Red Hat, a global leader in open source solutions, has announced the general availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9.4, marking another significant step in its mission to enhance Linux platforms for the modern world. In response to the growing complexity of hybrid cloud computing and the rise of AI, RHEL 9.4 introduces a range of improvements aimed at simplifying management and automation, particularly in building and maintaining standard operating environments (SOEs) for distributed systems.

A recent survey by Red Hat’s partner Dynatrace highlighted the escalating complexity of technology stacks, with 88% of organizations reporting an increase over the past 12 months. This trend shows no sign of slowing down, with more than half expecting complexity to rise further. In response to these challenges, Red Hat is focusing on making Linux more accessible, manageable, and scalable.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4, along with the upcoming RHEL 8.10, would underscore the company’s dedication to reducing the barriers to entry for Linux while ensuring it remains adaptable to evolving demands. A significant advancement in RHEL 9.4 is the inclusion of proactive guidance through Red Hat Insights, a suite of management tools designed to help organizations navigate the complexities of modern IT environments. 

“Linux is no longer simply about the kernel or the command line. Rather, it is about making the platform more accessible, more managed, and more responsive,” said Gunnar Hellekson, Vice President and General Manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux at Red Hat. “This is particularly important for IT firms that are scaling across hybrid cloud environments. Red Hat Enterprise Linux’s most recent version helps reduce complexity and enhance efficiency while making the most of current skills and tools. This is true whether the goal is to explore the promise of artificial intelligence workloads or just to optimize existing resources.

New RHEL Features

“Linux is no longer simply about the kernel or the command line. Rather, it is about making the platform more accessible, more managed, and more responsive,” said Gunnar Hellekson, VP and GM, Red Hat Enterprise Linux at Red Hat.The updated Insights image builder will soon offer proactive recommendations for creating SOE images based on RHEL, analyzing selected packages, and recommending additional relevant packages. This tool will also help identify packages that are unavailable in current repositories and provide critical information on RHEL version life cycles, enabling administrators to plan for future upgrades.

Further enhancing this support, the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console’s virtual assistant offers guidance for creating RHEL images, customizing content, and launching these images on supported cloud providers. Automation is another focal point in RHEL 9.4, with the platform extending its capabilities through deployment-ready Ansible content collections known as system roles. These collections streamline the configuration and execution of common administrative tasks, offering several new features:

System roles at the edge via rpm-ostree enable automation of operating system tasks at the edge, including deploying container workloads with PodmanA fapolicyd system role automates application execution controls at scale, reducing the likelihood of human error in security breachesA snapshot system role simplifies creating and managing point-in-time snapshots of logical volume manager (LVM) storage volumes, facilitating faster backups and recoveriesA bootloader system role helps configure the kernel command line, enhancing Linux system management consistency at scale

To further broaden its hybrid cloud ecosystem, Red Hat has extended full support to the Arm architecture in RHEL 9.4, previously available only in Technology Preview. Arm 64-based server platforms running RHEL 9.4 now enjoy full support, bringing greater flexibility and choice to customers.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 is now available to existing customers through the Red Hat Customer Portal, while the forthcoming RHEL 8.10 will soon be accessible through the same channel.