Empowering Enterprises: What’s New in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4

Red Hat, the leading provider of open-source solutions, has just unveiled a significant milestone in its operating system series with the general availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4. This release marks the fourth update to the latest RHEL 9 series, bringing forth a plethora of new features and enhancements designed to empower enterprise users across various domains.

Let’s delve into the highlights of what Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 has to offer:

Enhanced Security Features:

• Support for customizing SCAP security profiles to a blueprint, bolstering security configurations tailored to specific organizational needs.
• Introduction of the ability to configure Keylime server components, such as the verifier and registrar, as containers, offering greater flexibility and scalability in security implementations.
• Finer control over MACs in SSH with the crypto-policies package, strengthening SSH security protocols.
• Addition of a new SELinux policy module for the SAP HANA service, ensuring comprehensive security coverage for SAP environments.

Optimized System Functionality:

• Expansion of libkcapi library options for hash-sum calculations, providing more control over target file names.
• Introduction of a minimal RHEL installation option for s390x architecture, enabling streamlined installations catering to specific use cases.
• Separation of the glusterd SELinux module into a distinct package, glusterfs-selinux, for improved modularity and manageability.

Networking and Performance Improvements:

• Integration of a new driver for the Marvell Octeon PCIe Endpoint network interface controller, enhancing network connectivity and performance.
• Updates to NetworkManager with support for configuring switchdev mode, facilitating advanced hardware offload capabilities.

Cutting-Edge Technologies and Component Updates:

• Full support for the Intel data streaming accelerator driver and Software Guard Extensions (SGX) technology, fortifying software code and data protection mechanisms.
• Rebase of the eBPF facility to Linux kernel 6.6 LTS, ensuring compatibility with the latest kernel advancements.
• Addition of support for setting a file system size limit and converting standard logical volumes to thin logical volumes, expanding storage management capabilities.

User Experience Enhancements:

• Introduction of a passwordless authentication method using biometric devices in SSSD, enhancing user convenience and security.
• Integration of external identity providers for authentication in Identity Management, offering greater flexibility in user authentication mechanisms.
• Improved RHEL web console functionality, now capable of generating Ansible and shell scripts for streamlined management and automation tasks.

Updated Components and Technologies:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 features updated components such as SELinux 3.6, GnuTLS 3.8.3, PostgreSQL 16, MariaDB 10.11, PHP 8.2, and many more, ensuring compatibility with the latest industry standards and technologies.

Availability:

Existing Red Hat Enterprise Linux customers with active subscriptions can access Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 via the Red Hat Customer Portal. For those interested in exploring the latest features and capabilities, a 60-day evaluation edition of RHEL 9.4 is available for download.

In conclusion, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 stands as a testament to Red Hat’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge open-source solutions tailored to the evolving needs of modern enterprises. With its comprehensive security enhancements, optimized functionality, and support for emerging technologies, RHEL 9.4 empowers organizations to drive innovation and achieve greater success in today’s dynamic business landscape.