides a foundational image that requires further hardening through the implementation of security controls. Red Hat empowers users with a platform and a range of hardening options, enabling them to tailor security measures to their specific application needs. Furthermore, Red Hat's rapid release of fixes and updates, often within a day or two of a vulnerability discovery, ensures that customers have access to the latest security enhancements.

The portability of applications and containers built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux fosters organizational agility by enabling a continuous cycle of learning, trying, adapting, and iterating. Containers offer a streamlined approach to development, allowing for rapid deployment and effortless updates. If a containerized application doesn't work, it can be quickly destroyed and recreated with updated components, significantly reducing deployment time compared to traditional methods. This rapid iteration aligns perfectly with agile principles, enabling organizations to respond swiftly to changing needs and requirements.

Red Hat Satellite provides patching information and compliance percentages for our systems, but in a multi-departmental enterprise environment, Red Hat Insights offers a more comprehensive view. Insights synchronizes data from Satellite and provides a centralized platform to monitor compliance across different application sectors. This addresses the limitation of Satellite, which may not be accessible to all stakeholders. Insights' API-based functionality allows integration with ServiceNow, creating a single pane of glass view of compliance for various teams. Furthermore, the Insights client provides granular visibility into vulnerabilities, further enhancing transparency and management capabilities. This integration streamlines compliance monitoring and improves overall efficiency.

Red Hat Insights provides vulnerability alerts and guidance. While it doesn't necessarily affect uptime, the severity of the vulnerability determines the response. High-severity vulnerabilities require immediate evaluation to assess their impact. Multiple security layers within the environment may mitigate immediate risks. However, vulnerabilities should be addressed promptly. Insights enhance transparency and provide detailed information for timely action.

What is most valuable?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers many features I appreciate, especially the increasing maturity of the operating system and its automation platform. The automation platform, in particular, has significantly evolved over the past three years. Satellite, now known as Insight, is another excellent product, providing easy and convenient patch management for both managed and unmanaged systems. Its reporting on users, vulnerabilities, and other key information is also quite valuable. Having used Red Hat since version three and now working with versions eight and nine, I'm consistently impressed by its progress. The preview of Red Hat ten looks amazing, and I plan to implement it soon after its release.

What needs improvement?

The area of improvement is patch management, specifically isolating kernel and operating system patching to prevent downtime for enterprise applications.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprises Linux is stable, and improvements are constantly made.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We are not extensively using the scalability features, but the documentation and technology are growing.

How are customer service and support?

I am generally happy with Red Hat's customer service and technical support. There are challenges with different time zones, but overall, the service is satisfactory.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers a straightforward pricing and licensing model. The subscription manager provides clear visibility into license usage and facilitates tracking usage growth over time. Although the tool is still under development, Red Hat is actively collaborating with customers to improve its features and functionality. The subscription manager enhances transparency by enabling accurate tracking of license consumption and ensuring alignment with customer needs. Red Hat Insights, working with the satellite, further strengthens transparency by automatically calculating and reporting license usage. This comprehensive approach simplifies customer license management and promotes clarity in supplier relationships.

What other advice do I have?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a solid operating system, earning an 8 out of 10 rating. While no OS is perfect, and there's always room for improvement, Red Hat effectively meets the evolving demands of the business market.

While numerous open-source operating systems are available for development, enterprise-class companies require the stability and support of enterprise-level solutions. Red Hat Enterprise Linux bridges this gap by offering a forum for feedback and collaboration, allowing users to directly influence feature improvements and updates. Red Hat Enterprise Linux effectively combines the flexibility of open source with the robust support and reliability required by enterprise-class customers, unlike many other open-source operating systems that lack this level of responsiveness.

