Red Hat Releases RHEL 5.4
Announced at the Red Hat Summit in Chicago, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 5 update intends to set the groundwork for future virtualization products and cloud computing.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 concentrates foremost on virtualization and cloud computing. The new version should become the basis for the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization product still planned for release this year. According to the company's announcement, with RHEL 5.4 it is the first provider to support Intel's VT-d virtualization technology and PCI-SIG's Single-Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) specification. However, Red Hat assures customers still using Xen virtualization that they can continue with it through the full lifecycle of RHEL 5 releases.
RHEL 5.4 is still only an update to the major release with the minimum of changes. The Kernel version continues to be 2.6.18, albeit with a series of backported patches such as for the WLAN stack, ext4, XFS and virtualization support. Red Hat provides details on the changes in their Kernel technical notes for RHEL 5.4. The release also includes the newest GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) version 4.4.
On the desktop, Red Hat improved audio and video card support and fixed the rebooting on undocking/docking problem. Some of the version numbers are rather archaic: KDE users will get 3.5.4 and GNOME is in version 2.16.
Customers with active RHEL 5 subscription will get the new version as an automatic update. New buyers for server products can expect to pay from $349 for a basic subscription; the desktop version starts at $80.
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
-
Linux Kernel Project Releases Project Continuity Document
What happens to Linux when there's no Linus? It's a question many of us have asked over the years, and it seems it's also on the minds of the Linux kernel project.
-
Mecha Systems Introduces Linux Handheld
Mecha Systems has revealed its Mecha Comet, a new handheld computer powered by – you guessed it – Linux.
-
MX Linux 25.1 Features Dual Init System ISO
The latest release of MX Linux caters to lovers of two different init systems and even offers instructions on how to transition.
-
Photoshop on Linux?
A developer has patched Wine so that it'll run specific versions of Photoshop that depend on Adobe Creative Cloud.
-
Linux Mint 22.3 Now Available with New Tools
Linux Mint 22.3 has been released with a pair of new tools for system admins and some pretty cool new features.
-
New Linux Malware Targets Cloud-Based Linux Installations
VoidLink, a new Linux malware, should be of real concern because of its stealth and customization.
-
Say Goodbye to Middle-Mouse Paste
Both Gnome and Firefox have proposed getting rid of a long-time favorite Linux feature.
-
Manjaro 26.0 Primary Desktop Environments Default to Wayland
If you want to stick with X.Org, you'll be limited to the desktop environments you can choose.
-
Mozilla Plans to AI-ify Firefox
With a new CEO in control, Mozilla is doubling down on a strategy of trust, all the while leaning into AI.
-
Gnome Says No to AI-Generated Extensions
If you're a developer wanting to create a new Gnome extension, you'd best set aside that AI code generator, because the extension team will have none of that.