Difference between Oracle Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux

The Linux operating system is a very popular OS. The Linux architecture includes kernel, development tools, system libraries, and end-user tools. The kernel is the main core of the Linux OS, which is used to manage the files, processes, devices, and memory. Accessing kernel functionality is made easier via system libraries. The user may utilize the GUI or the CLI when using Linux OS. Oracle Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS are two of the many Linux distributions available.

In this article, you will learn about the difference between Oracle Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS. But before discussing the differences, you must know about Oracle Linux and the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system.

What is Oracle Linux?

Oracle Linux is also referred to as Oracle Enterprise Linux. It is a free Linux distro that is developed by Oracle. It is available under the GNU and contains large community support. This Linux variant is used by Oracle Cloud and Engineering Systems, including Oracle Exadata.

Users may download this OS through the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud or its official site. Users may develop apps and use and distribute these apps without any cost. The Oracle Linux OS support program offers commercial and professional assistance with installing Oracle Linux, RHEL, and CentOS. Over 15,000 users of Oracle Linux were members of the support program as of 2016.

Features of Oracle Linux

There are various features of Oracle Linux. Some main features of Oracle Linux are as follows:

1. It may be free in self-support environments and paid Linux support agreement for production workloads.
2. It is high-performance and secures OS for application development and deployment.
3. It provides an optional zero-downtime patching solution called Ksplice, which allows servers to be patched regularly without needing a server reboot.
4. It is an open and full operating platform that includes virtualization, management, and cloud-native computing features in a single support offering. It is 100% application-binary compatible with RHEL. As of its compatibility, it is frequently used as a replacement for other RPM-based distributions like CentOS.
5. It is continuously improved after its development.
6. It also contains various cloud-native tools.

What is Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial open-source Linux distribution which is created by Red Hat. It is available on the server, and desktop editions for x86-64, IBM Z, ARM64, and Power ISA. Fedora Linux act as its upstream source. The RHEL platform is primarily focused on all official Red Hat support and training, as well as the Red Hat Certification Program.

The first variant of RHEL was known as Red Hat Linux Advanced Server. In 2003, Red Hat produced two variants, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES and Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS, renamed Red Hat Linux Advanced Server "Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS".

Red Hat employs strong trademark regulations to reduce the free re-distribution of its officially supported versions of RHEL, even though the source code is publicly available. Third-party derivatives may be made and disseminated when non-free elements like Red Hat's trademarks have been removed. Some examples of RHEL contain commercial forks such as Oracle Linux and community-supported distributions such as Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux.

Features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux Operating System

There are many features of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS. Some main features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS are as follows:

1. It provides certifications from several public cloud and service providers, open-source code adaptability, and open-source communities' creativity.
2. It contains built-in security features like mandatory access controls (MAC) and Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) that helps you combat incursions and fulfil regulatory compliance.
3. It offers you access to Red Hat's wide ecosystem of cloud, software, and hardware partners and offers 24x7 support.
4. It provides system administrators with a comprehensive framework for simplifying both deployment and system configuration tasks.

Key differences between Oracle Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS

Here, you will learn about the various key differences between Oracle Linux and RHEL OS. Some main differences between Oracle Linux and RHEL OS are as follows:

1. Oracle Linux is a Linux OS packaged and freely disseminated by Oracle, which has been offered under the GNU since late 2006. On the other hand, RHEL is a Linux distribution created by Red Hat aimed at the commercial market.
2. GNOME and KDE are Oracle Linux's default user interfaces. In contrast, RHEL's default UI is GNOME.
3. Oracle Linux OS utilize RPM Package Manager. On the other hand, Redhat OS uses PackageKit, Yum, and RPM package managers.
4. Oracle Linux is developed by Oracle cooperation. In contrast, RHEL is created by Red Hat Inc.
5. Oracle Linux is licensed under the GNU GPL and several other licenses. On the other hand, RHEL offers a variety of free software licenses and proprietary binary blobs.
6. Oracle Linux is mostly utilized for enterprise and cloud computing. On the other hand, RHEL is used primarily for workstations, servers, supercomputers, and mainframes.

Head-to-head comparison between Oracle Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Here, you will learn about the head-to-head comparison between Oracle Linux and RHEL. Some main differences between Oracle Linux and RHEL are as follows:

Conclusion

There are two Linux distributions: Oracle Linux and RHEL. Both OS are open source and use a single kernel. The fundamental distinction between Oracle Linux and RHEL is that Oracle Cooperation created Oracle Linux, which is commonly utilized for Enterprise and Cloud computing. In contrast, Red Hat Inc. created RHEL, particularly for the commercial market.