Our focus is on the enterprise support and open mindset Red Hat provides, looking to customer benefits and services.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure


    ScottSteele

A solid and secure operating system with excellent support

  • October 08, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is automation. We have Ansible running on some Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers, and a lot of it is geared towards automation. We have the automation of processes like patching, upgrades, OS enhancements, or OS upgrades. Additionally, our stores run on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is pretty secure, but we rely on our network products to handle a lot of our security. We have Cisco products. These servers that we are currently running are not necessarily tightened down on the ports, traffic, etc. We rely on Cisco firewalling to handle a lot of the traffic, load balancing, and so forth. I have not configured a lot of security per se right on the server itself at a kernel level.

I like the knowledge base. They have a pretty good knowledge base portal. On their website, they have a lot of great classes. I do appreciate doing that. I have taken several myself, so I am pretty impressed by that.

We use Ansible Playbooks for patching our devices, especially those that are out in the field. We are using Ansible Playbooks to handle patching. We are using the systemctl command that goes into the repos to grab whatever patches we need. So far, the management experience has been good.

What is most valuable?

I have used a lot of different Linux distributions, and one thing that I like about Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the support. The support from Red Hat is very good. They offer excellent customer and vendor support. 

The ease of training is great, and I appreciate products like Ansible Tower. 

Its interface is good. It is a very solid operating system.

What needs improvement?

Some of the documentation that I have run into or encountered appeared to be a bit outdated. That would be an area for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux since early 2000. It has been about 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is very stable. I have not experienced any instances of crashing with the Red Hat servers that I have worked on.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Other than the issues with the legacy software or some of the IBM AS/400 that we tried to add to it, it has been pretty seamless. Building them out and migration to the data center or the VMware environment has been pretty seamless. 

How are customer service and support?

Customer service is great. We use a support portal to open a ticket, and the response time is good. We usually get an email response or an update to the ticketing system, and then if necessary, we get a callback within four hours. The response time also depends on the priority. If we are looking at a massive data center outage, I am sure it is a priority one. Most of the tickets I submitted took one to four hours.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used SUSE in the past. They have a pretty good support system. They have got a good OS. I am not sure what the market share is for those guys, but they are pretty good.

How was the initial setup?

Our environment is a combination of the cloud and on-premises, but we primarily use Red Hat Enterprise Linux on-prem. We have a few development test servers running on Azure. They are not used in production. They are just for testing.

I was involved with the migration from SUSE to Red Hat, but that was close to a decade ago.

From what I recall, the initial setup was not that difficult. We did have some engineers from Red Hat who came out to help us. It would have been more difficult if we did not have them there, but from my recollection, it was not very challenging or difficult. We were able to get that done pretty quickly. There were some issues with legacy software, but those applications were built on the Windows platform. They were a little bit of a mess. Other than that, it appeared to go pretty smoothly for us.

It does not require much maintenance. Other than patching and keeping up with bulletins as to what might be out there, there is not much. There is not a huge amount of maintenance. They run pretty solidly. The uptime is great. I do not have to restart a lot of these servers. I might have to restart a service here and there, but nothing that I can remember.

What about the implementation team?

We had help from Red Hat engineers during the implementation.

What was our ROI?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides a much more secure and stable system than Windows infrastructure, and the support is also great. Of course, you pay for the support.

We were able to see its benefits after some time. Some of the returns are seen after a while, not immediately. Sometimes, migrations might be difficult to do if you are running legacy software.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I am not involved in the budgetary aspect, but from what I understand, the pricing is competitive, similar to what we paid for SUSE.

What other advice do I have?

Having a solid foundation in Linux can be very helpful. Learn as much as possible. Automation has become a very important part of the industry now. Learning how to automate with Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker, and Python along with Red Hat Enterprise Linux should set you up for success.

We have not tried Red Hat Enterprise Linux Image Builder or System Roles. Image Builder sounds good, but I have not tried Image Builder. We build our images from vCenter. Image Builder would definitely be something to check out.

Using it in a hybrid environment is a very interesting concept, where we keep some of the hardware and applications on-prem and then maybe rely on Red Hat to handle some of the networking or other configurations externally. I would like to try that hybrid approach.

