Oracle Linux and Virtualization

Section 1: General

• What is the purpose of the Oracle Linux and Virtualization Server Hardware Certification Program?

  The Oracle Linux and Oracle Virtualization Server Hardware Certification Program enables established partners to qualify their systems for Oracle Linux and Oracle Virtualization using an Oracle supplied certification test kit.

  The output of this program is the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). This list documents server environments certified for Oracle Linux featuring the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK). Bare metal servers certified for Oracle Linux are also certified for Virtualization enabled by the Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) feature of Oracle Linux. More details can be found on the Oracle Virtualization tab of the HCL site.

  Through this certification, Oracle and our partners help ensure that both parties are equipped to provide collaborative support to customers running Oracle Linux and Oracle Virtualization environments.

• What is the difference between a "Certified for Joint Support" HCL status and a "Certified for Oracle Support" HCL status?

  Certified for Joint Support: Oracle Linux was tested on the server environment with the participation and/or approval of the server environment partner, and both Oracle and the partner fully support the environment. Customers deploying Oracle Linux on these server environments benefit from streamlined joint support. If a customer with an Oracle Linux Support subscription encounters any problem with Oracle Linux that involves the underlying server environment, the customer can open a service request with Oracle Support.

  Certified for Oracle Support: Oracle Linux was tested with the same standards as Certified for Joint Support and Oracle fully supports Oracle Linux on these server environments; however, a collaborative support program is not in place with the partner for this server environment, and the partner may not consider this a supported environment. Oracle Linux support subscriptions are available to customers and Oracle will provide support for the server environment, but a resolution to issues related to underlying drivers or other platform-specific issues cannot be guaranteed.

• What is the version number convention for the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK)?

  The version number convention can change with each major release of UEK. The convention for the most recent UEK 8 release is explained here. This convention applies to the UEK 7 release as well.

  Using the following UEK 8 kernel version as an example, 6.12.0-6.35.5.el9uek:

  6.12.0	Indicates the upstream Linux kernel version, 6.12, on which UEK 8 is based upon, and where kABI compatibility is maintained. This string remains unchanged throughout the UEK 8 life cycle.
  -6	The range 0-99 indicate this is the initial release of UEK R8. A value in the range 100-199 indicates the first update, UEK 8.1, a value in the range 200-299 indicates the second update, UEK 8.2, on so on. This value will increment with each monthly errata where, for instance, 6 indicates the sixth monthly errata after the initial release of UEK 8. A value of 305 would indicate the fifth monthly errata to UEK 8.3. Monthly errata are released between updates. Monthly errata include fixes, security errata, driver updates, and synchronization with the upstream Long Term Support (LTS) branch. Updates can include minor new features, new drivers, and general stability improvements. Every effort is made to maintain kABI compatibility in updates and errata with earlier UEK 8 releases.
  .35	Indicates the LTS branch with which this build is synchronized. For example, upstream stable tree 6.12.35 content is delivered in UEK 6.12.0-x.35.z.
  .5	Indicates interim builds since the last monthly errata or update.
  .el9uek	This UEK kernel is configured for Oracle Linux 9.

  
  
• Where are the qualified servers published?

  Certified servers environments are published on the Oracle Linux and Oracle Virtualization Hardware Certification List (HCL), and on the corresponding partner websites.

• What are the requirements for getting published on the Oracle HCL web site?

  Participants must meet the following criteria to be eligible to publish certified server environments on the Oracle Linux and Oracle Virtualization HCL website.

  To receive a qualification status of Certified for Joint Support,

  • The certification effort must be performed by the partner with Oracle's approval, and
  •  Partner must have an established partnership with Oracle that provides for joint support, and
  • Test results must be audited by Oracle, and
  • Partner must publish results in the support matrix on their website within two weeks of Oracle approving the results.

  
  

  To receive a qualification status of Certified for Oracle Support,

  • Partner must have an established business relationship with Oracle, and
  • The certification effort must be performed by the partner with Oracle's approval, and
  • Results must be submitted to and audited by Oracle.

  
  

Section 2: Server Environment Certification

• Can customers get support for a system that is not on the server certification list?

  The HCL is always expanding. If the desired server meets the minimum requirements for the Oracle Linux release you want to deploy but the server is not listed on the HCL, Oracle will accept severity 2 or lower service requests (SR). However, a resolution to issues with hardware drivers, firmware, or other hardware-specific issues cannot be guaranteed.

  Work on the SR will continue normally unless or until it is determined that a resolution requires Oracle to engage with the partner vendor.

  • If the partner participates in the HCL program Oracle will ask for their assistance to deliver a resolution; the SR will be closed and a severity 2 enhancement request will be opened to track progress with the vendor. Partners that participate in the HCL program are represented on the HCL site.

  • If the partner vendor declines our request for assistance, or the partner does not participate in the HCL program, the SR will be closed.

  A resolution can take weeks or longer and is not guaranteed when the issue involves systems that are not certified or partners that don't participate in the HCL program.

• For servers on the HCL, does certification apply to all hardware components available for that server?

  For servers already on the certified list, requests to support a specific component or peripheral (such as a specific NIC or CNA) that was not included with the initial certification will be evaluated by Oracle and the hardware vendor as an enhancement request. Resolution is dependent upon the server hardware vendor and, therefore, cannot be guaranteed.

• I understand that Oracle Linux comes packaged with two kernels— the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, and the Red Hat compatible kernel. Are both kernels certified with a system that is on the HCL ?

  The Oracle Linux and Oracle Virtualization Server Hardware Certification Program certifies servers for Oracle Linux featuring UEK. All certification testing is performed with UEK by partners using a certification test kit provided by Oracle.

  Certification of Oracle Linux with the RHEL-compatible kernel (RHCK) is not necessary because Oracle Linux is 100% application binary compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For example, a system certified with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 is inherently certified for Oracle Linux 9 with RHCK. For a list of systems certified with Oracle Linux running RHCK, please see the Red Hat hardware catalog.

• What is Oracle Virtualization?

  Oracle Virtualization is a unique enterprise-grade server virtualization solution that bundles KVM virtualization and management capabilities along with access to automation, Oracle Ksplice for zero-downtime updates, and Oracle Linux all in one support subscription.

  It’s built on two core components—Oracle Linux KVM for compute and Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager for management.

  The Oracle Linux KVM hypervisor is certified during the Oracle Linux certification process, therefore entries for Oracle Linux KVM and Oracle Linux are not listed separately in the HCL. Bare metal servers certified with Oracle Linux are inherently certified to run as an Oracle Virtualization host.

  Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM) is a free, open-source management interface to Oracle Virtualization. Oracle offers full support for OLVM, which is based on the oVirt community project.

  For information about the operating system requirements of hosts that can be managed by Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM), refer to the OLVM documentation in the Oracle Linux Documentation Library. See the Oracle Virtualization site for an overview of the Oracle Virtualization solution.

• Which versions of Oracle Linux support Oracle Virtualization?

  Oracle Linux versions currently supported as compute hosts are documented in the OLVM documentation. See the Oracle Virtualization tab of the Oracle Linux HCL site for more details.

• Which servers are certified for Oracle Virtualization?

  Beginning with Oracle Linux 7.6 and UEK 5.2 (aka UEK R5 Update 2), all certified servers are inherently certified as Oracle Virtualization compute hosts. Refer to the OLVM documentation for current compute host requirements.

  Storage and component vendors may independently elect to validate their products with Oracle Virtualization and OLVM using their own in-house certification tools to confirm compatibility with their products. This is not an Oracle requirement.