Which enterprise Linux to choose?

David M Williams
Wednesday, 04 February 2009 05:54

IT Industry - Market

CentOS
It’s not really possible to talk about Red Hat Enterprise Linux without reference to CentOS. While Fedora is a “typical” free Linux, with a massive range of open source applications available, RHEL includes some extra apps not available in Fedora.

These include backup tools, RAID and clustering utilities and other items. Yet, despite being an obvious value-add to Red Hat, the company puts its money where its mouth is and has made even these custom in-house apps available as open source.

Consequently, CentOS is a totally independent Linux distribution which is built purely from the RHEL sources – with proprietary items like logos and trademarks removed.

This means CentOS is another free fully redistributable open source Linux distro but with the unique advantage it is functionally equivalent to the otherwise commercial RHEL.

At least, equivalent in terms of software. What you don’t get with CentOS is support beyond the usual Linux community options.

Click on the Support / Commercial support dropdown on CentOS’ web page and you are greeted with a placeholder page telling you more content will come in time.

Nevertheless, CentOS is meritable; it means system admins can pretty much run the same Linux on their laptops as they use on the servers but without any extra cost. Or, CentOS can be a proof-of-concept for a company before committing the funds to RHEL.

Nevertheless, as good as CentOS is, it’s arguably not an enterprise Linux distro because it doesn’t include the bits that go beyond the operating system – namely the strength of a large company backing the product to the hilt, giving you confidence and support whenever needed.

Ubuntu
In a similar vein is Ubuntu Linux, server edition.

Ubuntu is possibly the most popular – certainly the most popularised – Linux available today. It isn’t available just a single release; it comes in both a desktop and server edition.

Both are built on top of Debian Linux which is reputed for its stability (Ubuntu adding a regular release cycle, a consistent environment, and other items that make it friendlier to beginners.)

The server edition is freely available, with optional paid support available. This support takes the form of an annual service level agreement with live phone support and e-mail support available. The support can be 24x7 or 9x5 depending on requirements, but on the face of it appears less mobile than that offered by Novell and Red Hat, in that if a fleet of on-foot in-person engineers are available to come to you it is not promoted.

Oracle
Oracle are known for databases, but what may be less known about them is their “Unbreakable Linux” program. That name is compelling; everyone wants an unbreakable system.

If you are considering an Oracle deployment then it’s well worth looking at Oracle’s Linux platform to run it on. Even if you’re not considering a database server, Oracle’s unbreakable Linux has the same world-class service and support as Oracle’s traditional database system.

As with SUSE and Red Hat, Oracle promote the concept of validated configurations – tested hardware and software platforms. Software houses can certify their apps to work with the program.

Some terminology must be clarified. Oracle Unbreakable Linux is actually a support program.

It’s not a distribution. The distribution shipped is labelled Oracle Enterprise Linux but behind the scenes it’s fundamentally Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Remarkably, this means if you’re looking for a good enterprise Linux platform you’ll find that a Red Hat option is not limited for choice with support partners.

The argument put forth by various organisations that Linux can’t compete with other operating systems because it lacks support is totally blown away by the truly enterprise-class support offerings that exist, and not by unknown third parties but by vendors and major players.