Understanding Linux

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 is here.

Our latest release helps you build on a foundation that can take you further and address today’s most pressing IT challenges, from the Linux® skills gap to getting started with post-quantum security.

Get the details

What is Linux?

Linux® is an open source operating system (OS) created in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Today, thanks to its global community of enthusiasts, you can find it in all kinds of devices, from retail point-of-sale systems to the world's most powerful supercomputers.

Topics

Choosing a Linux distro

There are many different versions of Linux. Learn which one is right for your needs.

The difference between Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Learn the difference between these two popular Linux distros, and how community and enterprise development models intersect.

Linux for cloud computing

Planning a shift to the cloud? Linux is there.

CentOS Linux

This open source community project creates CentOS Stream, a distro that incorporates features and innovations from Fedora, generally just ahead of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

High availability

An IT system is described as having high availability when it has near-zero downtime. Linux can be customized to operate with this level of responsiveness.

Enterprise resource planning

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software helps business processes run more efficiently, giving organizations a single source of truth for data used across departments.

SAP HANA and Linux

SAP HANA is an in-memory database that helps organize and analyze big data for SAP’s enterprise resource planning (SAP ERP) applications.

High-performance computing

High-performance computing (HPC) generally refers to processing complex calculations at high speeds across multiple servers in parallel. Linux is the dominant OS in this field.

Linux servers

Servers can run variants of Linux to handle the most demanding business applications, such as web services and databases.

The Linux kernel

The Linux kernel is present in all Linux distros, controlling core functions like memory management.

Linux certification

Linux certifications—offered by many organizations in the open source community, including Red Hat—demonstrate proficiency with various aspects of Linux OS management.

Security-Enhanced Linux

Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) is a security architecture for Linux systems that allows administrators to have more control over who can access the system.

Latency-sensitive applications

See how Linux supports applications that rely on minimal latency to function.

Linux containers

Linux containers let you isolate 1 or more processes from the rest of a system, bundling applications with their supporting files and runtime processes.

Image builders

An image builder is a tool used in system administration to create a copy—an exact image—of a virtual system or configuration.

Golden images

A golden image is an intentionally configured snapshot of a system that can be used as a baseline to deploy new instances.

Further reading

Analyst material

E-book

E-book

Success stories

Square Enix logo

Square Enix

Square Enix simplifies management of online gaming infrastructure.

WM Promus

WM Promus

WM Promus helps customers achieve their goals with Red Hat.

Salesforce logo

Salesforce

Salesforce makes the move from CentOS Linux to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.

More about Linux

Products

A stable, proven foundation that’s versatile enough for rolling out new applications, virtualizing environments, and creating a more secure hybrid cloud.

Resources