Introducing RHEL 10: What’s New in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Over the years, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has been the cornerstone of enterprise operating system powering compute operations from critical cloud infrastructure to complex workloads running on-premise infrastructures. With this release – RHEL 10, Red Hat continues to innovate rapidly, focusing on security, stability, and agility. Red Hat is addressing today’s IT challenges – from the shortage of skilled talent and the spread of container environments, to zero-day security threats and the growing complexity of running AI workloads at the edge

Overview

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 builds on the strengths of previous versions, delivering high performance, strong security, and a consistent experience across edge, hybrid cloud, and traditional data center environments. RHEL 10 also offers an extended support lifecycle, with a strong focus on improving the developer experience and enhancing automation.

Key Features and Enhancements in RHEL 10

Let’s explore how RHEL 10 solves critical enterprise pain points and why it’s worth the upgrade.

1. Upgraded components / software applications

Several core components have been updated in RHEL 10 to boost performance and improve compatibility:

• Kernel: 6.12.0
• Python: 3.12
• GCC: 14.2
• glibc: 2.39
• OpenSSH suite: 9.9
• binutils: 2.41
• systemd: 256
• Bash: 5.2.26
• DNF: 4.20
• RPM: 4.19
• Sudo: 1.9.15
• Node.js: 22
• PHP: 8.3
• MariaDB: 10.11
• MySQL: 8.4
• PostgreSQL: 16
• Valkey 7.2
• Git: 2.45
• Apache HTTP Server: 2.4.62
• nginx: 1.26

2. RHEL 10 Installer highlights

The RHEL 10 installer introduces several usability improvements to enhance the setup experience:

• Admin Rights by Default: New user accounts are granted administrative privileges by default — you can opt out by deselecting this during setup.
• Simplified Time Zone Selection: Time zone can now be set using dropdown options instead of the traditional map view.
• RDP Replaces VNC: The installer now uses Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for graphical remote access, replacing VNC.

3. AI-Powered command-line assistant (Lightspeed)

RHEL 10 introduces an AI-powered command-line assistant called Lightspeed. This is designed to simplify Linux system management by bridging the gap between Linux skills and Users. A user can input natural language queries, such as “Help me troubleshoot Nginx service failing to start,” and receive actionable recommendations.

The Lightspeed tool is aimed to assist both Junior & Senior Linux administrators responsible for the configurations, deployments, troubleshootings, and daily management of RHEL systems to be more efficiently. It integrates with systemd-creds, a password store manager included in RHEL, and uses generative AI trained on RHEL product documentation and the Red Hat Knowledgebase.

4. Security enhancements

Below are improvements on security.

• OpenSSH upgraded to version 9.9, offering major improvements over RHEL 9’s version 8.7.
• Post-quantum algorithm support (Tech Preview) added to OpenSSL, GnuTLS, NSS, and OpenSSH.
• New sudo system role enables consistent, large-scale sudo configuration management.
• Sequoia PGP tools (sq, sqv) introduced as modern alternatives to GnuPG.
• SELinux 3.8 adds Wayland support in SELinux sandbox.
• Security compliance tooling improved significantly, with updated tools and content compared to RHEL 9.

5. Web console Improvements

RHEL 10 introduces a new File Browser in the web console, powered by the cockpit-files package making it easier to view and manage files and directories directly from your browser.

With the File manager, you can perform the following actions:

• Browse files and directories on file systems you can access
• Sort files and directories by various criteria
• Filter displayed files by a sub-string
• Copy, move, delete, and rename files and directories
• Create directories
• Upload files
• Bookmark file paths
• Use keyboard shortcuts for the actions

6. New features in 10.0 RHEL system roles

Improvements in RHL system roles:

• new aide system role: Used to detect unauthorized changes to files, directories, and system binaries.
• new sudo system role: To consistently manage sudo configuration at scale across your RHEL systems.
• The storage system role can now manage Stratis pools
• The storage system role can now resize LVM physical volumes
• The ha_cluster system role now allows you to export the Corosync configuration from an existing cluster in a format that can be reused to recreate the same cluster.
• The podman system role now lets you define container image registry credentials either globally or for individual container specifications.
• The snapshot system role now supports managing snapshots of LVM thin pools
• With thin provisioning, you can use the snapshot RHEL system role to manage snapshots of LVM thin pools.

