Azure Virtual Machines vs. Oracle Linux

If you want to host a dedicated Windows server on the cloud, and especially if you want to integrate it with your on premises Active Directory, Azure Virtual Machines should be your first choice. Obviously running Linux on Azure works very well too, but given Azure's pricing is not the cheapest, there are other providers out there that have a better cost-benefit ratio for Linux. That said, hosting Windows on Azure can be affordable (especially when compared to other providers) if you plan your licensing, topology, and application architecture correctly.

Incentivized

Oracle Linux is a very good and useful combination of the stability of Rhel and support for Oracle Databases. Our organisation uses an application and a database combo that we offer to the client but after the inclusion of Oracle Linux into our infrastructure, the provision and the operation cost are reduced significantly. So I would recommend using Oracle Linux when you are using multiple on-premises DB servers and want to move to a more secure, organised, and fast operating system.

Incentivized

• When demand is high, we scale the service out, eg During a Football Match.
• When a football match is over and the throughput of data from OPTA drops we save by the service scaling back in.
• Our App Service Plans along with the Clean C# code are lightening fast giving a good customer experience.
• When producing the TV Guide information and a program overruns its scheduled time, a client can instantly be updated to the new programming schedule as our change is instant and its in the right place for all the clients to download and adjust their television guides appropriately to send out to the public giving a 24x7 uptime service that is precise and accurate and resilient to outages due to failover zones around the world.

Incentivized

• We use Oracle Linux distro for every customer. The OS is very easy and absolutely free to develop/host and update our customers' apps and data across the globe. I personally use it in my lab to practice and test some personal stuff
• We have Oracle Linux database, WebLogic, and e-business suite hosted on Oracle Linux. It is used across our whole organization in running critical applications. It is robust, easy to manage and administer, with rock-solid stability and very minimal server reboots or performance issues. I would highly recommend Oracle Linux over other operating systems.
• Oracle Linux is trusted in high-volume, transactional, mission-critical production IT environments.
• Oracle’s Linux support is relied upon for applications that require continuous or near-continuous availability
• Application performance in general was enhanced as a result of the migration to Oracle Linux from Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• Oracle Linux-based VMs are used in our case for hosting a spark-based cluster for processing big data-based workloads. Those VMs have better security configurations and are patched. It has built-in installed packages which come in handy for a developer to start the development activity for the project.
• We are using Oracle Linux as our primary Linux distribution deployed for our customers, but also for testing purposes on multiple test and UAT environments. Currently, it is used mainly by our department. We aim to provide commercial technical support for customers for our products, and thanks to the Oracle Linux Support program which covers Oracle Linux, we are getting assistance if needed.
• I work across many different types of organizations. In some cases, Oracle Linux is being used for all database servers across the entire organization. In some cases, it is being selectively rolled out to replace legacy Unix systems. Plus in a few isolated cases, I've helped to replace Windows database servers with Oracle Linux. The common theme across all these different types of organizations is that they want the best Linux for running Oracle, which is pre-tuned and optimized as well as well supported by the database vendor. Oracle Linux wins hands down on these points.

Incentivized

• Pricing can be a concern if you are truly agnostic to which cloud you are building your particular solution in.
• The UI, as is the case with any cloud provider, is crowded.
• As with any cloud provider, it can be difficult to tune in exactly the right amount of servers for your needs...you might find yourself under/overprovisioning.

Incentivized

• TigerVNC needs some fine tuning in Oracle Linux 8.4.
• AutoTuning of Kernal Parameters for Oracle Databases based on the available hardware resources.
• Embedded IPA Solutions to manage large number of Oracle Linux Systems.
• Simple commands for LUN management.
• Proactive SELinux policy violation message to administrator's mailbox.

Incentivized

No VM console, weak management interface, changing CPU/memory is not straightforward. On the positive side, basic RDP functionality is good to have. As long as things are working, the ability to host Windows VMs is appreciated.

I give the overall support for Azure Virtual Machines a 7 because I think while the overall support do a great job there are still areas that it could improve on such as efficiency and speed. So while I only give it a 7 and it has some issues it is still better than the overall support at Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling.

Incentivized

One of the most robust Linux distributions is Redhat, its forks have given rise to infinite business models and distributions that have defined the market. Oracle Linux, obviously developed by the tech giant Oracle, is constantly releasing a flexible and incredibly stable product while adding its own bunch of new features. Among the most notable is the "Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel" (UEK).

Incentivized

Azure Virtual Machines offer unparalleled flexibility in provisioning, managing and upgrading the VM instances, both manually and programmatically. AVM offer very granular billing options and enables high costs optimisations (while still being costly). The other competitors I mentioned are very good at offering dead-cheap VMs. But if you need anything beyond that, especially for big computing, you need Azure Virtual Machines.

Incentivized

The Oracle Linux definitely comes on the top when it comes down to being easily available as its platform-independent. This is where the masses lie as we have moved to a hybrid work environment where keeping everyone on the same devices is no more required. Linux stands out as it allows the industry workers to implement BYOD in all environments. Software as a service is truly done by Linux. I don’t want to switch to other platforms anymore.

Incentivized

• It's so easy to spin up new instances, that it becomes also to easy to have to many of them to manage. Many teams end up with a couple of hundreds of VMs after a short while, making the whole thing very hard to maneuver
• Azure VMs are the next step for us to rely on Onprem servers, and leaving the management of the infrastructure to the professionals
• The ease of use, is also important when our main focus is to deliver new applications and integrations fast, and not having to worry about infrastructure. We sell bottles, not CPUs

Incentivized

• Oracle Linux provides technical advances that Solaris UNIX does not while saving millions of dollars.
• Oracle Linux supports automated patching and easy maintenance, allowing less downtime for users and developers.
• Oracle Linux is recommended for applications already on Oracle Database and using other Oracle products and software.
• Oracle Linux is a secure, stable, and high-performance operating system that allows hybrid or cloud platforms.

Incentivized