Solaris is a UNIX-based operating system developed in 1992. This OS is more secure than other operating systems. Solaris is mostly deployed on servers and high-end machines.
On January 27, 2010, Oracle Company bought Solaris OS. Solaris allow multiple OS to run on a single machine.
Linux is open source OS but Solaris is licensed under Oracle Sun Microsystems. It is free to download and use Solaris on desktop computers, but getting updates is paid.
Solaris is a more stable operating system as compared to UNIX. Installing Solaris on your desktop computer requires at least 1 GB of RAM and 13 GB of hard drive storage.
Some pros and cons of Solaris OS are:-
Advantages of Solaris Operating System
Some benefits of Solaris OS are:-
Better support:
Solaris support is better and more responsive. It has good support in enterprise environments. The support is given for the long term for each version of Solaris OS.
Solaris zones:
Zones are the division of OS resources into smaller zones or systems. Each zone is given specific memory and hard drive storage for achieving different tasks. All zones of OS are placed under one big general zone.
Recovery:
Solaris is a reliable OS with the ability to recover data. The fault in the system is removed quickly. The configuration of Solaris is done by an administrator of the system in a better way.
Handle high workload:
This OS runs well under high workload. The performance of the system is fast when the workload on the system is increased. As OS is developed using C and C++ programming languages, the communication between hardware and software is fast.
Works on all systems:
Solaris can run on small machines to large enterprise systems. It can support any type of hardware machine. You can scale your system to any size using Solaris OS.
Advanced file system:
Solaris supports the ZFS file system which means that end users can get easy administration, data integrity and snapshots support.
3rd party software:
Solaris can run any software which is UNIX compatible. It can support a wide range of hardware and software.
More secure:
This OS is more secure than other OS. It has security features like mandatory access controls, RBAC and Solaris Cryptographic framework.
Better extensions:
Solaris has the most secure extensions that make the work of OS faster. These extensions can work in sensitive environments and give maximum output.
Debugging:
This OS has a powerful tool named DTrace which can help in debugging. DTrace can also analyze system performance.
Reading manuals:
Solaris has good reading guidance in the form of documentation. It has vast documentation that can help to solve user’s misconceptions.
Disadvantages of Solaris Operating System
Some drawbacks of Solaris OS are:-
Oracle relation:
As Solaris is owned by Oracle corporation it is most targeted to Oracle users. Oracle prefer to have users who are linked to Oracle products.
Text-based interface:
Solaris is a text-based OS. Installing Solaris on your machine is also difficult because of the text-based interface.
Lack of professionals:
As Solaris is not so popular, finding skilled Solaris people is difficult. As Windows and Linux are popular OS, these OS have more professionals than Solaris OS.
Ideal for servers:
This OS is targeted towards enterprise and server systems. Solaris is less used for desktop computers.
Higher cost:
Solaris license has a high cost. Linux is free to use but Solaris is not free to use for servers. Organizations which have tight budgets cannot afford to use Solaris OS.
Updates duration:
The updates in Solaris OS are not frequent. The Oracle team does not update the OS regularly. Major updates in the Solaris come after many years.
Harder to learn:
Solaris has a higher learning curve than other OS. Most of Solaris users are either programmers or administrators. Normal users find it hard to learn Solaris OS.
Problems with older software:
The programs which are old cannot run on new versions of Solaris. So the software which was created for older versions has problems running in the latest Solaris.