Enterprise Linux
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Explore Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
Our latest release delivers bold innovation to help address today’s most pressing IT challenges, from the Linux skills gap to getting started with post-quantum security.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is here. Because innovation can’t wait.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 features
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Product variants Red Hat Enterprise Linux variants:
Optimized to run on servers or high-performance workstations, supporting a range of hardware architectures and hyperscalers.
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Use cases -
Learn - Documentation
Upgrade your Red Hat Enterprise Linux infrastructure
Upgrading to a newer version of Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® doesn’t have to be stressful or disruptive. Red Hat's resources, tools, and consulting can help you maintain your systems and get the latest benefits Red Hat Enterprise Linux has to offer.
How to upgrade Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Upgrade procedures and timelines will vary depending on which version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux you are running. Plan ahead for your upgrade, and choose your current version to access appropriate instructions.
Choose a version to upgrade
Upgrade Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) ended on June 30, 2024.
Advantages of upgrading
While upgrading to the most recently released version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux may seem like the obvious choice, Red Hat supports multiple versions of the operating system (OS) at the same time. The latest update to a previous numbered version might make more sense for you depending on how you manage your lifecycle. Whichever numbered version you choose, keeping it current with the latest update extends your systems’ support and stability and gives you access to the newest features and benefits of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Additional advantages
Intelligent analytics
Included in every Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription, Red Hat Lightspeed (formerly Red Hat Insights) uses predictive analytics and deep domain expertise to streamline operational tasks such as building standard system images, identifying and remediating risks, and optimizing resources. Red Hat Lightspeed also enhances subscription tracking across hybrid cloud deployments.
Improved lifecycle planning
Predictable release cadences and 10 years of support for major releases lets organizations plan for long-term success. Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions offer flexible, stable, and security-focused lifecycle options by allowing you to choose from multiple supported versions and preserve system capability.
Container-ready portability
Container tools included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux help organizations remain consistent and meet evolving transformation and innovation goals. Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes container tools to create, run, and manage Linux containers with an enterprise lifecycle.
Accelerated innovation
Application streams allow organizations to choose the version of popular applications and language runtimes they use on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Latest news
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 is here
The latest version delivers a durable foundation to help organizations tackle today’s most pressing IT challenges, from addressing the Linux skills gap to getting started with post-quantum security.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 End of Maintenance
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 reached the end of its maintenance support 2 phase on June 30, 2024.
Upgrade to the latest versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux to continue using the operating system’s newest features and capabilities.
Not ready to upgrade? Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 now provides up to 5 additional years of maintenance support for certain critical-impact security fixes, selected urgent priority bug fixes, and troubleshooting for the last minor release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (7.9) until May 31, 2029.
Migrating from CentOS Linux?
CentOS Linux 7 reached End of Life (EOL) on June 30, 2024. Continuing to run CentOS Linux could expose your organization to unpatched vulnerabilities and potential security breaches.
Need more time? Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Third Party Linux Migration with ELS can help with a competitively priced subscription and a simplified conversion process.
Plan your upgrade
- Which upgrade method is best for you?
- An in-place upgrade with Leapp allows you to retain your existing infrastructure environment and configuration settings. You can also run a pre-upgrade analysis report and receive remediation advice that you may consider automating to perform upgrades at scale. This is Red Hat’s recommended upgrade method.
- A fresh install involves launching a new deployment of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and manually configuring your workloads.
- Will you use in-house resources for your upgrade project, or will you need assistance?
- Red Hat Consulting Services can help you complete your upgrade project with expert support.
- If your current Red Hat Enterprise Linux software is approaching an EOM lifecycle date, will you be able to complete your upgrade project before the deadline?
- If not (or if you’re not sure), consider purchasing a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) Add-on for additional time.
Resources
- Upgrading your Red Hat Enterprise Linux infrastructure
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux technology capabilities and limits
- Upgrading from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 using Leapp
- Supported in-place upgrade paths for Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- 5 key success factors for standardizing and managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments
Upgrade by version
Choose your current version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux to track important upgrade milestones, get version-specific instructions, and access resources tailored to your version and where you want to go next.
Upgrade
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
If you want the latest features for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you can upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 introduces the next era of the OS. It helps address the Linux skills gap, prepare organizations for post-quantum security, and limit drift.
Upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 while retaining your system’s configurations, subscriptions, and applications using the Leapp utility tool. Leapp can also run a preupgrade analysis to identify any potential challenges before you start the upgrade process.
Use these resources to assess your system’s readiness and learn how to upgrade:
Planning resources
- Datasheet: What’s new in RHEL 10?
- Documentation: Considerations in adopting RHEL 10
- Overview: Red Hat Enterprise Linux lifecycle
- Documentation: Capabilities and limits of RHEL 10 as compared to RHEL 7, 8, 9 and 10
Implementation resources
- Documentation: Upgrading from RHEL 9 to RHEL 10 using Leapp
- Documentation: Supported in-place upgrade paths for Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Upgrade
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
If you want to benefit from a more flexible and stable foundation to support hybrid cloud innovation and a faster, more consistent experience for deploying applications and critical workloads across physical, virtual, private and public cloud, and edge deployments, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 is for you.
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux ships with Leapp as a supported upgrade management tool, delivering a single, automatable path to upgrade to the next major version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Retain your system’s configurations, subscriptions, and applications, and run a Leapp preupgrade analysis report to identify upgradability issues and automate remediations where possible to reduce manual intervention.
If you have Red Hat Satellite, you can upgrade your systems at scale using the Leapp plug-in.
