Red Hat Enterprise Linux is an operating system intended for enterprise and commercial use. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is commonly used among business users and developers due to its stability, reliability, high-quality open-source software, regularly updated, and accessible long-term support.
Now, if you are a new system admin or Linux user, there are commands that you can use to find out the version of your Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
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There are several ways on how to check your RHEL’s system version, however, that still largely depends on your system configuration.
How to check Redhat versions?
Option 1: to determine Red Hat Enterprise Linux version, type:
- cat / etc/ redhat – release
Option 2: to execute a command to find the Red Hat Enterprise Linux version, type:
- more /etc/issue
Option 3: to show Red Hat Enterprise Linux version using a command line, run:
- less /etc/os-release
Option 4: For Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 7 users or above, you can use the hostnamectl to find out the exact Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) version
- Open the terminal window and enter: hostnamect1
- You will be prompted with many information, but you can focus on looking for the following: Operating System, Kernel, and Architecture. The Operating System will tell you the Linux fork you are using and which major release while the Kernel section will tell you the Linux kernel your operating system is using. The “Architecture” section will tell you whether you are running a 32 or 64-bit operating which is useful when choosing what software package to install.
Option 5: to display the Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel version, type:
- uname –r
- uname -mrs
Option 6: to check the Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) file:
- cat /etc/system-release-cpe
- Your system will show results with the name and version of your operating system.
Other commands that you can use to determine the Red Hat Enterprise Linux version:
To find out your Redhat’s release package, run:
- rpm –query redhat-release-server or rpm –query centos-release
- RPM stands for Redhat Package Manager
To check the content of each file to reveal your Redhat version, use cat:
- $ for 1 in $(1s /etc/*release); do echo ===$i===; cat $i; done
Your Red Hat Enterprise Linux version might be in single digit while others will show a number followed by a dot and another number (example 7.1) The first digit refers to a major release the same as Windows 7, 8, or Windows 10 while the digit following the dot represents the number of updates or level of patches done.
So, if your Red Hat Enterprise Linux shows 7.3, it means Red Hat version 7, updated to 7.3. And do not forget, it is always best to use the latest update for your Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Finding your Red Hat Enterprise Linux version can be done in many different ways. As long as you know this operating system, the commands that you can use are straightforward.
The Internet is an abundant resource of information as long as you know where to look for it.
