Skip to content

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Red Hat's commercial Linux distribution for enterprises, with a 10-year life cycle per major version and the base of Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux and Oracle Linux.

  • Active project
  • Latest 10.3Nov 2026
  • Latest LTS 7 LTS
  • Supported 3 versions
Download Official site 103 Red Hat Enterprise Linux guides
On this page

At a glance

Type
Linux distribution
Developer
Red Hat (IBM)
Based on
Fedora
First release
2002
Release cadence
Major release every 3 years; minor release every 6 months
OS family
Linux
Package format
RPM (DNF)
Init system
systemd
Default desktop
GNOME
Architectures
x86_64, aarch64, ppc64le, s390x
Support
10 years per major release (5 full + 5 maintenance), plus paid extended life cycle support
License
Subscription; free Developer subscription for up to 16 systems
Upstream
Fedora → CentOS Stream → RHEL
Website
redhat.com

Newest release

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Released 20 May 2025 · latest update 10.3

Recommended for servers

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 LTS

Supported until 30 Jun 2024

Support status

10 Supported

Until 31 May 2035 · in 8.5 years

Active support until 31 May 2030

9 Supported

Until 31 May 2032 · in 5.5 years

Active support until 31 May 2027

8 Security fixes only

Until 31 May 2029 · in 2.5 years

Active support ended 31 May 2024

7 LTS Extended support (paid)

Paid support until 31 May 2029 · in 2.5 years

Release history

VersionReleasedLatestActive supportSecurity / EOLExtendedStatus
1020 May 202510.331 May 203031 May 203531 May 2039Supported
918 May 20229.931 May 202731 May 203231 May 2036Supported
87 May 20198.1031 May 202431 May 202931 May 2033Security fixes only
7 LTS10 Jun 20147.96 Aug 201930 Jun 202431 May 2029Extended support (paid)
6 LTS10 Nov 20106.1010 May 201630 Nov 202030 Jun 2024End of life
5 LTS15 Mar 20075.118 Jan 201331 Mar 201730 Nov 2020End of life
415 Feb 20054.931 Mar 200929 Feb 201231 Mar 2017End of life

Release data: endoflife.date and vendor announcements, checked 13 Nov 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Support timeline

The 7 most recent releases, from release day to the end of support.

  • Active support
  • Security fixes only
  • Extended (paid)
  • Today
10
9
8
7 LTS
6 LTS
5 LTS
4

History

Red Hat shipped its original Red Hat Linux from 1994. In 2002 it released Red Hat Enterprise Linux, a slower-moving, certified and subscription-supported product, and in 2003 it ended the free Red Hat Linux in favour of the community-run Fedora. RHEL quickly became the standard Linux for banks, governments and hardware vendors, helped by long life cycles and certifications from software vendors.

Each major version is supported for ten years, with paid add-ons beyond that. Development flows from Fedora into CentOS Stream and then into RHEL. IBM bought Red Hat in 2019. Red Hat’s 2020 decision to end CentOS Linux, and its 2023 decision to publish RHEL sources only through CentOS Stream, led to community rebuilds such as Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux.

Milestones

  1. 2002Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 AS, the first RHEL, is released
  2. 2003Red Hat ends the free Red Hat Linux and focuses on RHEL; Fedora Core becomes the community distribution
  3. 2014RHEL 7 moves to systemd and XFS by default
  4. 2019IBM completes its acquisition of Red Hat; RHEL 8 ships with DNF and Application Streams
  5. 2021A free Developer subscription covers production use on up to 16 systems
  6. 2022RHEL 9 is the first release built from CentOS Stream
  7. 2023Red Hat limits public RHEL source code to CentOS Stream
  8. 2025RHEL 10 is released in May

Red Hat Enterprise Linux guides

Browse all 103 Red Hat Enterprise Linux guides →

Frequently asked questions

What is the latest version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

The newest Red Hat Enterprise Linux release is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, released on 20 May 2025. Its latest update is 10.3 (11 Nov 2026).

What is the latest LTS version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 LTS is the newest long-term support release (released 10 Jun 2014), supported until 30 Jun 2024.

Which Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions are still supported?

As of 13 Nov 2026, 3 versions are supported: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (until 31 May 2035); Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (until 31 May 2032); Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (until 31 May 2029).

Is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 LTS still supported?

No. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 LTS reached end of life on 30 Jun 2024 and no longer gets free security updates. Paid extended support continues until 31 May 2029. Upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.

Compare Red Hat Enterprise Linux

← All software & operating systems

Back to top