Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Amazon Linux
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
Amazon Linux 2 is a Linux operating system from Amazon Web Services (AWS). It provides a security-focused, stable, and high-performance execution environment to develop and run cloud applications. Amazon Linux 2 is provided at no additional charge. AWS provides ongoing security and maintenance updates for Amazon Linux 2.N/A
FreeNAS
Score 5.5 out of 10
N/A
FreeNAS is an open source operating system that allows nearly any hardware serve as a network-attached storage device. It was developed by iXsystems.N/A
Windows Server
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
N/AN/A
Pricing
Amazon LinuxFreeNASWindows Server
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Amazon LinuxFreeNASWindows Server
Free Trial
NoNoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Amazon LinuxFreeNASWindows Server
Considered Multiple Products
Amazon Linux

No answer on this topic

FreeNAS
Chose FreeNAS
If you are ready to build it yourself, FreeNAS is the best. I tried so many alternatives, including paid versions, and nothing compares to the power of FreeNAS. If you need an enterprise-grade NAS, you would go with an HPE or Dell because of the support, not the features. If …
Windows Server
Chose Windows Server
More user friendly and Graphical user interface is extreme compared to linux
Features
Amazon LinuxFreeNASWindows Server
Operating System
Comparison of Operating System features of Product A and Product B
Amazon Linux
-
Ratings
FreeNAS
-
Ratings
Windows Server
7.8
5 Ratings
8% below category average
File Management00 Ratings00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Software Application Management00 Ratings00 Ratings8.05 Ratings
System Update Frequency00 Ratings00 Ratings6.65 Ratings
Operating System Security00 Ratings00 Ratings7.65 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Amazon LinuxFreeNASWindows Server
Small Businesses
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.5 out of 10
DiskStation
DiskStation
Score 8.8 out of 10
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Dell Unity XT Unified Storage
Dell Unity XT Unified Storage
Score 8.8 out of 10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Dell Unity XT Unified Storage
Dell Unity XT Unified Storage
Score 8.8 out of 10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Amazon LinuxFreeNASWindows Server
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(7 ratings)
8.2
(63 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(6 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(7 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
5.5
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
6.4
(19 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
6.4
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Amazon LinuxFreeNASWindows Server
Likelihood to Recommend
Amazon AWS
we were having one scenario in which we have to install one application bundle to 7000 machines with Amazon Linux and it’s coming pre-installed with Amazon agent where we have installed and deployed the software very easily with system manager to the Amazon Linux. sometimes what it happens with SSM manager do not response and it goes off-line on Amazon Linux os frequently
Read full review
iXsystems
FreeNAS is well suited for most storage serving scenarios, whether it be for an office file server, backup destinations, data replication across the internet, or as backend storage for virtual machines. It can serve various types of clients via a plethora of standard protocols and can easily integrate with existing infrastructure using LDAP authentication and so on. It's pretty simple to use (it helps to have at least a basic understanding of the underlying technologies) and almost maintenance-free. One scenario that springs to mind that it may not be appropriate for (yet) is as S3 storage. However, S3 functionality was added in a recent release and may have improved greatly since then. I'm sure it will eventually work very well for this.
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Microsoft
Windows Server and Active Directory is very robust and stable, it has been a staple in every IT environment I have worked in during my career. Junior to Intermediate admins can learn Windows Server easily, the user interfaces make administration tasks very easy as well as the documentation available through a vast amount of resources. There are other Operating Systems available with no GUI which has a smaller attack surface, faster update installation and reboot time. Windows Server does have the ability to remove the desktop experience, however it is not something I have had experience with and I believe most administrators choose not to remove it.
Read full review
Pros
Amazon AWS
  • Security and kernel update
  • Repository management with Amazon Linux repo
  • Easy and convenient usage for beginners as well as professional guys.
  • Pre-installed with Amazon command line interface to interact with multiple services of AWS
Read full review
iXsystems
  • The FreeNAS web interface is modern looking. It makes tasks like provisioning drives into raid volumes easy.
  • The ZFS raid option allows you to add in an SSD as a cache drive to increase performance.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • Backup of workstations & itself - reliably, consistently, with Bare-Metal Restore and deduplication
  • File management and Security on a per file/folder/user basis is simple and fully done through an easy GUI
  • DNS, DHCP server functions are easy to configure using the built-in GUI
Read full review
Cons
Amazon AWS
  • There should be a graphical user interface because there is only command line interface available for this os
  • File transfer problem with other operating systems
  • Needs tools which should be pre-installed for network connectivity, checking like telnet etc.
