Overview

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a premier, open-source Linux distribution developed by Red Hat, Inc., offering a robust and secure foundation for diverse computing environments. It provides unparalleled flexibility and stability, ensuring a consistent and high-performance experience for deploying critical applications and workloads across various platforms, including physical, virtual, private cloud, public cloud, and edge deployments.

RHEL on Azure Virtual Machines

RHEL on Azure Virtual Machines enhances performance, strengthens security, and improves container support. It also comes with updated development tools, making it an ideal choice for a wide range of enterprise needs. RHEL's comprehensive capabilities extend to supporting and powering advanced software and technologies for automation, cloud-native development, containers, middleware, storage solutions, application development, microservices architectures, virtualization, and comprehensive IT management.

By combining the reliability and security inherent in a leading commercial Linux distribution with the flexibility and innovation of open-source communities, RHEL empowers businesses to build and scale their operations effectively on Azure.

What’s New in RHEL 7.9

🧠 Kernel

• Kernel Version: 3.10.0-1160
• New Parameter – page_owner: Enables detailed kernel memory tracking for debugging memory leaks
• Intel ICX EDAC Support: Error reporting support for Intel ICX systems
• Intel OPA Support: Full support for Intel® Omni-Path Architecture (OPA) host software
• Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx: Fully supported via mlx5_core driver

⏱ Real-Time Kernel

• Updated Kernel-RT Sources: Aligned with latest RHEL 7 tree for improved performance

🌐 Networking

• Unbound in chroot: DNS service can be configured to run in a chroot jail on systems without SELinux

🔒 Security Enhancements

• SCAP Security Guide Updates:
• New profile aligned with CIS RHEL 7 Benchmark v2.2.0
• Correct service masking behavior to prevent accidental startup
• Updated DISA STIG profile to version V3R1
• Support for DISA STIG v3r3 and GUI profile
• New ANSSI-BP-028 High hardening level profile
• Improved alignment of RHEL 7 STIG profile with DISA content
• New audit log buffer warning for large systems using audit_rules_for_ospp