Skip to main content
Redhat Developers  Logo
  • Products

    Featured

    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux Icon
    • Red Hat OpenShift AI
      Red Hat OpenShift AI
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI
      Linux icon inside of a brain
    • Image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux
      RHEL image mode
    • Red Hat OpenShift
      Openshift icon
    • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
      Ansible icon
    • Red Hat Developer Hub
      Developer Hub
    • View All Red Hat Products
    • Linux

      • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
      • Image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux
      • Red Hat Universal Base Images (UBI)
    • Java runtimes & frameworks

      • JBoss Enterprise Application Platform
      • Red Hat build of OpenJDK
    • Kubernetes

      • Red Hat OpenShift
      • Microsoft Azure Red Hat OpenShift
      • Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization
      • Red Hat OpenShift Lightspeed
    • Integration & App Connectivity

      • Red Hat Build of Apache Camel
      • Red Hat Service Interconnect
      • Red Hat Connectivity Link
    • AI/ML

      • Red Hat OpenShift AI
      • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI
    • Automation

      • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
      • Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed
    • Developer tools

      • Red Hat Trusted Software Supply Chain
      • Podman Desktop
      • Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces
    • Developer Sandbox

      Developer Sandbox
      Try Red Hat products and technologies without setup or configuration fees for 30 days with this shared Openshift and Kubernetes cluster.
    • Try at no cost
  • Technologies

    Featured

    • AI/ML
      AI/ML Icon
    • Linux
      Linux Icon
    • Kubernetes
      Cloud icon
    • Automation
      Automation Icon showing arrows moving in a circle around a gear
    • View All Technologies
    • Programming Languages & Frameworks

      • Java
      • Python
      • JavaScript
    • System Design & Architecture

      • Red Hat architecture and design patterns
      • Microservices
      • Event-Driven Architecture
      • Databases
    • Developer Productivity

      • Developer productivity
      • Developer Tools
      • GitOps
    • Secure Development & Architectures

      • Security
      • Secure coding
    • Platform Engineering

      • DevOps
      • DevSecOps
      • Ansible automation for applications and services
    • Automated Data Processing

      • AI/ML
      • Data Science
      • Apache Kafka on Kubernetes
      • View All Technologies
    • Start exploring in the Developer Sandbox for free

      sandbox graphic
      Try Red Hat's products and technologies without setup or configuration.
    • Try at no cost
  • Learn

    Featured

    • Kubernetes & Cloud Native
      Openshift icon
    • Linux
      Rhel icon
    • Automation
      Ansible cloud icon
    • Java
      Java icon
    • AI/ML
      AI/ML Icon
    • View All Learning Resources

    E-Books

    • GitOps Cookbook
    • Podman in Action
    • Kubernetes Operators
    • The Path to GitOps
    • View All E-books

    Cheat Sheets

    • Linux Commands
    • Bash Commands
    • Git
    • systemd Commands
    • View All Cheat Sheets

    Documentation

    • API Catalog
    • Product Documentation
    • Legacy Documentation
    • Red Hat Learning

      Learning image
      Boost your technical skills to expert-level with the help of interactive lessons offered by various Red Hat Learning programs.
    • Explore Red Hat Learning
  • Developer Sandbox

    Developer Sandbox

    • Access Red Hat’s products and technologies without setup or configuration, and start developing quicker than ever before with our new, no-cost sandbox environments.
    • Explore Developer Sandbox

    Featured Developer Sandbox activities

    • Get started with your Developer Sandbox
    • OpenShift virtualization and application modernization using the Developer Sandbox
    • Explore all Developer Sandbox activities

    Ready to start developing apps?

    • Try at no cost
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Videos

RHEL 8.6: What's new and how to upgrade

May 11, 2022
Nikhil Mungale Alex Krikos
Related topics:
Linux
Related products:
Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Share:

    Version 8.6 of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is now generally available, and includes a number of features and upgrade paths that will benefit developers and DevOps teams. This article covers some of the most notable improvements. Please refer to the release notes for a comprehensive list of changes.

    Support for newer versions of language runtimes

    • PHP 8.0 provides several bug fixes and enhancements, such as the use of structured metadata syntax, newly named arguments that are order-independent, and improved performance for Just-In-Time compilation.
    • Perl 5.32 provides a number of bug fixes and enhancements, including Unicode version 13, a new experimental infix operator, and faster feature checks.

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux for the edge

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 now supports automatic provisioning and onboarding for edge images. With this update, customers can build Red Hat Enterprise Linux for the edge, provision it, use the FIDO Device Onboarding (FDO) process to automatically provision and onboard edge devices, and exchange data with other devices and systems connected on the network.

    New system roles

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 has new system roles that enable seamless automation for system administrators. Here is a list of new system roles:

    • High availability (HA) cluster system role: This role helps create and manage secure, stable HA clusters. It also enables DevOps teams to have better control over managing multiple clusters.
    • Enhanced network system role: This role helps DevOps teams create secure connections (including over Wi-Fi) along with robust firewall rules.
    • WebConsole role: This role automates the installation and configuration of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux web console, including the tasks of installing the web console package, starting and enabling the web console, and configuring settings such as idle timeout.

    Upgrading to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

    There are a variety of upgrade paths in version 8.6:

    • In-place upgrades are supported from Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 6 or 7 to version 8.
    • It is now possible to perform an in-place upgrade with SAP HANA on AWS pay-as-you-go approach instances using Red Hat Update Infrastructure.
    • It is now possible to enable Extended Update Support and E4S repositories during an in-place upgrade.
    • Customers currently using CentOS 8 or Oracle Linux 8 can convert their operating system to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 using the Red Hat-supported Convert2RHEL utility. For more information, please see Converting from an RPM-based Linux distribution to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

    Red Hat customers can get direct access to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Customer Portal.

    Last updated: October 8, 2024

    Recent Posts

    • How to run AI models in cloud development environments

    • How Trilio secures OpenShift virtual machines and containers

    • How to implement observability with Node.js and Llama Stack

    • How to encrypt RHEL images for Azure confidential VMs

    • How to manage RHEL virtual machines with Podman Desktop

    What’s up next?

    cheat sheet cover image

    Linux offers a multitude of commands, which can be overwhelming. This cheat sheet provides Linux commands commonly needed by developers, with explanations and screenshots.

    Download the free cheat sheet
    Red Hat Developers logo LinkedIn YouTube Twitter Facebook

    Products

    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
    • Red Hat OpenShift
    • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

    Build

    • Developer Sandbox
    • Developer Tools
    • Interactive Tutorials
    • API Catalog

    Quicklinks

    • Learning Resources
    • E-books
    • Cheat Sheets
    • Blog
    • Events
    • Newsletter

    Communicate

    • About us
    • Contact sales
    • Find a partner
    • Report a website issue
    • Site Status Dashboard
    • Report a security problem

    RED HAT DEVELOPER

    Build here. Go anywhere.

    We serve the builders. The problem solvers who create careers with code.

    Join us if you’re a developer, software engineer, web designer, front-end designer, UX designer, computer scientist, architect, tester, product manager, project manager or team lead.

    Sign me up

    Red Hat legal and privacy links

    • About Red Hat
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Locations
    • Contact Red Hat
    • Red Hat Blog
    • Inclusion at Red Hat
    • Cool Stuff Store
    • Red Hat Summit

    Red Hat legal and privacy links

    • Privacy statement
    • Terms of use
    • All policies and guidelines
    • Digital accessibility

    Report a website issue