Last October, Gartner weighed in on Oracle’s Linux Support offering.

Oracle has announced that they are offering support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux stating “less than half the cost, Oracle’s Basic Support is equivalent to Red Hat’s best service level”.

Gartner’s report seems to agree that Oracle’s offering is better. Gartner’s report recommends:

“Red Hat customers:

* Undertake compatibility testing of an “all-Oracle Linux world” in data centers. As part of this, consider piloting one or two mission-critical systems, especially maximally loaded ones. Ensure that independent software vendors confirm, in writing, that they will keep their software synchronized with Oracle’s distribution or how they will address variances
* If you are content with Red Hat’s quality of support, renegotiate contracts with Red Hat. Large accounts should expect 50% to 70% discounts on list prices.
* If you are not content with Red Hat’s quality of support or require indemnification — which Oracle’s Premier program can supply, assuming that Oracle’s terms meet your legal requirements — and have no compatibility issues with Oracle, consider Unbreakable Linux.”

On February 2nd, http://www.linux-watch.com/ released an article titled “Unbreakable Linux?“. The article states that Oracle’s offering hasn’t gained much momentum.

For more information on Oracle’s support offering, here’s the link.