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises


    AhmedHassan8

Provides enhanced system availability with improved security and file performance

  • September 30, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

I use Red Hat Enterprise Linux to control my Docker systems and build and run containers on them. I also use it for a tokenization project I'm working on.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has improved the availability and security of our systems. The knowledge base, Wiki forums, and other resources are very helpful in simplifying my daily operations. We realized the benefits immediately after deployment. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are the availability, file system performance, and overall system availability. The kernel is more secure than my previous operating systems, such as Windows.  Red Hat's knowledge base is helpful. I consult it several times in my daily work. I can ask questions on the forums and get help in my daily operations.

Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux's image builder is easy. I can use GitAI to pull any image I want to build on my system and reach into it using Red Hat. I use Convert2RHEL to publish my work on tokenization. I'm publishing more than 70 prints on my system daily, and saving this file. It's easy to use.

What needs improvement?

There are performance issues with the response time when accessing the console, but I'm unsure if that's Red Hat Enterprise Linux's fault or if it's due to the lack of CPU or memory on our machines. The enterprise interface could be improved. I can only use the keyboard to transfer files from one system to another. I want to use my mouse on the interface, not just scroll up and down. I would also like my logs archived as an RAR and sent to me. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for more than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability is critical to us. Red Hat Enterprise Linux ensures our machine's availability and reduces the need for frequent restarts.

How are customer service and support?

I have not contacted customer or technical support myself. Our infrastructure team handles any contacts with Red Hat support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used Ubuntu before. Red Hat has a more robust knowledge base, and finding solutions to any problem is easier.

How was the initial setup?

The infrastructure team handled the initial setup. I'm a software engineer working on my applications. The infrastructure team builds the machine, and I only use it. It was relatively easy, depending on the complexity of the deployment configuration. After deployment, we have maintenance on our machine if there are new patches to deploy. I have three machines, and each one is identical, with the same containers, so I don't need to do maintenance on our machines more than once monthly. 

What other advice do I have?

It is important to use the knowledge base and familiarize oneself with key commands to gain more about Linux and ease its usage.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises


    Ali Mahdi

We get better performance, reliability, and security with this operating system

  • September 26, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

We use this operating system for our on-prem servers because it is more secure and reliable. We can install whatever application we want.

How has it helped my organization?

I chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux because it is more secure and reliable than other operating systems. Red Hat has a feature called SELinux. I always use it because it is more secure than the other operating systems. I am using it with most of the applications. It is our baseline OS for any application.

The built-in security features are helpful when it comes to simplifying risk reduction and maintaining compliance.

Red Hat has very useful documentation. I always use it when I face an error or something like that. It is very reliable, and I use it all the time.

Over the last three to four years, I did not work in just one environment. I worked in two environments, but all the time we used Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we got more security and reliability. We have seen performance enhancement and less downtime for our main application. There is more reliability and better performance. It has improved our environment. We now have better performance, more reliability, and more security. There is about 30% to 50% improvement.

I have previously worked in the banking sector for one of the banks. We can now configure Red Hat Enterprise Linux for PCI-DSS Compliance. It has improved in that aspect.

What is most valuable?

SELinux is valuable. The main reasons for using Red Hat Enterprise Linux are security, reliability, and efficiency. The system is very reliable, and it is more efficient than others.

What needs improvement?

It is not very easy to manage because it has a command line interface, and it can be a little bit confusing from one version to another. For example, the administration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 is a bit different than Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. It is a little bit hard but not that much.

The GUI experience can be better. They can make it easier to access files and copy them. We should be able to do that without the command line. For example, if you compare it with Windows, Windows is easier to use. They can just simplify the user experience.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for three to four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable. I would rate it an eight out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I did not face any issue with scalability, so I would rate it a nine out of ten.

We implemented it at the HQ and the DR site. We used it at two locations. We had 100 to 200 users using these servers.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have experience with Windows Server. From a security perspective, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is more secure. From a performance perspective, Red Hat Enterprise Linux has better performance, but from the ease of management perspective, Windows is better.

How was the initial setup?

The installation at the application layer is a little bit complex. The duration depends on the application, but most of the application takes months. Implementing an easy application or service, such as a web service, takes two to three days.

