Oracle Linux

Oracle Linux

Oracle Enterprise Linux Server 6
Company / developer	Oracle Corporation
OS family	Linux (Unix-like)
Working state	Active
Source model	Free and open source software
Initial release	October 26, 2006; 5 years ago (2006-10-26)
Latest stable release	6.1 [1] / June 1, 2011; 5 months ago (2011-06-01)
Marketing target	commercial market, Server
Available language(s)	Multilingual
Update method	Yum (PackageKit)[2]
Supported platforms	x86, x86-64
Kernel type	Monolithic (Linux)
Default user interface	Gnome
License	GPL
Official website	oracle.com/us/technologies/linux/index.html

Oracle Linux, formerly known as Oracle Enterprise Linux, is a Red Hat Enterprise Linux-compatible distribution, repackaged and sold by Oracle, available under the GNU General Public License (GPL) since late 2006.^[3]

Oracle Linux can be freely downloaded through Oracle's E-delivery service, and can be deployed and distributed without cost. ^[4] Commercial technical support is available through Oracle's Oracle Unbreakable Linux Support program, which supports Oracle Linux, and existing RHEL or CentOS installations (i.e. without reinstallation^[5]).^[3] As of 2011, Oracle Linux has over 8,000 customers subscribed to the support program.^{[6] [7]}

RHEL compatibility

Oracle Corporation distributes Oracle Linux with two kernels:

• Red Hat Compatible Kernel - identical to the kernel shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).
• Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel - based on a later Linux 2.6-series kernel, with Oracle's own enhancements for OLTP, Infiniband, and SSD disk access, NUMA-optimizations, RDS, async I/O, OCFS, and networking.^{[8] [9]}

Oracle claims that the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is compatible with RHEL, and Oracle middleware and 3rd-party RHEL-certified applications can be installed and run unchanged on Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel.^[3]

Hardware compatibility

Oracle Linux is certified on servers from IBM,^[10] HP, ^[11] Dell,^[12] and Cisco.^[13] In 2010, Force10 announced support for Oracle VM and Oracle Linux.^[14] Oracle Linux is also available on Amazon EC2 as an Amazon Machine Image. ^[15]

Oracle/Sun servers and blades with x86-64 processors can be configured to ship with Oracle Linux.^[16]

Virtualization support

Under the Unbreakable Linux program, Oracle supports KVM and Xen.^[3]

Oracle products (including Oracle Database and other Oracle Applications) are only supported under the Xen-based Oracle VM.^[17]

Oracle Linux deployment inside Oracle

Oracle Linux is used by Oracle internally to lower IT costs. Oracle Linux is deployed on more than 42,000 servers by Oracle Global IT; Oracle On Demand, Oracle University, and Oracle's technology demo systems also run Oracle Linux.^[3]

Software developers at Oracle develop Oracle Database, Fusion Middleware, Oracle Grid Engine, E-Business Suite and other Oracle Applications on Oracle Linux.^[3]

Oracle Linux-related products

Oracle Linux is used as the underlying operating system for the following appliances. ^[18]

• Oracle Exadata
• Oracle Exalogic
• Oracle Big Data Appliance
• Oracle Exalytics

Oracle Linux specific addition

• Ksplice - Oracle acquired Ksplice Inc in 2011, and offers Oracle Linux users Ksplice to enable hot kernel patching^[19]
• DTrace - Oracle ported DTrace from Solaris as a Linux kernel module^[20]

Future SPARC version

In December 2010, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison announced that future versions of Oracle Linux will run on Oracle's SPARC and UltraSPARC T-series (Niagara) platforms.^[21]

Release history

• Oracle Linux 6, 6.1 ^[22]
• Oracle Enterprise Linux 5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 ^[23]
• Oracle Unbreakable Linux 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9 ^[24]

See also

Free software portal

• Oracle Solaris
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux derivatives
• Commercial products based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux

References

1. ^ "Oracle Linux 6.1 has been released (Oracle's Linux Blog)". http://blogs.oracle.com/linux/entry/oracle_linux_6_1_has. Retrieved 6 June 2011. 
2. ^ Oracle Public Yum Server
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Oracle Linux FAQ". Oracle Corporation. http://www.oracle.com/us/technologies/027617.pdf. Retrieved 14 April 2011. 
4. ^ Fast, Modern, Reliable Linux at a Fraction of the Cost of Red Hat
5. ^ Switching from Red Hat Network to Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN)
6. ^ Oracle Buys Ksplice: Oracle Linux Enhanced with Zero Downtime Software Updates
7. ^ Oracle previews RHEL-ish 2 Linux kernel
8. ^ Oracle Linux with Oracle's Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel
9. ^ Oracle Linux
10. ^ IBM System x and BladeCenter solutions - Oracle Linux
11. ^ Open Source and Linux from HP
12. ^ Oracle Solutions
13. ^ DC Partner - Oracle
14. ^ Force10 Networks Announces Support for Oracle VM and Oracle Linux for its Virtualization Solutions
15. ^ Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) > Oracle
16. ^ Sun Servers
17. ^ Oracle VM
18. ^ PartnerCast: Oracle Linux on YouTube
19. ^ Customer Letter | Oracle and Ksplice
20. ^ trying out dtrace
21. ^ Ellison: Oracle Enterprise Linux Coming to Sparc
22. ^ Index of /el6/docs
23. ^ Index of /el5/docs
24. ^ Index of /el4/docs

External links

• Oracle Linux homepage
• Official Oracle Linux technical support forum page
• IBM System x and BladeCenter solutions - Oracle Linux
• Oracle Linux at DistroWatch