Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 tested
The antics of Linux vendors in the enterprise environment conjures up pictures of an elephant race on the highway. Inch by inch, Ubuntu, Red Hat, and SUSE slowly squeeze past one another, each trying to anchor its market position with a new major release. Don't expect any giant leaps or rapid overtaking maneuvers, though – all the market players focus instead on demonstrating their robustness and efficiency through perseverance and consistency.
The long-term support (LTS) of enterprise distributions is a curiosity in the otherwise fast-moving FLOSS world. Canonical, Red Hat, and SUSE launch a product and commit to maintaining it over a period of years. This long-term commitment means admins can plan for long maintenance cycles of five years or more, instead of having a major update every two years; even long-term support is available at a premium [1].
Focus on Stability
In contrast to desktop distributions, enterprise versions primarily focus on stability. Red Hat and SUSE have their own test labs, in the form of the community editions of Fedora and openSUSE, where new features take a test run before making their way into the company's enterprise product.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.