When it comes to the management, I manage it locally. I go through SSH on the command line and manage it. For security patching and updates, most of the time, I use Red Hat Satellite. It is a product from Red Hat for managing updates. Red Hat Satellite is easy to use and very helpful. I have upgraded from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.

When it comes to security patches, they require a restart. That can cause some downtime.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I do not have much knowledge of licensing. That is handled by the procurement team, but I know that it is expensive. If they can provide more licensing options, it will be much easier for companies to buy.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Red Hat Enterprise Linux because it is more secure, reliable, and scalable.

I used System Roles two years ago. It was simple to use System Roles. I succeeded in implementing them, so it was simple. They can be managed, but I used them only one time, so I do not have this much experience with them. 

I also used a service called Cockpit. It was easy to use. It was very helpful and easy.

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux an eight out of ten.


    RETEE ADAK

We see immediate benefits; it is stable and has a sound support system

  • September 24, 2024
  • Review from a verified AWS customer

What is our primary use case?

I work on SAP HANA, which is on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

How has it helped my organization?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux has a good support portal that I rely on.

The system rules are helpful for segregation of duties, as they provide us with more feasible access to the system, allowing us to register it accordingly.

We immediately see the benefits of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

What is most valuable?

From an administrative perspective, the cloud platform is the best because we don't have to wait long. It's a portal, so we can access whatever we want through it, whether the Azure portal or the AWS portal; we click, and it'll purchase it for us. Some deployments take 30 to 40 minutes. But in most cases, especially for small services, it's just a few seconds to three minutes. From a business perspective, the pay-as-you-go concept is where we only pay for what we use. So those are the two things I like most about the cloud version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

What needs improvement?

Using Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the cloud can become costly over the long term.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the cloud is stable with a 99.9 percent uptime. Regional redundancies are used to ensure data accessibility.

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment was a little challenging until I became familiar with the solution through the portal. We did encounter a handshaking issue with Azure that required submitting a ticket to Microsoft, but otherwise, the process went smoothly. A team of four were involved in the deployment.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux eight out of ten.

We have to apply patches weekly, monthly, or quarterly, depending on their purpose.

We had no concerns about using Red Hat Enterprise Linux in the cloud because both AWS and Azure supported it, and they provided support if needed.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure


    Mohammad Zain Akbar

It has high availability, built-in disaster recovery, and SSH features

  • September 20, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

We use Red Hat Enterprise Linux for file transfers and changing file permissions. It is also used to check file spaces and for migration purposes. Our tools are hosted on the Linux environment, and our agent services run on it.

How has it helped my organization?

We use Red Hat Linux to start and stop our agent services during migration, install new agents, and transfer files. The primary benefit is that it's a widely used open-source solution with good support. Now that we've migrated from CentOS to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we will realize some benefits. Red Hat Enterprise Linux has more features. 

What is most valuable?

I like Red Hat Enterprise Linux's clustering capabilities and high-level architecture. It has high availability, built-in disaster recovery, SSH features, and scripting. 

The documentation is excellent. Since it was acquired by IBM, the open-source tools and technologies hosted on the Linux environment have been updated with many new features. 

What needs improvement?

It would be great if Red Hat had its cloud instead of using AWS, Azure, or GCP. Red Hat Enterprise Linux should have a dedicated cloud. I would also like to see more Windows support. 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux could also be more user-friendly and use AI or machine learning to automate processes. That is the most dynamic feature in the information technology industry.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Red Hat for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have intermittent issues with stability, but we're hoping they will improve in the latest version.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is quite scalable. We can place a lot of agents on Linux servers, some on the cloud, and a few on-prem. It can handle the workload. 

How are customer service and support?

I rate Red Hat support eight out of 10. We have communicated with Red Hat support via email. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we used CentOS. Another Linux flavor I've used is Ubuntu. 

How was the initial setup?

