rhl

Rhl, an abbreviation for Red Hat Linux, was the original name of the commercial Linux distribution produced by Red Hat, Inc. Launched in 1995, it built on the emerging open‑source kernel developed by Linus Torvalds and combined it with a collection of GNU utilities, creating a cohesive operating system aimed at enterprise and professional users. Early versions of Rhl were released on CD-ROM and were notable for their emphasis on stability, ease of installation, and comprehensive support contracts, distinguishing them from many other freely available Linux distributions of the time.

In 2002 Red Hat rebranded the product as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) to underscore its focus on long‑term support and certification for server and workstation hardware. The change also reflected a shift toward a subscription‑based model that provided regular security updates, bug fixes, and access to Red Hat’s knowledge base. While the RHL name has been retired, its legacy continues through RHEL and the community‑driven Fedora project, which serves as the upstream development stream for many of Red Hat’s innovations.

Rhl played a pivotal role in popularising Linux in commercial environments, demonstrating that an open‑source operating system could meet the reliability and support expectations of large organizations. Its adoption helped establish Linux as a viable alternative to proprietary Unix systems, influencing subsequent enterprise distributions and contributing to the broader growth of the open‑source ecosystem. Today, references to Rhl are primarily historical, appearing in documentation and retrospectives that trace the evolution of Red Hat’s product line.