Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 and 8.9 add new features and capabilities for container management and automation, helping enhance containerized innovations across the hybrid cloud

Red Hat, Inc., the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced the general availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 and the forthcoming availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.9. The latest versions of the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform fuel production container innovations, add new management services through Red Hat Insights and full support for Stratis as a system storage option.

IDC research forecasts that the container infrastructure software market will grow to $5.57 billion by 2027, representing a CAGR of 23.4%.¹ To serve as the foundation for this rapid growth, Red Hat believes that a scalable, flexible Linux platform that pairs container innovation with a strong security posture is vital, with Red Hat Enterprise Linux well-suited to these evolving needs. More than simply addressing these emerging demands, Red Hat Enterprise Linux enables IT organizations to use an understandable, accessible platform that takes advantage of existing skills to bridge existing IT operations with containerized innovations.

Built for the containerized future

As with Red Hat Enterprise Linux releases before them, both Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 and 8.9 natively include the capabilities of Podman, a daemonless tool for deploying, running, building and sharing Linux containers. 9.3 and 8.9 further integrate this functionality into existing workflows via automation, with new Red Hat Enterprise Linux web console enhancements. When a Podman container health check fails, administrators can now specify an automated action to occur for remediation or mitigation, which helps ease the burdens of managing containerized workloads at scale.

These container-centric updates extend to Red Hat Enterprise Linux system roles which provide pre-configured sets of Ansible roles and modules to streamline specific system operations. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux system role for Podman now supports Quadlet, a tool for simplifying the process of running containers with systemd. This lets systems administrators more effectively use systemd as a localized container management system, reducing complexities that otherwise would require human intervention.

New analytics from Red Hat Insights

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 and 8.9, include Red Hat Insights, a suite of hosted services that use Red Hat’s decades of experience in developing and managing Linux platforms at scale to proactively detect, analyze and mitigate potential system issues. Insights can also help streamline operational tasks such as building standardized images, patching systems and optimizing resources. The latest updates to Red Hat Insights include:

• Image builder support for iso, ova, qcow2 and vmdk images, making it even easier to deliver more consistent Red Hat Enterprise Linux instances across the hybrid cloud
• Greater visibility into system access by grouping system access based on user roles.
• Enhanced system vulnerability oversight with comprehensive listings of relevant Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) with and without accompanying errata.
• Simplified compliance workflows with the ability to group and edit compliance rules directly from the Insights console

Next-generation of Linux storage

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 now offers full support for Stratis, a Linux storage system included in the platform that is designed to help simplify storage administration and amplify efficiency. Stratis integrates a number of existing Linux capabilities into a more streamlined, user-friendly interface, making storage configuration and management accessible to both novice and experienced users. It incorporates a number of key features, including dynamic scaling, robust encryption and optimized resources allocation, along with more advanced capabilities such as thin provisioning, snapshots and caching. The entire system can be managed and maintained via the Red Hat Enterprise Linux web console, providing greater control and oversight into increasingly complex storage operations.

Easing the move to Red Hat Enterprise Linux

For users considering a migration to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the convert2rhel tool now supports additional Red Hat Enterprise Linux-derived distributions, smoothing the transition to the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform. Read the full blog detailing the updates here.

Availability

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 is now generally available. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.9 will be available in the coming weeks.

Supporting Quote

Gunnar Hellekson, vice president and general manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat

“Containerized and cloud-native applications are the future of computing and the job of the operating system is to bridge that future with today’s demands. The latest versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux continue to support current IT needs while creating a smoother pathway to future innovations without requiring a wholesale change in skills, tools or workflows, thanks to the new Stratis storage system, expanded Podman capabilities and enhancements to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux web console.”

Additional Resources

• Read the release notes
• Learn more about what’s new in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 and 8.9
• Find out more about Convert2RHEL

Connect with Red Hat

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About Red Hat, Inc.

Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver reliable and high-performing Linux, hybrid cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Red Hat helps customers integrate new and existing IT applications, develop cloud-native applications, standardize on our industry-leading operating system, and automate, secure, and manage complex environments. Award-winning support, training, and consulting services make Red Hat a trusted adviser to the Fortune 500. As a strategic partner to cloud providers, system integrators, application vendors, customers, and open source communities, Red Hat can help organizations prepare for the digital future.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on the company’s current assumptions regarding future business and financial performance. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Red Hat, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Red Hat logo and Ansible are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.

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¹ IDC. "Worldwide Container Infrastructure Software Forecast, 2023-2027," September 2023. Document #US49244823.

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