The first deployment of Red Hat Enterprise Linux had a learning curve, but I've learned a lot since then. Once you know the process, then it's straightforward. It uses a command-based process, but if it were based on a GUI or a console, like a Windows installer, that would be a significant improvement. 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux requires some housekeeping. We have to restart and patch servers weekly or biweekly and check the CPU, memory size, file size, the database used, and whether the IP network protocols are defined. All this happens monthly, weekly, or fortnightly.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux eight out of 10. 


    Muzi Maphophe

Good automation capabilities, excellent performance, and helpful support

  • September 13, 2024
  • Review from a verified AWS customer

What is our primary use case?

We are using the solution for automation. Mainly, we're doing a lot of automation with it. One of the projects, for example, is for ensuring payments processes on forms. We streamline and optimize the insurance claims process using OpenShift. This has enabled us to do faster claims processes and make resource utilization more efficient than it was. Everything can be done online. There are no papers involved. 

How has it helped my organization?

It is mainly just cutting out redundant tasks. The focus was mainly driven by driving costs down and efficient resource utilization. We wanted a solution that could make deployment easy and ensure scalability.

The biggest benefit has been the automation. It affected our delivery schedule. Instead of doing something in two weeks, we do it faster. We've cut down our production time. And people are able to focus on other tasks since they're automating a lot of things. Even with our clients, when they have issues, we have created a system where they can send out a ticket. And from that ticket, we can diagnose, and it's easier to solve the issue at hand. 

In terms of cost per head, we've seen a drastic drawdown from that. It is mainly optimizing a lot of our systems and resources.

What is most valuable?

The high availability is great. It's available most of the time - even when we're doing upgrades, provisioning, configuration, and patching. It made things easier for us. 

The automation is great. I'm a big fan of offering convenience to people and making systems easier for people to understand and use. 

There are good features, such as proactive monitoring as well. It offers predictive analytics, which helps you identify issues before they impact operations. We can foresee several problems. On top of that, this is how we can combat those problems. These types of features are really valuable when considering a company's strategy and when it comes to the impact of operations. 

We are able to move workloads between different clouds or our data center using Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The knowledge base on offer is quite extensive. We started learning from a third-party provider since we've had a lot of use cases. Maybe you are installing something, or maybe during virtualization, you have to do something, and you need more information. The Red Hat OpenShift community is quite huge. Even a resource such as YouTube has people releasing videos on common problems. Even outside of Red Hat itself, the Red Hat community is very good. The information is extensive. The knowledge base is there. There's a lot of information sharing. People do not try to gatekeep information. 

When it comes to provisioning and patching, so far, we have not had a lot of issues. We currently are using a subscription model. In terms of getting security patches and updates, they support us quite well. There's a 24-hour support base and they're quite good. 

I've tried the Leapp and Red Hat Insights features. It helps with proactive monitoring. It did analyze the system configurations and compares those against databases of known problems and fixes. Basically, there's a pool of data that has common issues and it analyzes how you've configured your system and then compares them. It can come back to you and say, "Hey, this is your problem. Why don't you try the solution?" It's like a good AI tool. It gives us a lot of help. It's quick. Thanks to this feature, we sometimes find that we don't really need to open a ticket for support.

We realized the benefits of using RHEL in months. We were told when we were doing the onboarding, we'd see benefits in six months. For us, it took a little over eight months. That was due to some of our internal processes that we had to do, some sign-offs, et cetera. Still, it took us less than a year. Over time, we are down 20% to 30%.

In the beginning, we didn't start on the cloud. Only now are we fully transitioning to going off-site. There are still some clients who are a little resistant to going to the cloud. It's nice to be hybrid, to accommodate both. We've done a lot of virtualization and server consolidation. So far, everything is running smoothly. 

What needs improvement?

When moving workloads between different clouds or data centers, it's not that simple. There are a lot of things that you need to consider, including prerequisites and things like hardware, network, operating systems, et cetera. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes easier. However, in the beginning, it was very, very challenging. Coming from a development background, I found it easier to use command lines.

I've hit some snags doing updates or changing things for clients. 

