Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on

December 12, 2023•
Resource type: Datasheet
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Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) is an optional Add-On subscription for certain Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® subscriptions. ELS enhances the value of a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription, extending the viability of a given Red Hat operating system (OS) platform beyond its traditional 10-year support life cycle.

Extended maintenance for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux migration

Red Hat understands the importance of life cycle planning for our customers, partners, ISVs, and the entire Red Hat Enterprise Linux ecosystem. Enterprises deploying open source software in production need assurances that their chosen platform has clearly defined security and support over the life cycle of the OS. Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions offer clearly communicated life cycle strategy and guidance, allowing organizations to plan and execute OS transitions that meet the needs of their applications and their business.2

While the latest innovations are always available in the most recent Red Hat releases, it is not always possible or desirable for organizations to update to the latest versions. In response, Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 7, 8 and 9 each deliver 10 years of support, with that support broken down into Full Support and Maintenance Support phases depending on the OS version (Figure 1).3 The optional ELS Add-On subscription provides additional support during the Extended Life Phase to extend limited support services beyond the 10-year point in the OS life cycle.

Benefits:

Extend support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux beyond 10 years with the Extended Life Cycle Support Add-On subscription.

Strategically plan OS life cycle transitions with predictable schedules and clear Red Hat guidance.

Help ensure stable and security-focused deployments with Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions.

Figure 1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux life cycle phases by OS release.

Figure 1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux life cycle phases by OS release.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux life cycle phases vary by OS release:4

  • Full Support phase. During the Full Support Phase, qualified Critical and Important Security errata advisories (RHSAs) and Urgent and Selected High Priority Bug Fix errata advisories (RHBAs) may be released as they become available. If available, new or improved hardware enablement and select enhanced software functionality may be provided at Red Hat’s discretion.
  • Maintenance Support phase. During the Maintenance Support phases, qualified RHSAs and RHBAs may be released as they become available. Other errata advisories may be delivered as appropriate. New functionality and new hardware enablement is at the discretion of Red Hat, and varies by OS release.
  • Extended Life phase. During the Extended Life phase, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription provides continued access to previously released content on the Red Hat Customer Portal, as well as other content such as documentation and the Red Hat knowledgebase. By default no bug fixes, security fixes, hardware enablement, or root-cause analysis is available during this phase.

Extended Life Cycle Support Add-On

Available during the Extended Life Phase, ELS delivers certain critical-impact security fixes, selected urgent priority bug fixes, and troubleshooting for the last minor release of a given version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The ELS Add-On applies to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux version currently in the ELS phase, with support that includes the following:

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. The ELS Add-On covers IBM S/390x and the x86 (64 bit only) architectures. For further information, review the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 ELS maintenance policy.
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 in the public cloud. 
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. The ELS Add-On covers IBM Z and the x86 architecture, both 32-bit and 64-bit variants.

Additional details

Visit Red Hat’s ELS support page for a list of supported packages and additional information.

  1. Note: Only Standard or Premium Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions are eligible for ELS support. Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop or Workstation subscriptions are not eligible for the ELS Add-On. Add-Ons are not covered by ELS.

  2. See the Red Hat Enterprise Linux life cycle page for more detailed information. (https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata)

  3. With the advent of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9, the Maintenance Support 1 and Maintenance Support 2 phases have been consolidated into a single Maintenance Support phase.

  4. Full details can be found at https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata/#Details

  5. Bug fixes provided at Red Hat discretion.