Planning resources
Implementation resources
- Documentation: Upgrading from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Video: Avoid obsolescence with in-place upgrades
- Lab: Perform an in-place upgrade with Leapp
- Blog: Procedure to upgrade a RHEL 8 High Availability cluster to RHEL 9
- Blog: Why upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 or 10 now
- FAQ: Leapp upgrade
- Community resource: Leapp supplements
- Community resource: Collection of shared Ansible roles and resources
- Documentation: Red Hat Enterprise Linux upgrade helper
Troubleshooting resources
- Documentation: Troubleshooting common issues while upgrading from RHEL 8 to RHEL 9*
- Lab: Upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 in place with Leapp
- Lab: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Upgrade Helper*
*Customer Portal login required
Upgrade
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 reached the end of its maintenance (EOM) support 2 phase on June 30, 2024. There are several paths you can take to upgrade to a newer version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
If you want to do it yourself, Red Hat will provide you with step-by-step guidance and tools to help you succeed as part of your Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription.
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Leapp is the supported tool used to perform in-place system upgrades from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to 8 without having to reinstall your systems. Included with your subscription, Leapp simplifies the upgrade in less time and with less effort than traditional redeployment projects by delivering a single, automatable path to upgrade to the next major version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Retain your system’s configurations, subscriptions, and applications, and run a Leapp preupgrade analysis report to identify upgradability issues and automate remediations where possible to reduce manual intervention.
It is not possible to perform an in-place upgrade directly from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. However, you can perform an in-place upgrade from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and then perform a second in-place upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 when you’re ready.
Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 is a great option if you need more time to upgrade after the EOM date. It now provides 5 additional years of maintenance support through May 31, 2029. We recommend you add the ELS Add-On to your existing subscription via our in-place upgrade tools and guidance or by engaging with Red Hat Consulting. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 ELS add-on offering is also available on AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace, and Google Cloud.
You can also work with Red Hat’s expert consulting services for a fully automated upgrade process.
Planning resources
- Assessment: Plan your Red Hat Enterprise Linux upgrade now
- Blog: RHEL 7 End of Maintenance: Upgrade without upheaval
- FAQ: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 reaches End of Maintenance phase and transitions to Extended Life phase
- Blog: How to automate upgrades before Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 end of maintenance
- Documentation: Considerations in adopting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Documentation: Best practices and recommendations for performing Red Hat Enterprise Linux upgrades with Leapp
Implementation resources
- Documentation: Upgrading from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Documentation: Upgrading SAP environments from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Video: In-place upgrades using Leapp from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to version 8 to version 9
- Video: Avoid obsolescence with in-place upgrades
- Lab: Perform an in-place upgrade with Leapp
- FAQ: Leapp upgrade
- Community resource: Leapp supplements
- Community resource: Collection of shared Ansible roles and resources
- Documentation: Upgrade an offline/disconnected RHEL 7 machine to RHEL 8 with Leapp
- Documentation: Red Hat Enterprise Linux upgrade helper
Troubleshooting resources
- Documentation: Troubleshooting common issues while upgrading from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8*
- Lab: Perform an in-place upgrade with Leapp
- Lab: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Upgrade Helper*
*Customer Portal login required
Upgrade
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) ended on June 30, 2024.
Users still running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 must upgrade to a newer version in order to access full functionality and support, including critical security fixes and troubleshooting for the last minor release (6.9). For organizations who require continued support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 beyond the ELS period, the Extended Life Cycle Support Long-Life Add-On is an optional subscription available during the Extended Life Phase for certain Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions.
An in-place upgrade is the recommended way to upgrade your system. Next steps:
- Consult the Migration Planning Guide to understand the major differences between Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
- Verify your system is supported for in-place upgrades with the Preupgrade Assistant.
- Work with Red Hat Consulting experts to get your teams in a good place to accelerate the upgrade process.
Planning and implementation resources
- Assessment: Plan your Red Hat Enterprise Linux upgrade now
- Documentation: Upgrading from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Documentation: Upgrading from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Documentation: Red Hat Enterprise Linux upgrade helper
Troubleshooting resources
- Documentation: Troubleshooting common issues while upgrading from RHEL 6 to RHEL 7*
- Lab: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Upgrade Helper*
*Customer Portal login required
Upgrade Red Hat Enterprise Linux in the cloud
In-place upgrades are supported for pay-as-you-go and annual subscription instances on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud with Red Hat Update Infrastructure. Browse steps and resources to upgrade based on your cloud provider.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for AWS
Enable required Red Hat Update Infrastructure repositories and install required packages to ensure your system is ready for upgrade.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Azure
Explore Red Hat Enterprise Linux in-place upgrades on Microsoft Azure based on your version and environment.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Google Cloud
Follow the Leapp Red Hat Update Infrastructure packages for Google Cloud knowledgebase article.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Lifecycle Support add-on
The Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) add-on delivers certain Red Hat-defined critical security fixes, selected urgent priority bug fixes, and troubleshooting for the last minor release of a given version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Red Hat is now offering up to 5 years of extended support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 through May 31, 2029. This is a good option if you need additional time to complete your upgrade after the Red Hat Enterprise Linux EOM date on June 30, 2024. With ELS, you can revise and execute your migration plans on your schedule, while continuing to receive the support you need to protect your critical workloads.
Install a newer copy of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Not interested in in-place upgrades?
You can always install a fresh copy of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (based on your needs) and manually install, configure, and test your workloads. However, this approach could be riskier as current configurations and security settings must be recreated and tested.
Need help?
Need help? Red Hat Consulting Services has assisted many customers with their Red Hat Enterprise Linux upgrade projects. If you’re looking for assistance, Red Hat consultants can share their expertise and guidance to help you achieve your goals, and possibly save you time and money in the process.