It would be nice if they improved vulnerability management. They could add more security tools and tools for provisioning. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. We don't really have any downtime. I'd rate stability nine out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We've had no issues with scalability. It's quite user-friendly. 

How are customer service and support?

During the implementation, we did have to open a support ticket. They assisted us effectively.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've never tried other solutions. I know of other solutions, such as Ubuntu. However, my interactions with that solution have been minimal. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was a little bit complex. The instructions, however, were very clear, and our deployment strategy was clear. Still, for the technicians doing it, it was complex.

The setup took about a week and a half.  

I've been involved with two upgrades so far. They were challenging. There were a lot of teams involved. There needed to be a lot of migration planning. We had to use the Link Utility and we did a lot of testing first. We spent a long time verifying the applications and checking dependencies. It was quite a learning curve.

There is some maintenance needed in the form of system updates. 

What about the implementation team?

We did get a lot of help from RHEL. We had senior engineers guide us through the setup.

What was our ROI?

We've seen an ROI of around 30%.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

When we went through IBM, it was quite expensive. Now, we are going through AWS, which is less pricey. 

What other advice do I have?

We started off as a partner to IBM, and IBM opened up the opportunity for us to build certifications for Red Hat through the certification program. Then we became support specialists, taking on RHEL projects. We are in the process of becoming a reseller. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. We're doing a lot of big data infrastructure and they are giving us good stability and performance.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud


    Surya Peri

Flexible file system, very stable, and good support

  • September 13, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

We use it for SAP applications. We use it for web hosting, and then we use it for clustering.

How has it helped my organization?

We were previously using Windows Servers, but we had challenges with the compatibility with SAP applications, the support, and the frequency of patches. We had compatibility challenges when we wanted to go for an upgrade. We use the SAP HANA database for SAP applications, and the migration process from Windows to Linux was easy. We also got better support. While troubleshooting issues and doing RCA on unplanned events, the support we received from Red Hat was good.

Because of the reduction in compatibility issues, the number of downtimes was reduced. The escalations were reduced from the application side. The frequency of the patching was reduced, so such planned activities were reduced. With Windows, we were forced to go for patching even if the application was not ready for patching. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a good platform for SAP applications and the database in our organization. We prefer Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Patch management with the Red Hat Satellite server is also good. When it comes to automation, the automation tool for regular tasks on Windows was very backward compared to the Red Hat automation tool that we are now using. Red Hat Ansible is far ahead. We could automate many more tasks on-premises using the Red Hat platform as compared to the Windows platform.

Red Hat Insights helps us understand vulnerabilities and avoid any downtime and risks. If needed, we can easily reach out to the Red Hat support team for any help related to patching or changes.

The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux is very good. It is easy to understand. It is not too technical to understand. New users and application support teams can easily understand the information given in their knowledge base.

Initially, we used to do installation and patching manually, but we later implemented the Red Hat Satellite server, which was suggested by their team. We started using the Red Hat Satellite server. It has made deployment, patch management, and lifecycle management very easy.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux has affected our system's uptime. Earlier, the downtime was around six to eight hours, whereas now, it has come down to one hour. We also need less manpower for upgrades.

What is most valuable?

The file system is very good. We also have flexibility. We can scale the file system and add the mounts on the go without any downtime.

On Windows, for security, we need to have many applications and supporting tools installed externally whereas we get them with Red Hat Enterprise Linux without any issues. Application management is also easy compared to Windows.

Build management is also easier than Windows. When we had to deploy an application on Windows, the process was difficult compared to the Red Hat build process.

If someone wants to build automation, we can give them access to Red Hat Ansible Tower, which was not possible with Windows.

What needs improvement?

There can be a faster resolution. When we have production issues, they take around 30 to 60 minutes to come up with a solution. It would be quite helpful if their response is faster. They are also not reachable over the phone, so we need to wait for their callback for the ticket. If they are reachable over the phone, that will be quite good. Our account manager is reachable over the phone but only during certain times. Fast help would be quite helpful in the case of any urgent issues.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for the last nine years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

For reliability, I would rate it a ten out of ten. The downtime that we have is not because of the OS. That is generally because of the dependencies such as the network or VMware infrastructure.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate it an eight out of ten for scalability.

