Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS FAQ

Partnership

Is Oracle a certified cloud for Red Hat?

Yes. Oracle is a certified and supported cloud provider. In addition, Oracle and Red Hat collaborate to support mutual customers on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), consistent with what Red Hat customers expect from any of the company’s Certified Cloud and Service Provider (CCSP) Program partners.

What differentiates OCI from other cloud providers?

OCI offers unique virtual machine shapes that are defined by the customer, rather than the cloud provider. Customers select their processor (Intel, AMD, or Arm), the number of CPU cores (from 1 to 80, depending on the processor) in single-core increments, and the amount of memory (from 1 GB to 1,024 GB, depending on the processor) in 1 GB increments per core. This contrasts with other cloud providers that offer a wide variety of fixed sizes that may be oversize or undersized for a customer’s needs.

OCI bare metal shapes offer unimpeded high performance equivalent to or better than on-premises capabilities. The customer is in complete control of the hardware as the control plane runs on a separate, off-box unit and doesn’t affect the bare metal instance.

OCI pursues a distributed cloud strategy that encourages and supports collaboration between OCI and other cloud providers for the benefit of customers. An example is Oracle Interconnect for Microsoft Azure and Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure, which let customers leverage services in both OCI and Azure with single-digit millisecond latency between the clouds.

OCI offers unique virtual machine shapes that are defined by the customer, rather than the cloud provider. Customers select their processor (Intel, AMD, or Arm), the number of CPU cores (from 1 to 80, depending on the processor) in single-core increments, and the amount of memory (from 1 GB to 1,024 GB, depending on the processor) in 1 GB increments per core. This contrasts with other cloud providers that offer a wide variety of fixed sizes that may be oversize or undersized for a customer’s needs. OCI bare metal shapes offer unimpeded high performance equivalent to or better than on-premises capabilities. The customer is in complete control of the hardware as the control plane runs on a separate, off-box unit and doesn’t affect the bare metal instance. OCI pursues a distributed cloud strategy that encourages and supports collaboration between OCI and other cloud providers for the benefit of customers. An example is Oracle Interconnect for Microsoft Azure and Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure, which let customers leverage services in both OCI and Azure with single-digit millisecond latency between the clouds. OCI offers the most advanced platform for Oracle Database, including the hardware-optimized Exadata platform, as well as the self-tuning Oracle Autonomous Database.

Licensing and billing

Can customers bring their own subscription through Red Hat’s BYOS program?

Yes. Customers should use the Red Hat Cloud Access Program to leverage their Red Hat Enterprise Linux licenses.

Can customers move an on‑premises Red Hat Enterprise Linux license to OCI?

Yes. Customers can use the Red Hat Cloud Access Program to move licenses between on-premises and cloud vendors. For further questions, customers should contact their Red Hat sales team for assistance.

Can customers license Red Hat Enterprise Linux via an on-demand subscription through OCI?

No. Licensing is through Red Hat. Availability of on-demand licensing through OCI is being considered.

Is Red Hat Enterprise Linux available in Oracle Cloud Marketplace?

No. Licensing is through Red Hat. Availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux via Oracle Cloud Marketplace is being considered.

Can customers move Red Hat Enterprise Linux licenses from other clouds to OCI?

Yes. Customers can use the Red Hat Cloud Access Program to move licenses between on-premises and cloud vendors. For further questions, customers should contact their Red Hat sales team for assistance.

Can customers be billed for Red Hat Enterprise Linux licenses via OCI?

No. Licensing and payment for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is through Red Hat.

Can customers pay for Red Hat Enterprise Linux licenses with Oracle Universal Credits?

No. Licensing and payment for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is through Red Hat.

Does Oracle Support Rewards work with Red Hat Enterprise Linux licensing?

No. Oracle Support Rewards only considers services purchased directly from Oracle. Oracle Support Rewards will be applied to the underlying infrastructure (for example, compute or storage) leveraged by OCI Compute when running Red Hat Enterprise Linux but not to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux license.

