Red Hat vs. SUSE

Attribute	Red Hat	SUSE
Company	Red Hat, Inc.	SUSE LLC
Founded	1993	1992
Headquarters	Raleigh, North Carolina, USA	Nuremberg, Germany
Parent Company	IBM	EQT Partners
Operating System	Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)
Package Manager	YUM (Yellowdog Updater Modified)	zypper
Desktop Environment	GNOME, KDE	KDE, GNOME

History

Red Hat and SUSE are two of the most well-known and widely used Linux distributions in the world. Red Hat was founded in 1993 by Bob Young and Marc Ewing, while SUSE (originally called S.u.S.E.) was founded in 1992 by Roland Dyroff, Thomas Fehr, Burchard Steinbild, and Hubert Mantel. Both companies have a long history in the open-source community and have contributed significantly to the development of Linux.

Market Share

Red Hat has traditionally been more popular in the enterprise market, with its Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) being the go-to choice for many businesses. SUSE, on the other hand, has a strong presence in Europe and has been gaining traction in the enterprise market in recent years. Both companies have a loyal user base and continue to grow their market share.

Support and Services

One of the key differences between Red Hat and SUSE is their approach to support and services. Red Hat offers a subscription-based model for its support services, which includes access to updates, patches, and technical support. SUSE, on the other hand, offers a similar subscription-based model but also provides a free version of its operating system, known as openSUSE, which is supported by the community.

Product Offerings

Red Hat's flagship product is Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), which is known for its stability, security, and reliability. In addition to RHEL, Red Hat also offers a range of other products and services, including OpenShift (a container platform) and Ansible (an automation tool). SUSE, on the other hand, offers SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) as its main product, along with other solutions such as SUSE Manager (a systems management tool) and SUSE CaaS Platform (a container management platform).

Community Involvement

Both Red Hat and SUSE have a strong commitment to the open-source community and actively contribute to various projects. Red Hat is a major contributor to the Fedora Project, which serves as a testing ground for new features that eventually make their way into RHEL. SUSE, on the other hand, is a sponsor of the openSUSE project, which is a community-driven distribution that serves as the basis for SLES.

Security

Security is a top priority for both Red Hat and SUSE, and both companies have a strong track record in this area. Red Hat has a dedicated security team that works to identify and address vulnerabilities in its products, while SUSE has a similar team that focuses on ensuring the security of SLES and other offerings. Both companies also work closely with the open-source community to address security issues in a timely manner.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Red Hat and SUSE are two of the leading Linux distributions in the world, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Red Hat is known for its enterprise focus, strong support services, and wide range of products, while SUSE has a strong presence in Europe, a commitment to the open-source community, and a free version of its operating system. Ultimately, the choice between Red Hat and SUSE will depend on the specific needs and preferences of the user, but both companies offer high-quality products and services that are well-suited for a variety of use cases.