Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1: Six months after the release of the last major update to the flagship Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8 operating system, the first minor release of RHEL 8.1 has been released. The update brings improvements to hybrid cloud management, security, and performance.
First of all, we should mention that the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1 fully supports live kernel patching. This means you can update the Linux kernel for Critical or Important Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) without having to reboot the system. This way, your system will be up and running even if serious security holes in the kernel code have been fixed.
With your RH subscription, you'll also have access to the company's data about your system. This is a dynamic analytical report that will help you troubleshoot configuration issues and other issues with your system before they become serious problems.
The new RHEL also includes new SELinux profiles that are specific to containers. SELinux is notoriously difficult to install and configure. With custom security policies, it will be much easier to secure your containers and applications.
As usual, the latest RHEL includes the latest stable versions of the developer tools.
It is worth mentioning that Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1 is the first release in Red Hat's new plan to release small releases every six months.
The new RHEL is available to Red Hat subscribers through the Red Hat Customer Portal. Members of the Red Hat Developer program can use the latest RHEL free of charge for one year.