We have around 4,000 users, but the Red Hat boxes that we use are around 2,000. 

How are customer service and support?

In the case of any unplanned events, system crash, or something else, we get proper answers from their team. They help us with RCA, which is helpful in avoiding any such events in the future. We can also approach them when we want to implement something. When we were moving from version 7 to version 8, their support helped us. We could move a bulk of machines with a small downtime. The application team was quite happy because the downtime was for a very short duration.

Their support for urgent or production issues can be faster. I have had all kinds of experiences with their support. I have worked with their support for the last four or five years. We have had scenarios where we had to close a ticket with no resolution. We have also had an awesome and quick response from them. They have also helped us build up a process, which was quite tedious. Overall, I would rate them an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were previously using Windows Servers. We had challenges related to compatibility, support, and patch frequency. We were not very comfortable with Microsoft's support. Whenever we had any issues, they only asked us to reboot or wait for the patch. They kept giving us some patches. We were not comfortable with that because the applications were not ready for those patches, but they forced us to keep updating them with the patches. Red Hat support is better than Microsoft support. They do not just ask to reboot to solve an issue. They help us with a proper RCA.

How was the initial setup?

We have hypervisors in the on-prem environment. We use VMware on that. We are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux on bare metal and hypervisors. It is quite comfortable. We do not see any issue with either of them. Initially, we had some issues implementing the cluster on VMware, but Red Hat along with the VMware team helped us overcome the issues.

Its deployment was quite straightforward. There was no confusion. It took us some time initially but that got reduced with the help of Red Hat Satellite and Ansible Tower. Initially, it took 30 to 40 minutes for deployment. With the help of Red Hat Satellite and Ansible Tower, it came down to 15 to 20 minutes. We also needed less manpower because the process was quite straightforward. Previously, we had a team of four, but the number was reduced afterward. 

Upgrades are generally quite straightforward because we have spent some time with Red Hat support and built a process for easy upgrades.

We had some challenges with the upgrade from Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 7 to version 8 because of certain dependencies, but the Red Hat support helped us build a process and automate it. It took some time, but it got easy.

We have not used Red Hat Enterprise Linux Image Builder. It did not match our requirements. We built our own images. After moving to the Red Hat Satellite server, image building was quite easy.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is not fairly priced. If they can reduce the price, it would be nice. 

I understand that they do not have any big competition as of now. SUSE Linux is there, but Red Hat Enterprise Linux has overcome all the drawbacks that it had earlier. Initially, SUSE Linux was a quite comfortable platform for SAP applications, but Red Hat has improved in terms of development. Its kernel suits SAP applications very well. If they can also improve the pricing, it would be even better. They generally do not reduce the price, but they give add-ons. We can get licenses for the Satellite server, Ansible, etc.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Red Hat Enterprise Linux because of its support and reliability. In my career, I have worked with various Linux flavors such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, or Ubuntu Linux. Overall, the Linux platform is very reliable for most applications. With Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we get support when we need it.

We do not use the web console much on the support side, but the application team does use it once in a while. They find it comfortable because, for application deployment, they require a GUI. We provide them with the console, and they complete their task. We do not use it ourselves. We are quite comfortable with the command line interface.

Overall, I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises


    Afrin O M

The cloud platform provides a real-time experience, enabling us to practice for exams easily and enhance our Linux knowledge

  • September 02, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

I use Red Hat Enterprise Linux to create directories and files and configure security settings for the Red Hat Certified System Administrator exam.

How has it helped my organization?

The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux comprehensively covers the fundamental knowledge required for the Red Hat Certified System Administrator and Red Hat Certified Engineer certifications. My experience taking the Red Hat examination was positive, and I am satisfied with their product.