Do license prices include tax?

Licensing is through Red Hat. Red Hat’s licensing contract determines the treatment of tax.

Can customers switch between Red Hat’s BYOS Program and on­demand licensing?

No. Licensing is through Red Hat. On-demand licensing via OCI is currently unavailable.

Versions

What versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux does OCI Compute support?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, and 9 are supported. Note that Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 has reached end of maintenance and isn’t available.

Virtual machines

The specific versions and shapes that have been certified through Red Hat are

Bare metal

The specific versions and shapes that have been certified through Red Hat are

Is Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on OCI the official distribution from Red Hat.

Yes. Red Hat distributes the operating system. It’s their official edition.

Support

Whom do customers contact for support with Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on OCI Compute?

Customers may contact either Red Hat Support or Oracle Support. Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is provided by both Red Hat, based on the customer support contract with Red Hat, and Oracle, included with consuming certified compute resources on OCI. As needed, Red Hat Support and Oracle Support will collaborate on behalf of the customer.

Can customers contact Red Hat directly for support with Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on OCI Compute?

Yes. Customers may contact either Red Hat Support or Oracle Support. Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is provided by both Red Hat, based on the customer support contract with Red Hat, and Oracle, included with consuming certified compute resources on OCI. As needed, Red Hat Support and Oracle Support will collaborate on behalf of the customer.

Can customers contact Oracle directly for support with Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on OCI Compute?

Yes. Customers may contact either Red Hat Support or Oracle Support. Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is provided by both Red Hat, based on the customer support contract with Red Hat, and Oracle, included with consuming certified compute resources on OCI. As needed, Red Hat Support and Oracle Support will collaborate on behalf of the customer.

Must customers purchase support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Customers must have a valid subscription for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which includes support.

Can customers purchase support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux from Red Hat?

Yes. Support is included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux Standard and Premium subscriptions. Oracle Support provides support for the infrastructure automatically through the use of OCI Compute.

Can customers purchase support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux from Oracle?

No. Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is provided by Red Hat. Oracle Support provides support for the infrastructure.

Deployment

How do customers deploy Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on OCI?

Consult our blog post. Although the blog post is focused on bare metal, the same process applies to virtual machines.

What shapes in OCI support Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Intel, AMD, and Arm flexible virtual machines and bare metal shapes.

Virtual machines

The specific versions and shapes that have been certified through Red Hat are

Bare metal

The specific versions and shapes that have been certified through Red Hat are

Is Red Hat Enterprise Linux supported in OCI Dedicated Region ?

Yes. Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on OCI Compute is supported in OCI Dedicated Region for the certified configurations.

Operations

How do customers update OCI Compute running Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Customers use the same process with any standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution to update the operating systems.

How will customers know that updates are available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Customers can subscribe to notifications through their Red Hat accounts for Red Hat Enterprise Linux updates.

Is Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on OCI Compute configured to download updates from Oracle or Red Hat?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is configured to pull updates from Red Hat official repositories, which are maintained by Red Hat.

OpenShift

Is Red Hat OpenShift certified on OCI?

Not yet. Red Hat and Oracle are working to enable Red Hat OpenShift certification on OCI as a self-managed option by early 2024.

Which versions of Red Hat OpenShift will be certified?

That hasn’t been determined.

What editions of Red Hat OpenShift will be certified?

Red Hat and Oracle are working to certify the following editions of Red Hat OpenShift:

• Red Hat OpenShift Kubernetes Engine
• Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform
• Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus

Partners

Can partners (system integrators, service providers, ISVs, etc.) purchase Red Hat Enterprise Linux for use on OCI?

Yes. Partners can purchase subscriptions in the same manner as they do today through the Red Hat Cloud Access Program.

Can partners provide services on top of Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on OCI Compute?

Yes. Partners can use Red Hat Enterprise Linux today just as they do in other environments.

Can partners use Red Hat Enterprise Linux licenses purchased by end users/customers?

Customers should consult their Red Hat sales team for acceptable use of their Red Hat Enterprise Linux licenses.