More about data centres
Data storage services: What to consider before choosing a
provider
How to create a virtual machine on the Google Cloud Platform
How to set, change and recover MySQL root password
Next SQL Server: Interview with Asad Khan of Microsoft
By now, you may have been exposed to CentOS; it was all over
the place. Every day someone writes about what Red Hat has done for their beloved
Linux distribution that supports many data centres and services. The reaction
was so strong that many CentOS forks began to appear. Some of these forks look
very promising, even with 1:1 binary compatibility with RHEL 8. When those
forks occur, the landscape is likely to change. Until then, where should the
business head?
Are you going with CentOS 8 Stream? Some may be. On the
other hand, others see streaming as an impossible option due to cPanel's
checkout support, which is a big deal.
What do you do for a living? You can turn to Oracle Linux.
Before I object, I didn't say you should turn to Oracle Linux; You said you could.
Why did you feel the need to clarify that?
Let me explain, and then I'll explain why Oracle Linux is a
viable option. @smarttechpros

See: Kubernetes Security Guide (Free PDF) (TechRepublic)
The abuse of Oracle
Oracle and open source have always had a love/hate
relationship, mostly hate. Every time Oracle says or does something positive
about open source, something negative follows. For example, in 2017, Oracle
joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. That was a good move. Then he
went on to say to the American government:
"No mathematics can justify open source from a cost
perspective since the cost of supporting it, plus the opportunity cost of
giving up features, functionality, automation, and security, outweighs any
assumed cost savings."
Larry Ellison describes Oracle as a for-profit corporation
rather than a peace-loving charity. Ellison has a long history of making offers
to donate millions and then retracting those offers with little to no
explanation.
Then there is OpenOffice. Remember that Oracle buys
OpenOffice but then offers no patches, no spreadsheets, no community
connection, and the only concern was Fortune 500 contributors. Oracle's failed
management of OpenOffice led to LibreOffice.
What about MySQL? The same thing happens. Oracle buys and
cancels the software, hoping to push users into Oracle DB. This led to the
creation of MariaDB.
If I'm honest, in my opinion, you probably shouldn't, but if you desperately need to replace CentOS, Oracle Linux is an option. Although Oracle Linux is free to use on as many machines as you want (for as long as you want), you will have to pay for support. For more information about support costs, visit the Oracle support site.
It's been a while since I started running Oracle Linux
windows, so I've downloaded an ISO file and booted up a virtual machine.
Surprisingly impressed
I can't lie; I didn't hate it. Wanted to. I wanted to spit
on the screen and yell, "Traitor!" However, I could not. Oracle Linux
worked well as a virtual machine. The only caveat is that I had to install the
kernel headers to install the guest additions; this is done with the following
command:
sudo dnf install kernel-uek-devel-`uname -r`
Of course, not disliking something is a long way from
recommending something. For those looking for a cPanel distribution, keep
looking, as the hosting platform does not support Oracle Linux. This is a significant
and challenging step for many officials.
However, I still haven't answered the one crucial question:
Hatred of Oracle and lack of cPanel support aside, is Oracle
Linux a viable distro?
Performance and stability
If you're not looking forward to cPanel hosting, this is
where the proverbial gum meets the metaphorical path. If there's one thing
Oracle Linux has on CentOS, it's performance. I immediately noticed how well
the server layout works.
For example, one of my biggest complaints with CentOS was
how long software updates could take to install. Compared to the likes of
Ubuntu, CentOS was very slow. Since Oracle and CentOS are very similar in
lineage, I assumed the same issue would be genuine.
It was a pleasant surprise for me. Update Oracle Linux on
par with Ubuntu. I've never seen an RHEL-based server distribution update so
quickly. Even the kernel update is fast - apps and services work great. @techgeeksblogger