In addition to announcing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.8 (see article above), Red Hat has extended the production lifecycle of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and 6 from seven to 10 years in response to enterprise customer demand. According to Red Hat, for some IT environments, upgrading to a new version of an operating system requires detailed advance planning. Red Hat extended the Red Hat Enterprise Linux lifecycle so customers can remain on their current version longer. With the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux lifecycle, customers will benefit from continued feature enhancements while Red Hat's ABI and API compatibility leverages their application investments.
"Enterprise customers require flexibility when planning strategic, long-term technology deployments," said Jim Totton, vice president and general manager, Platform Business Unit, Red Hat. "Many of our customers have come to realize that standardizing on Red Hat Enterprise Linux improves efficiency and helps lower costs. With a 10-year lifecycle, customers now have additional choices when planning their Red Hat Enterprise Linux deployment and overall IT strategy. We are pleased that customers are looking far into the future with Red Hat."
For more information about Red Hat Enterprise Linux lifecycle, visit www.redhat.com/rhel/lifecycle.