I can easily work with Red Hat OS because it is user-friendly, even for manual tasks. While it may be as expensive as Windows, they offer a four-month trial and provide cloud access. This is valuable for understanding Linux concepts and working within the Linux environment. Overall, it's a great learning experience.

What is most valuable?

We prefer not to install the Linux OS manually, so we opt to work in the cloud instead. The cloud platform provides a real-time experience, enabling us to practice for exams easily and enhance our Linux knowledge. This proves highly beneficial for students pursuing Red Hat certification.

What needs improvement?

While preparing for the Red Hat administrator examination, I worked with the cloud platform, which was generally good but occasionally experienced some lag. Sometimes, the platform would be very slow, making it difficult to open labs. It could take around 30 minutes to start a lab, and there were limitations on data persistence. Any work or files created would only be available for one week before disappearing, requiring recreation. This lack of long-term storage is a disadvantage of the Red Hat Cloud platform.

For how long have I used the solution?

I am currently using Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux seven out of ten because of the lagging.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

The support team was helpful in addressing the lag in the cloud.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I used UNIX before switching to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. UNIX did not provide adequate support for developers, making it challenging to work with. Though it's open source, UNIX lacked the features that we needed. So, I transitioned to Red Hat. Red Hat offers developers extensive support and access to technologies like OpenShift and Kubernetes. This makes it easier for developers and large companies to manage workloads and adopt new technologies.

I installed UNIX on my laptop and experienced no lag, unlike the lag I've encountered in the cloud with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

How was the initial setup?

Installing Red Hat is easy. We download the file and run it in our labs.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

One Red Hat license costs USD 131, which I find reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux eight out of ten.

We have 15 members in our group that use Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

I recommend Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It's much faster than UNIX and offers extensive management support, making it valuable for startups and engineering developers.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud


    Shane Archibald

Offers efficiency, performance, and reliability

  • August 21, 2024
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

As a teacher, I have used Red Hat Enterprise Linux for server-side applications and containerization. My experience encompasses various system administration tasks, including managing servers, directories, data storage, files, and other related elements.

While teaching my students about Red Hat, I share my knowledge of system administration tools. This prepares them for Linux work environments that use Red Hat, exposing them to these tools and their applications. This also strengthens my organization's position as a Red Hat Academy, enhancing our sector's expertise. Red Hat is a valuable tool for learning system administration due to its widespread use and versatility.

How has it helped my organization?

In any Linux operating system, the patches come through, whether it's through long-term support solutions or community support. It's rapid overall. So when it's there, it's immediate and there's option to install and pass those updates.

The web console is beneficial as it provides an alternative method of accessing the operating system through a web-based platform, making it a valuable tool.

The hybrid environment, a relatively new infrastructure for us, offers flexibility and options. While there's always room for improvement, I find it exciting to have the choice between on-premises and cloud solutions. Although I'm still learning the nuances of this technology, it's been a positive experience so far.

What is most valuable?

Reliability is the most valuable feature.

What needs improvement?

Any form of technology always has areas for improvement, and Red Hat is no exception. They continually strive to enhance their products, evident in the frequent releases of new versions and updates to their operating system. Given that there is no perfect operating system, further development will always be needed. To facilitate this process, Red Hat provides support and encourages community involvement to identify and implement solutions that enhance its operating system's overall functionality, effectiveness, and user experience.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for almost five years.

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment is complicated and requires up to two hours to complete.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

While expensive, Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers efficiency and performance. Its commitment to ongoing improvements makes it a valuable resource for businesses seeking a reliable and cutting-edge operating system.

What other advice do I have?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is eight out of ten.

Regarding challenges, I've attempted to replicate the Linux environment using Red Hat, combining virtual Red Hat clients with third-party platforms to emulate a real-time atmosphere. One major hurdle has been motivating students to understand and utilize the system for these purposes. However, I've consistently found ways to overcome this challenge by using virtual machines and engaging in group discussions to explore the system's capabilities. I strive to emulate the real-time environment using my own systems, demonstrating the potential benefits and encouraging students to visualize how the system works in practice.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises