Red Hat announced on May 12 the launch of Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long-Life Add-On, a new offering designed to provide organizations with extended support for their most change-averse systems. The announcement was made during the Red Hat Summit in Atlanta.
The introduction of this add-on is significant for organizations operating in sectors where stability and long-term support are critical, such as telecommunications, healthcare, and aerospace. These industries often require IT infrastructure that remains reliable over decades due to hardware lifecycles and regulatory demands.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long-Life Add-On is an optional yearly extension that gives continued access to security updates, bug fixes, and technical support for any specific version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux without a predetermined end date. Gunnar Hellekson, vice president and general manager of Red Hat Enterprise Linux at Red Hat, said: “Stability is the bedrock of enterprise innovation. While many organizations are moving toward rapid development cycles, there remains a massive global footprint of critical systems that cannot change at this same rate or simply cannot change at all. With Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long-Life Add-On, we’re giving our customers ultimate control over their infrastructure timeline. We’re providing the peace of mind that comes with knowing Red Hat will support their chosen foundation on a schedule that aligns with their long-term business needs.”
Key features highlighted by the company include lifecycle flexibility beyond its standard 14-year benchmark, architectural autonomy to synchronize software lifecycles with hardware or regulatory requirements, strategic risk mitigation by supporting workloads resistant to frequent changes, and consistent enterprise-grade reliability.
The add-on requires an active Extended Life Cycle Premium subscription and can be renewed annually. It offers ongoing access to critical security patches rated as Critical by Red Hat Product Security team members; urgent bug fixes; and continuous round-the-clock technical support from dedicated experts.
Red Hat stated that the new offering will be available this summer.
