Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial Linux distribution designed for enterprise workloads. The RHEL release series has been built from upstream Fedora and Red Hat engineering, with a long support lifecycle and frequent minor releases.
- 2002: RHEL 2.1 GA marks the start of the enterprise-focused RHEL series (March 26, 2002).
- 2005: RHEL 4 GA ships with long lifecycle support and modernized enterprise tooling.
- 2007: RHEL 5 GA introduces a new baseline for enterprise deployments.
- 2010: RHEL 6 GA is released with updated system architecture and tooling.
- 2014: RHEL 7 GA introduces systemd and a major shift in tooling and performance baselines.
- 2019: RHEL 8 GA arrives with AppStreams and a modular packaging model.
- 2022: RHEL 9 GA ships with updated toolchains and platform refreshes.
- 2024: RHEL 7 reaches End of Life (June 30, 2024); RHEL 8.11 released as final RHEL 8 minor.
- 2025: RHEL 10 GA begins the RHEL 10 series (2025-05-20); RHEL 10.1 and 9.7 released (November 13, 2025) with AI/ML enhancements and post-quantum cryptography.
- 2026: RHEL 10.1 and 9.7 remain the latest listed minor releases; RHEL 10 expected to receive 10.2 update; RHEL 8 continues in Maintenance Support Phase 2.
RHEL continues as the leading enterprise Linux distribution:
- Active Versions:
- RHEL 10 (current, Full Support until ~2032)
- RHEL 9 (active, Full Support until ~2029)
- RHEL 8 (Maintenance Support Phase 2 until ~2029)
- Latest Releases:
- RHEL 10.1 (2025-11-13) - AI/ML enhancements, post-quantum cryptography
- RHEL 9.7 (2025-11-13) - Security updates, operational improvements
- RHEL 8.11 (2024-11-12) - Final RHEL 8 minor release
- Lifecycle: 10 years of support per major version (Full Support ~7 years + Maintenance Support ~3 years); Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) available
- Release Cadence: Minor releases approximately every 6 months for active versions
- Upstream: Built from Fedora Linux and Red Hat engineering
- Subscription Model: Commercial subscription required for updates and support; Developer Subscription available for individuals
| Stream |
Latest Minor |
GA Date |
Support Phase |
End of Full Support |
End of Maintenance |
| RHEL 10 |
10.1 |
2025-11-13 |
Full Support |
~2032-05 |
~2035-05 |
| RHEL 9 |
9.7 |
2025-11-13 |
Full Support |
~2029-05 |
~2032-05 |
| RHEL 8 |
8.11 |
2024-11-12 |
Maintenance 2 |
2024-05 |
~2029-05 |
| RHEL 7 |
7.9 |
2020-09-29 |
EOL |
2019-08 |
2024-06-30 |
¶ RHEL 10.1 and 9.7 (November 2025)
Released November 13, 2025
AI and Machine Learning:
- AI-Powered Command-Line Assistant with expanded context limits
- Offline version for disconnected environments (developer preview)
- Validated drivers for AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA AI accelerators
Security Enhancements:
- Post-quantum cryptography algorithms (RHEL 9.7)
- Enhanced post-quantum cryptography in TLS (RHEL 10.1)
- OpenTelemetry Collector supports TPM on AWS, Azure, GCP
- Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME) generally available
Operational Improvements:
- Soft-reboots in RHEL 10.1 image mode for faster updates
- Reproducible builds for container images
- Image-based immutable updates for edge deployments
Red Hat Satellite 6.18:
- Advisor Service (GA) for proactive issue identification
- Vulnerability Service (Technology Preview) for CVE assessment
- Enhanced data control for subscription reporting
- Initial GA release of RHEL 10 series
- Modernized toolchain with GCC 14.x, glibc 2.39+
- Linux 6.14+ kernel with enterprise hardening
- Enhanced cloud-native features and container support
- RHEL 7 reached End of Life on June 30, 2024
- Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) available for eligible customers
- Migration paths to RHEL 8/9/10 available via Convert2RHEL
¶ RHEL 8 Maintenance Phase
- RHEL 8.11 (November 2024) is the final minor release for RHEL 8
- Maintenance Support Phase 2: Security and critical fixes only
- Full support ended May 2024; maintenance continues until ~2029
¶ Cloud and Hybrid Integration
- Enhanced multi-cloud support (AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle Cloud)
- OpenShift integration improvements
- RHEL for Edge with image-based deployments
- Hybrid cloud management via Red Hat Satellite and Insights
¶ RHEL Lifecycle and Support
| Phase |
Duration |
Description |
Available Updates |
| Full Support |
~7 years |
Standard support period |
Features, security, bug fixes |
| Maintenance Support |
~3 years |
Extended support |
Security and critical fixes only |
| Extended Life Cycle (ELS) |
Optional |
Add-on for extended support |
Security fixes for specific workloads |
| From |
To |
Tool |
| RHEL 7 |
RHEL 8/9 |
Convert2RHEL, Leapp |
| RHEL 8 |
RHEL 9 |
Leapp utility |
| RHEL 9 |
RHEL 10 |
Leapp utility (when available) |
| CentOS/Scientific |
RHEL |
Convert2RHEL |
Browse RHEL history by year:
- https://access.redhat.com/articles/red-hat-enterprise-linux-release-dates
- https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_enterprise_linux/10/html-single/10.1_release_notes/index
- https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_enterprise_linux/9/html-single/9.7_release_notes/index
- https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_enterprise_linux/8/html-single/8.11_release_notes/index
- https://www.redhat.com/en/blog
- https://www.devopsdigest.com/red-hat-enterprise-linux-101-and-97-released
- https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata