Red Hat Enterprise Linux Guide

Overview

Red Hat was founded in 1993 and released RHEL in 2002. Today, Red Hat (now part of IBM) is the largest open-source company in the world, and RHEL runs critical infrastructure worldwide.

Who Should Use RHEL?

• Enterprise organizations - Commercial support and certifications
• Regulated industries - Security certifications (FIPS, Common Criteria)
• Mission-critical workloads - Guaranteed stability and support
• SAP/Oracle users - Certified platforms
• Developers - Free tier available for development

Installation

RHEL uses the Anaconda installer, familiar to Fedora users:

1. Register for Red Hat Developer account (free)
2. Download RHEL ISO from access.redhat.com
3. Create bootable USB and boot from it
4. Complete Anaconda installation
5. Register system with subscription-manager

# Register your system after installation
sudo subscription-manager register --username YOUR_USERNAME

# Attach a subscription
sudo subscription-manager attach --auto

# Verify subscription status
sudo subscription-manager status

Package Management

RHEL uses DNF for package management:

# Update system
sudo dnf upgrade

# Install a package
sudo dnf install package-name

# Remove a package
sudo dnf remove package-name

# Search for packages
dnf search keyword

# Enable a repository
sudo subscription-manager repos --enable=repo-name

# List available repositories
subscription-manager repos --list

# Enable EPEL (Extra Packages)
sudo dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm

Key Features

10-Year Lifecycle

Each major version is supported for 10 years, with optional Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) for additional years.

Security Certifications

RHEL holds FIPS 140-2, Common Criteria, and various industry certifications required for government and enterprise deployments.

Red Hat Insights

Proactive analytics service that identifies security, performance, and availability issues before they impact your systems.

Image Builder

Create custom RHEL images for cloud, virtual, and bare-metal deployments.

Subscription Options

FAQ

Is RHEL free?

RHEL is free for development through the Developer Subscription (up to 16 systems). Production use requires a paid subscription for support.

What's the difference between RHEL and CentOS?

CentOS/Rocky Linux are community rebuilds of RHEL without commercial support. RHEL includes support, certifications, and additional tools like Red Hat Insights.

Can I try RHEL before purchasing?

Yes, the free Developer Subscription gives you full access to RHEL. You can also use CentOS Stream or Fedora to evaluate the RHEL experience.

Summary

RHEL is the gold standard for enterprise Linux, offering stability, support, and certifications. Key takeaways:

• 10-year support lifecycle per major version
• Free Developer Subscription for development use
• Industry certifications for compliance requirements
• Commercial support from Red Hat
• Foundation for Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and CentOS Stream