On June 16, 2026, I hosted a webinar on a topic that is coming up more and more often with customers: how to evaluate a move from Red Hat Enterprise Linux to Oracle Linux, and what practical and economic benefits that move can bring.
The recording is now publicly available, so if you missed the live session, here you have access to a recap as well as the full recording!
What the webinar covers
The session starts with Oracle’s long-standing commitment to Linux and open source. Oracle has provided Linux support since 2006, contributes actively to the Linux kernel community, and is a member of key open source organizations including the Linux Foundation, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, and the Open Container Initiative.
From there, the webinar looks at Oracle Linux as both a compatible and enhanced enterprise Linux platform. Oracle Linux is free to download, use, and update, with no license or subscription fees required to access the software. For organizations that need enterprise support, Oracle Linux support subscriptions include capabilities across security, automation, virtualization, high availability, cloud native infrastructure, and Kubernetes.
Why customers evaluate Oracle Linux
One of the main themes of the webinar is choice. Oracle Linux gives customers the option to run the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for Oracle-optimized performance, or the Red Hat Compatible Kernel when strict RHEL kernel compatibility is required.
The discussion also highlights several areas where Oracle Linux can help enterprise teams:
- Drive down infrastructure costs with a simpler support model.
- Improve uptime with Oracle Ksplice zero-downtime patching.
- Run Oracle Database on the Linux platform it is developed, tested, and certified with.
- Use integrated KVM-based virtualization as an enterprise-grade alternative for modern infrastructure.
- Standardize automation with Oracle Linux Automation Manager.
- Build and operate Kubernetes workloads with Oracle Cloud Native Environment.
Migration paths from RHEL and compatible distributions
A key part of the session focuses on migration. Oracle provides support for existing Red Hat Enterprise Linux installations, and customers do not need to reinstall the operating system to receive Oracle Linux software updates.
For organizations ready to switch, the webinar introduces the open source migrate-to-ol project:
github.com/oracle/migrate-to-ol
The migration flow is designed to be straightforward:
- Download the migration script.
- Run the script.
- Reboot into Oracle Linux.
The tooling supports migrations from several Enterprise Linux distributions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS Linux, CentOS Stream, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, and Amazon Linux 2, depending on the source and target release combination. It also provides preflight checks, reporting, run logs, proxy support, and the option to use a local Oracle Linux yum mirror.
Oracle Linux across deployment models
The webinar also explains how strategic Oracle Linux is across Oracle’s own environments. It runs Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services, Oracle Engineered Systems such as Exadata and Oracle Database Appliance, Oracle internal systems, and development environments used by thousands of Oracle engineers.
That matters because Oracle runs the same Linux platform that customers can use on-premises, in the cloud, and at the edge.
Watch the recording
If you are reviewing your enterprise Linux strategy, planning a migration from Red Hat Enterprise Linux or another compatible distribution, or looking for ways to simplify support and operations, this webinar is a practical starting point.
Additional Oracle Linux resources: