FreeBSD vs. Oracle Solaris

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
FreeBSD
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
FreeBSD is an operating system used to power modern servers, desktops, and embedded platforms. A large community has continually developed it for more than thirty years. Its advanced networking, security, and storage features have made FreeBSD the platform of choice for many of the busiest web sites and most pervasive embedded networking and storage devices.N/A
Oracle Solaris
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Oracle Solaris is a Linux operating system which was originally developed by Sun Microsystems and became an Oracle product after the acquisition of Sun in 2010.
$1,000
per year
Pricing
FreeBSDOracle Solaris
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
1 Year Subscription
$1,000.00
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FreeBSDOracle Solaris
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
FreeBSDOracle Solaris
Best Alternatives
FreeBSDOracle Solaris
Small Businesses
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.7 out of 10
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.3 out of 10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.3 out of 10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
FreeBSDOracle Solaris
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
FreeBSDOracle Solaris
Likelihood to Recommend
FreeBSD is the closest to a UNIX style operating system. This has been extensively used by vendors in the field of routing, switch and security as their base operating system. This speaks for itself being a reliable, scalable and secure operating system.
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For running Oracle databases, Solaris can't be beat. Leveraging Zones allows for virtualization out of the box. In addition, using zones with clustering can make migrating from Solaris 10 to 11 very easy. Finally, in an enterprise environment that requires 24/7 up-time and meeting SLA's, Solaris is a viable and robust choice.
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Pros
  • stability
  • security
  • scalability
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  • Live update for patching in conjunction with the package management functions. This ability to rollback is very convenient.
  • dTrace
  • Built in compliance testing.
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Cons
  • Installation can be tricky for first timers
  • You need to be comfortable using a command line terminal most of the time
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  • Takes time to learn.
  • Integration into Microsoft's Active Directory.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
You need to take the time to learn it. It is a massive product.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
The support teams are well trained and responsive. Patches are rolled out regularly and are easy to deploy and backout.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
Stress testing and timing is key. You need test systems that mirror the live environments. User testing must be reflected in peak loads.
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Alternatives Considered
FreeBSD was the only operating system out of many I tried to install easily on older hardware and to run in a very performant way. For example, I had a lot of trouble trying to get Ubuntu to install on older hardware and when it did, it was too slow to use. FreeBSD installed quite easily and even after installing a desktop such as XFCE - it still run surprisingly fast. I was very impressed with it's performance, which it seems is a goal of the FreeBSD project.
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Oracle Solaris is Scalable, have a good patching capability and secure by default. You want to have something that's up and running and stable, something that's not going to crash. But if we do have an issue, we can get somebody for technical support who can help us work through the problems.
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Return on Investment
  • As FreeBSD is free - the ROI is at least the cost of some commercial Linux or Windows based OS (which can be very expensive)
  • Allowed the re-use of older hardware that would have otherwise been disposed
  • No cost development environment
  • Opportunity for a no cost server setup also
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  • Possibility to migrate old servers protecting previous inversions
  • reduces implementation times and accelerates time to obtain value in the market.
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ScreenShots