RHELs

RHEL, or Red Hat Enterprise Linux, is a family of enterprise-grade Linux distributions developed by Red Hat, now a subsidiary of IBM. The term RHELs is commonly used to refer to the various major releases in the product line, each designed for long-term deployment in data centers, private clouds, and enterprise servers. RHEL is built on the Linux kernel with a curated set of open-source components, emphasizing stability, security, and certified interoperability.

Key features include a subscription-based delivery model through Red Hat Subscription Management, long-term support and maintenance, and access to certified packages and security advisories. The package system uses RPM with the DNF package manager (the successor to YUM). RHEL emphasizes security through SELinux, regular patching, and hardened defaults. It supports virtualization with KVM and containers via Podman, Buildah, and CRI-O, and is designed to run on x86_64 and ARM64 architectures, among others. The ecosystem includes developer and partner tools, certification programs, and integration with OpenShift for container orchestration.

Lifecycle and deployment: Each major RHEL release has a defined lifecycle, typically lasting about a decade, with phases of full support followed by extended maintenance. End-of-life dates are published, and upgrades between major releases require planning and often official tooling or migration paths. RHEL is widely deployed on-premises, in private clouds, and on major public clouds through supported images and marketplaces.

Editions and adoption: Red Hat offers variants such as RHEL Server and RHEL for SAP Solutions, plus add-ons and subscription plans. As part of IBM since 2019, the product remains a core component of enterprise infrastructure, supported by a global partner and support network.