7. Desktop Enhancements

• Enhanced fonts in GNOME desktop
• Window overview added to GNOME classic
• New bash-color-prompt package sets up a default colored Bash shell prompt.
• GNOME Online Accounts can restrict which features providers can use
• RHEL Flatpak Firefox, Thunderbird, Runtime, and SDK are supported
• Papers is a document viewer application for the GNOME desktop

8. Running RHEL in Cloud Environments

RHEL 10 enhancements for cloud environments:

• cloud-init now uses NetworkManager as the default network renderer
• RHEL 10 provides Unified Kernel Image
• RHEL instances on the eligible marketplaces will be automatically registered to Red Hat and automatically receive content updates
• WSL images of RHEL 8 – 10 are available for download on the Customer Portal

9. Container related enhancements

• Updated Container Tools Packages: Core tools like Podman, Buildah, and others have been refreshed with the latest features and enhancements
• VMDK Image Creation Support: The bootc-image-builder now supports creating and deploying VMDK images, useful for VMware environments.
• Google Cloud Image Builds: You can now use bootc-image-builder to create images tailored for Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Enhanced OCI Support: Podman and Buildah now support adding OCI artifacts to image indexes, improving multi-format compatibility.
• Multi-Architecture Image Builds: Building and managing multi-architecture container images is now fully supported.
• FIPS Mode in Image Mode: RHEL’s Image Mode now supports FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) for enhanced security compliance.

10. Supported In-place upgrade to RHEL 10

Supported upgrade paths:

RHEL 9 to RHEL 10

RHEL 9 to RHEL 10 in-place upgrade is supported on the following architectures:

• AMD and Intel 64-bit (x86-64-v3)
• ARM 64-bit (ARMv8.0-A)
• IBM Power Systems (POWER9, Little Endian)
• IBM Z (64-bit, z14)

RHEL 8 to RHEL 10

There is no supported direct in-place upgrade from RHEL 8 to RHEL 10. Instead, follow this two-step upgrade process:

1. Upgrade from RHEL 8 to RHEL 9
2. Then upgrade from RHEL 9 to RHEL 10

Removed Features in RHEL 10

The following features are removed in RHEL 10 and no longer supported.

• The auth or authconfig Kickstart commands are removed and replaced with the authselect kickstart command.
• The RHEL image builder will no longer support the Openstack image type. Use the .qcow2 image type to build Openstack images.
• Screenshot capture using the Anaconda GUI hotkey has been removed. Users can no longer manually extract installation screenshots
• Automatic bug reporting in Anaconda has been removed. Issues must now be reported manually using installation logs.
• Anaconda no longer allows selecting the LUKS version during manual installation. RHEL 10 now defaults to LUKS2 for new devices.
• The dhcp-client package has been removed. As an alternative, use the NetworkManager-internal DHCP client
• TigerVNC is replaced by the gnome-remote-desktop daemon
• GNOME Terminal has been replaced with Ptyxis
• LibreOffice is removed and has to be installed from the official Flatpak package in the Flathub repository
• The PulseAudio is replaced with PipeWire audio system
• The X.Org Server is now deprecated in RHEL 10 and has been replaced by the Xwayland compositor for legacy X applications.
• And much more – explore the official RHEL 10 release notes for the full list of removed and deprecated features

Installation Guide:

• How to Install RHEL 10 – Complete Tutorial with Screenshots

Conclusion

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 is much more than a routine OS update, it’s a major leap forward in stability, innovation, performance, and security. Whether you are focused on data center modernization, managing distributed edge Linux deployments, or building cloud-native applications, RHEL 10 offers all the features that meet your business needs. Try it out today and experience the difference!