14 DAY TRIAL // Oracle has announced that Oracle Linux Release 5.11 has been made available for download, but this is the enterprise version, so users will have to register in order to get the download.
The new Oracle Linux update is probably the last one in the series. This operating system is based on Red Hat and the company has just pushed out the last update for the RHEL 5x branch, which means that this is the end of the line for the Oracle version as well.
Oracle Linux also comes with a series of features that make it very interesting, like zero-downtime kernel updates with the help of a tool called Ksplice that was originally developed for OpenSuSE, inclusion of the Oracle Database and Oracle Applications, and it's used in all x86-based Oracle Engineered Systems.
What's so special about Oracle Linux
Despite the fact that Oracle Linux is based on Red Hat, its developers have actually made a list of reasons why you shouldn't use RHEL. There are quite a lot of them, but the main one is that anyone can download Oracle Linux (after registering) and RHEL is actually off limits for non-paying members.
"Providing advanced scalability and reliability for enterprise applications and systems, Oracle Linux delivers extreme performance and is used in all x86-based Oracle Engineered Systems. Oracle Linux is free to use, free to distribute, free to update, and easy to download. It is the only Linux distribution with production support for zero-downtime kernel updates with Oracle Ksplice, allowing customers the ability to apply patches for security and other updates without a reboot, as well as providing diagnostic features for debugging kernel issues on production systems," say the developers on their website.
One of the most interesting features for Oracle Linux and unique for this distribution is its unbreakable kernel. This is the actual name used by the developers. It's based on an older Linux kernel from the 3.0.36 branch. Users also have access to a Red Hat-compatible Kernel (kernel-2.6.18-398.el5), which is provided by default in the distro.
Also, the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel available in the Oracle Linux Release 5.11 features a ton of drivers for hardware and devices, but this latest update brought even better support.
You can check the comprehensive release notes for Oracle Linux 5.11, which will probably take you the rest of the day. You can also download Oracle Linux 5.11 right now from Softpedia, after filling all the forms.