Oracle Linux and Virtualization

From the user perspective the guest must behave on a hypervisor exactly as it behaves on a physical server. Guests are certified with hypervisors to ensure that drivers function correctly. Just as the HCL lists physical servers certified to host an Oracle Linux environment, the HCL lists hypervisors that are certified to host Oracle Linux guests. In this context there is no distinction between a physical server and hypervisor environment.

Please see the Server HCL FAQ for information about certifying servers with Oracle Linux and Oracle VM, and for general questions about the Oracle Linux and Virtualization Hardware Certification Program.

Please see the Storage HCL FAQ for information about certifying storage systems with Oracle VM.

Certification applies only to Oracle Linux as guest OS. Oracle products and applications are sometimes certified with the guest OS, but this does not mean they are certified with the underlying hardware or hypervisor. When Oracle products are certified with Oracle Linux, the certification applies to Oracle Linux on bare metal and Oracle Linux as a guest OS on Oracle VM. Support for Oracle products with other guest and hypervisors combinations varies. Additional information is available at My Oracle Support (MOS).

Oracle Linux is certified as a guest operating system on several hypervisors and certified environments are listed on the HCL. Please refer to question #2 for important information about the Oracle products running on hypervisors other than Oracle VM.

Only guest operating systems and hypervisor combinations listed on the HCL are supported in a production environment.

Hypervisors support three modes of virtualization: Paravirtualization or modified guest (PV), hardware-assisted virtualization or unmodified guest (HVM), and hardware-assisted virtualization with paravirtualized disk drive and network drivers (PVHVM). The modes supported by a guest are dependent on the capabilities of the hypervisor, the features of the underlying hardware, and driver support within the guest.

Oracle Linux with Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) is tested and certified in hypervisor environments and listed on the HCL. For certification information about Oracle Linux guests running the compatible kernel, users should refer to the certification matrices published by the vendor of that kernel.

Certifications published for one major release of UEK do not apply to future major releases of UEK. For instance, a guest OS certification for Oracle Linux 6.5 that specifies a minimum kernel requirement of UEK 4.1.12-37.2.1 (Release 4) is also certified with all subsequent updates for Release 4, such as UEK 4.1.12-124.14.1. The same guest OS is not necessarily certified with UEK 4.14.35-1 (Release 5). Certifications of the guest OS with applicable major releases of UEK are listed individually.

Certified for Joint Support: Oracle Linux or Oracle VM was rigorously tested on the hardware or hypervisor (referred to as platform) with the participation and/or approval of the platform partner, and both Oracle and the partner fully support the environment. Customers deploying Oracle Linux or Oracle VM on this platform benefit from streamlined joint support. If a customer encounters any problem with Oracle Linux or Oracle VM that involves the underlying platform, the customer will open a service request with Oracle Support. Oracle Support will engage the partner if necessary, and seamlessly manage a joint resolution. For support on Oracle platforms, no third-party vendors are involved in the support process. These configurations are fully supported by Oracle.

Certified for Oracle Support: Oracle Linux or Oracle VM was rigorously tested with the same standards as Certified for Joint Support and Oracle fully supports Oracle Linux and Oracle VM on this platform, however a collaborative support program is not in place with the partner for this platform, and the partner may not consider this a supported environment. Oracle provides support for Oracle Linux and Oracle VM, but a resolution to issues related to underlying platform drivers or other platform -specific issues cannot be guaranteed.

Please contact us at hcl-info_ww@oracle.com for more information about joining The Oracle Linux and Virtualization Hardware Certification Program.