Read full review
iXsystems
  • Not good for beginners as it requires deep understanding of networking and storage.
  • Most of the good and required features are not available in free version.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • Microsoft needs to minimize the update frequency by making the product more secure. It can become very exhausting trying to keep updated if you don't have a dedicated support team. It can become challenging where the business is unable to allow downtime for reboots as part of the update process.
  • Prone to security and audit vulnerabilities.
  • The operating system needs more CPU and memory resources compared to other options such as Linux.
  • Understanding the licensing model can be abit confusing.
  • Comes with a standard firewall, but not the most secured one available. Would suggest using a more secured firewall as part of your antivirus software.
  • Due to the number of vulnerabilities and the operating system being a target for hackers, anti-virus software is a must.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I've carefully reviewed the servers and services currently running on Windows Server 2012, and given the opportunity would renew them as is going forward. There are two systems I currently have in place, one is a very large Linux implementation for a large ecommerce site, and one is a very large backup solution front ended by FTP servers running Linux. Neither are well suited for Windows, but the overall network infrastructure is and will be Windows Server for the foreseeable future.
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Usability
Amazon AWS
I have not found much issues with Amazon Linux when it comes to Compare operating systems as we can use basically everything on this Amazon machines and comes with rubber support AWS documentation on how to work with the Amazon Linux machine very minimal downtime or impact to operating system when it comes to crashing or rebooting due to some issues.
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iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Anyone new to IT could easily use the familiar Desktop Experience (GUI) version because we all know how to use Windows, whether a client or server version. Once an IT user is more comfortable with the operating system, they can move on to the Core version, which is the way to go in almost all situations.
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Reliability and Availability
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
some times server hungs and user sessions were busy to connect
Read full review
Performance
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
need to improve the performance more
Read full review
Support Rating
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
There were some things that can be found by other users on forums and Google and some things that were not.
Read full review
Microsoft
Microsoft's support is hugely wide-ranging from articles online to having to contact them directly for the more serious issues. In recent years when I have contacted them directly, I have found the support o be excellent as I have found myself connected to very knowledgeable people in the field in which I needed the support. The online support available is vast and I tend to find most of the time that there is always someone out there who has had the same issue as me in the past and knows something about how to resolve it! This is the advantage of using industry standard and long-established systems such as Windows Server.
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In-Person Training
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
it was my senior who trained Windows Server features and i was satisfied
Read full review
Online Training
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
it was recorded session and useful
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Make sure that you have detailed processes in place for every server instance you plan to install/upgrade, if possible get the base OS loaded and Windows Updates applied ahead of time, and if using a VM take a snapshot prior to installing each role, as well as along the way.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Amazon AWS
Amazon Linux is very well suited when it comes to a very light operating system with all the features, high-performance in hardware congestion and good support from the Amazon. Others do have a support and good working features, but at lakhs a little bit when it compared with Amazon Linux in terms of performance and usage of the os.
Read full review
iXsystems
FreeNAS effectively uses all resources really well and it is highly recommended for in premises NAS. It has unlimited ROI as it is really free and open-source. The only payment we need to pay is when we need any support from those guys. FreeNAS helps us to effectively do our work with the legacy systems as it manages all the components really well. FreeNAS although rebranded to TrueNAS will still be there until our legacy systems run.
Read full review
Microsoft
They are different experiences, and while the other solutions offer enterprise-grade stability and, in some cases, address Windows server shortcomings (such as patching), they all do the trick, but the other solutions require a deeper technical background/configuration of items at the command line, which some people are not fully comfortable with.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
need to reduce a lot
Read full review
Scalability
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
yes i completely agree multi deployment
Read full review
Professional Services
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
iXsystems
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
i like the professional service but need to improve
Read full review
Return on Investment
Amazon AWS
  • Return of investment is much better than other operating system as we get robust Support along with OS license
  • When we compare cost of Amazon Linux with other Linux operating system, then we founded, it was much cheaper and efficient in performance as well as costing for Amazon machines
  • Software updates, deployment and tasks are very well handled with any hardware specifications, whether it is on very high higher specification or when it comes to low with huge workload
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iXsystems
  • Low-Cost Network Attached Storage
  • Provides additional network storage to support client & business operations
  • FreeNAS secures our data using custom encryption keys
Read full review
Microsoft
  • Ability to keep all files in one place and give access to users makes file management easy to control.
  • VPN Access to off-site users is a plus.
  • Secure access to on-site SQL data from our accounting and estimating data is a plus.
Read full review
ScreenShots