What is Red Hat Linux?




What is Red Hat Linux?

Red Hat Linux is a popular distribution of the Linux operating system, which is based on the open-source Linux kernel. It was developed by Red Hat, Inc., a software company that provides enterprise software products and services.

Red Hat Linux is a popular distribution of the Linux operating system, which is based on the open-source Linux kernel. It was developed by Red Hat, Inc., a software company that provides enterprise software products and services.

Red Hat Linux is also known for its package management system, which allows users to easily install, update, and remove software packages from their system. The distribution includes a wide range of open-source software packages, including tools for system administration, development, networking, and security.

In recent years, Red Hat Linux has evolved into the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) distribution, which is geared towards enterprise customers and provides a long-term support cycle. Red Hat also offers a variety of other products and services, including containerization technologies, cloud computing solutions, and consulting services.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux, or RHEL, is a commercial open-source distribution of Linux integrated by Red Hat for the wholesale market. It is published in server editions for x86-64 Power ISA, IBM Z, ARM64 and a desktop edition for x86-64. All the official training and support of Red Hat, with the Red Hat Certification Program, concentrates on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment.

Variants of Red Hat Linux

Red Hat Linux has gone through many changes over the years. It was originally released in 1994, and the latest major release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is version 9, which was released in April 2021. Here are some of the major variants of Red Hat Linux:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) - This is the flagship distribution of Red Hat, designed for enterprise use. It is a commercial distribution with paid support and long-term support (LTS) options.

CentOS - CentOS is a community-supported version of RHEL that is free to download and use. It is essentially RHEL without the Red Hat branding and paid support options.

Fedora - Fedora is a community-supported distribution that serves as a testing ground for new features that will eventually make their way into RHEL. It is a cutting-edge distribution that is updated frequently.

Red Hat Linux Advanced Server - This was an earlier version of Red Hat Linux that was designed for enterprise use. It has since been replaced by RHEL.

Red Hat Linux 9 - This was the final release of the original Red Hat Linux distribution before it was replaced by Fedora and RHEL.

Red Hat Linux for PowerPC - This was a version of Red Hat Linux that was designed to run on PowerPC-based Macintosh computers.

Red Hat Linux for Alpha - This was a version of Red Hat Linux that was designed to run on Alpha-based computers.

Overall, Red Hat Linux has evolved significantly over the years and has spawned several variants that are designed for different use cases and audiences.

Version History of RHEL

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a popular enterprise Linux distribution that has been around since 2002. Here is a brief version history of RHEL -

RHEL 2.1 - Released in 2002, this was the first version of RHEL. It was based on Red Hat Linux 7.2 and included several enterprise-focused features, such as support for the Ext3 file system and Logical Volume Manager (LVM).

RHEL 3 - Released in 2003, this version introduced support for the 2.4 kernel and added several new enterprise features, including support for the IA-64 architecture and the Linux Security Modules (LSM) framework.

RHEL 4 - Released in 2005, this version included support for the 2.6 kernel and introduced several new features, including support for SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) and the udev device manager.

RHEL 5 - Released in 2007, this version included support for the 2.6.18 kernel and introduced several new features, including support for virtualization through the Xen hypervisor and the Logical Volume Manager 2 (LVM2).

RHEL 6 - Released in 2010, this version included support for the 2.6.32 kernel and introduced several new features, including support for the KVM hypervisor and improved support for multicore processors.

RHEL 7 - Released in 2014, this version included support for the 3.10 kernel and introduced several new features, including support for Docker containers and the systemd system and service manager.

RHEL 8 - Released in 2019, this version included support for the 4.18 kernel and introduced several new features, including support for application streams and the introduction of the Universal Base Image (UBI).

Each version of RHEL is supported for 10 years from its initial release date, with regular updates and security patches provided throughout that period.