Red Hat Enterprise - Linux (RHEL)

What is Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a version of the Linux operating system (OS). Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux distribution produced by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market.

KU’s site license includes access to the Red Hat Network (RHN). RHN provides tools for departmental technical support staff to efficiently manage their systems including provisioning new systems and managing updates. For more information please refer to Red Hat's website.

Available Versions and Features

The KU campus site license provides access to the following versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux for both 32 and 64 bit versions:

RHEL5 Server & Desktop
RHEL4 AS & ES
RHEL3 AS & ES

Xen virtualization is also supported up to four guests. The site license does not include Advanced Platform or Virtual Platform. For more information please refer to Red Hat's website.

Licensing Information

The KU campus site license for RHEL is available to faculty, staff and students. This includes KU-Lawrence, KU-Edwards and KLETC campuses, however, the software can only be installed on computers that physically reside on these campuses. RHEL can be installed on either university or personally owned computers, including student systems in the residence halls.

The RHEL software cannot be used remotely (locations that are not on the KU-Lawrence, KU-Edwards or KLETC campuses).

Technical support for RHEL is not provided with this site license. If you need technical support, you may contact Red Hat to obtain technical support for a fee. For more information please refer to Red Hat's website.

Download

Downloading and installing this software is a multi-step process. The steps are outlined below. More details are provided on the FAQ page.

Go to http://redhat.ku.edu/redhat to download the CD-ROM image (.iso file).
After downloading the install file, burn the image to CD.
Install the OS.
Run the registration script that will point your Red Hat system to the KU SATELLITE server for updates. Individual users will run a generic script. Special scripts will be created for departmental technical support staff. Requests for special scripts should be submitted to the IT Customer Service Center by email to itcsc@ku.edu, or phone at 864-8080.

Where to get help

For help downloading RHEL:
If you have questions about downloading and installing this software please read the Red Hat FAQs or the KU RHEL FAQs.

For training:
KU Continuing Education (KUCE) offers an online noncredit certificat program for the Linux server platform. More information on this program can be found at KUCE's Linux Certification Self-Study site.

KU employees should contact their technical support staff for assistance, or contact the IT Customer Service Center by phone at 864-8080, or by email to itcsc@ku.edu. If your computer is supported by LAN Support Services, call 864-0400 or email lsshelp@ku.edu for assistance.

The campus site license does not include technical support for Red Hat. Below are some external links to Red Hat and other Linux communities.

Red Hat’s Knowledge Base – http://kbase.redhat.com
Red Hat’s documentation – http://www.redhat.com/docs/
Linux documentation project – http://en.tldp.org
Linux Questions Forum – http://www.linuxquestions.org