Oracle: Unbreak my Linux Heart

We're using Oracle Enterprise Linux in the data center, so the Red Hat life cycles are of some importance to us. However, Oracle's support policies are more important. So I took some time to dig up the nitty gritty, which I'll summarize here for my and your convenience. Sources: Red Hat and Oracle Red Hat Support RHEL4  OEL4 Oracle Support General Availability 14 Feb 2005 Feb 2005 General Availability End of Production 1 phase 31 Mar 2009 Feb 2010 Premier Support Ends End of Production 2 phase > 31 Dec 2009 . . End of Production 3 phase 29 Feb 2012 Feb 2013 Extended Support Ends

Whereas Red Hat enables you to choose the support level with any particular server, Oracle forces you to use one overall support subscription level . So you can't choose a low, basis support level for common servers such as web server and high premium support for your database servers. This means, that while Oracle's Premium support ($1200 per year, 24x7, per server) is cheaper than Red Hat's Premium support level ($2500 per year, 24x7, per server), choosing that level, means all your 100+ server be charged at the same level, whether they need it or not... Something to keep in mind with large installations.