Red Hat today introduced Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1, the latest version of the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform. Along with the recently announced Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.7, these minor versions add and refine capabilities for a wide range of enterprise IT needs, from helping to streamline complex infrastructure environments to improving the security stance of containerised applications.
According to Forrester Research’s Predictions 2023: Cloud Computing, “Forty percent of firms will take a cloud-native-first strategy” while further stating that “Rather than plow resources into VMs, organisations will accelerate investment in Kubernetes as a distributed compute backbone for current applications as well as new workloads that can run more efficiently in K8s environments in a range of technology domains…”1 Red Hat sees this predicted investment requiring a common foundation that extends across these technology domains, one that Red Hat Enterprise Linux has continued to deliver.
Open innovation without sacrificing IT infrastructure security
Regardless of the environment, IT system security remains a constant concern for nearly every organisation. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1 and 8.7 keep these needs front and centre with operating system images that are pre-configured to meet organisation-specific system security needs. By enabling security compliance profiles in image builder blueprint files, IT teams can specify an OpenSCAP security profile when extending Red Hat Enterprise Linux deployments with image builder to deliver operating system images that meet IT security and compliance requirements from installation.
The latest versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux extend multi-level security (MLS) support for agencies or other sensitive operations to better document and control classification needs. Administrators can also use new attestation technology to verify that their operating system is booting with validated, unmodified components, helping to better limit potential threat vectors.
Red Hat Insights now includes a malware detection capability to scan Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems for the presence of known vulnerabilities or malicious code. Additionally, Sigstore technology is now incorporated into Red Hat Enterprise Linux’s native container tools as a technical preview. This helps users to sign and verify code signatures using local keys, improving software security stances in hybrid environments.
Flexibility from datacentre to clouds to edge
Hybrid cloud strategies demand that IT organisations be able to run workloads wherever and however needed, especially as business needs evolve. Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides the flexibility to innovate across workloads and footprints, with versions 9.1 and 8.7 making it easier to manage innovation at hybrid cloud scale, with features such as:
- Updated Red Hat Enterprise Linux system roles to make it easier to automate and standardise manual tasks for Red Hat Enterprise Linux deployments across the hybrid cloud. New enhancements include automation support via Ansible and Redfish to better manage underlying hardware as well as multiple quality of life tweaks across nearly all other roles.
- PHP 8.1 (available in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1), a significant update of the PHP language, as a certified, validated and supported Application Stream. This enables enterprise developers to deliver critical applications with the latest tools without risking platform stability.
Hybrid cloud innovation paired with greater reliability and stability
As enterprise IT environments encompass an ever-evolving set of services, hardware and processes, enforcing the reliability and stability of these environments is paramount for CIOs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux delivers tools and capabilities to help drive the reliability and stability that IT organisations need for hybrid cloud computing, with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1 and 8.7 adding:
- Support for Extended Update Support (EUS) releases via Convert2RHEL and Leapp in-place upgrades, making it easier for operations teams to plan for and ultimately migrate in a repeatable, consistent and standardised way to the latest versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, anywhere across the hybrid cloud.
- Containerised application performance diagnostics via the Red Hat Enterprise Linux web console to help users understand where hardware bottlenecks exist and what processes or applications are consuming the most resources, even if those processes exist in a container.
- Support for embedding containers, including UBI, into image builder blueprints which enables IT teams to create operating system images that embed a container image pulled from the associated container registry. This allows for containerised applications or processes to be used immediately upon booting up the image.
“As enterprise IT expands to encompass traditional hardware, multiple public cloud environments and edge devices, complexity grows in parallel. The latest versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux continue our commitment to making hybrid cloud computing more than just accessible, but successful at the scale of global business by pairing reliability and stability with features designed for innovation and flexibility.” said Gunnar Hellekson, vice president and general manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat.
