Red Hat is debuting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 following a prolonged gestation period that drew quite a bit of toe-tapping impatience in the IT Linux server world.
Built to meet modern data center demands in addition to next-generation IT requirements, RHEL 7 will serve enterprise workloads throughout converged infrastructures. It will also provide the basis for open hybrid cloud development and management.
RHEL 7 provides the agility, flexibility and stability to meet changing requirements without adding new layers of complexity. The company tours its military-grade security, rock-solid reliability, and simplicity of use in capable management and operation.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 features include lightweight, portable Docker containers that run applications at great speed, providing isolation and leveraging SELinux for increased security. Docker is an open platform that is used to build, ship and run distributed applications. Constructed of the basic Docker engine (a portable, lightweight runtime and packaging tool) and Docker Hub (a cloud service for application sharing and workflow automation), Docker fast-tracks the assembly of apps, helping IT ship and operate apps across multiple platforms.
Other RHEL 7 features include filesystems enhancements including a default XFS filesystem in support of up to 500 TB; improvements to NFS 4; enhanced interoperability with Microsoft Active Directory domains that lead to better integration within heterogeneous data centers; centralized management of processes, services and security for better control of system; and performance utilities such as TUNA, Thermostat and Performance Co-Pilot to facilitate monitoring, measurement and resolution of application problems.
There also is a new management tool, OpenLMI, which helps create standardized administration across systems by managing storage, network and high-availability resources; and refined control over system subscriptions.
According to Red Hat, more than 90 percent of 2013 Fortune 500 companies count use Red Hat Enterprise Linux. RHEL 7 is said to offer the agility and flexibility to deal with the dynamic nature of technology and to flourish alongside innovations that occur at a rapid pace.
Paul Cormier, president of products and technologies for Red Hat, said "Over the course of the last 12 years, Red Hat Enterprise Linux has helped disrupt and define modern enterprise computing, With Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, we're raising the bar again and bringing the next-generation of IT to customers."
