Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial Linux distribution from Red Hat, which has been part of the IBM Group since 2019. RHEL is considered one of the leading enterprise Linux platforms worldwide and is widely used in corporate data centers, regulated industries, and hybrid cloud environments.

Commercial Platform with a Long Tradition

Red Hat Enterprise Linux has been under development since 2002 and has established itself as a reference platform for business-critical Linux environments. The commercial model is based on subscriptions: in addition to the operating system, customers receive access to support, certified software packages, security updates, and the Red Hat Customer Portal. RHEL is thus one of the few Linux distributions that offer a fully commercially secured lifecycle.

Stability and Certifications

RHEL is characterized by long support cycles of up to ten years per major version, as well as an extensive certification program. Numerous hardware manufacturers, software vendors, and cloud platforms explicitly certify their products for RHEL – a decisive advantage in regulated environments such as finance, healthcare, or public administration. Additionally, Red Hat offers certifications according to FIPS 140-2, Common Criteria, and other security standards.

Use Cases

RHEL is designed for professional server operation and covers a wide range of enterprise applications:

  • Enterprise Servers and Data Centers – stable foundation for business-critical applications
  • Hybrid Cloud – seamless integration with OpenShift, Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud
  • Virtualization and Containers – proven with KVM, Podman, and Red Hat OpenShift
  • Regulated Industries – extensive security certifications for compliance requirements
  • SAP Environments – RHEL is one of the primary supported platforms for SAP workloads

RHEL as the Basis of the Enterprise Linux Ecosystem

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is not only a standalone distribution but also forms the technical foundation for a broad ecosystem: community distributions like AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux are built directly from RHEL source packages and are binary compatible with RHEL. Therefore, anyone relying on RHEL compatibility always has the choice between the commercially secured original and freely available community alternatives.

Professional Support for RHEL

credativ® supports you in the deployment of Red Hat Enterprise Linux – from planning and migration to system hardening, configuration management, and ongoing operations. Contact us if you use or want to evaluate RHEL in your infrastructure.

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