OpenJDK Life Cycle and Support Policy
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Index
Overview
OpenJDK Life Cycle and Support Policy
OpenJDK Update Release Dates
OpenJDK Lifecycle Dates and RHEL versions
OpenJDK Lifecycle Dates and Windows versions
OpenJDK EntitlementsRed Hat support for Eclipse Temurin
Eclipse Temurin Life Cycle and Support Policy
Entitlements for Eclipse Temurin support
Information in this article is subject to change as necessary.
Overview
OpenJDK (Open Java Development Kit) is an open source implementation of the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE). The upstream community project OpenJDK is currently sponsored and led by Oracle and is released under the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL 2 and 2+) with a linking exception.
OpenJDK is the Java Development Kit (JDK) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) in Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Packages for OpenJDK are made available in Red Hat Enterprise Linux in the same manner as the rest of the content set. OpenJDK packages for Microsoft Windows are also distributed via the JBoss downloads section of the support portal. OpenJDK is also shipped as the JDK and JRE in many containers in the Red Hat Container Catalog
Oracle leads development of the Java Platform SE and contributes heavily to the OpenJDK project. Red Hat is one of the top non-Oracle contributors to the project. See Overview and Development model of Java Platform SE for more details.
The following section outlines the scope of support for OpenJDK from Red Hat.
OpenJDK Life Cycle and Support Policy
A major version of OpenJDK is supported for at minimum a period of six years from the time it is first introduced by Red Hat. OpenJDK versions can fall out of support on versions of RHEL if the retirement date of the underlying RHEL platform precedes the retirement date of the OpenJDK version. There are currently three active major versions available in RHEL, but customers are advised to migrate to the newest version of OpenJDK as soon as practical to continue to receive updates and support.
OpenJDK Updates
Red Hat will deliver four updates per year, approximately three months apart, for the OpenJDK 8, 11, 17, and 21 distributions.
OpenJDK Lifecycle Dates and RHEL versions
| RHEL 5 Support Added | RHEL 6 Support Added | RHEL 7 Support Added | RHEL 8 Support Added | RHEL 9 Support Added | End of Full Support for OpenJDK version | End of ELS-1 Support Phase | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenJDK 6 (1.6) | 5.3 | 6.0 | 7.0 | N/A | N/A | December 31, 2016 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 7 (1.7) | 5.9 | 6.3 | 7.0 | N/A | N/A | June 30, 2020 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 8 (1.8) | N/A | 6.6* | 7.1 | 8.0 | see note below^ | November 30, 2026* | N/A |
| OpenJDK 11 | N/A | N/A | 7.6 | 8.0 | 9.0 | October 31, 2024 | October 31, 2027 |
| OpenJDK 17 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8.4 | 9.0 | October 31, 2027 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 21 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8.9 | 9.3 | December 31, 2029 | N/A |
IMPORTANT NOTES
- Why is OpenJDK 8 supported for longer than OpenJDK 11?
- OpenJDK 8 is now retired on RHEL 6 since its end of life so 1.8.0_275 was the last and final OpenJDK 8 update made available for RHEL 6. RHEL 7, 8 or 9 must be used for continued OpenJDK support and its latest updates moving forward.
- OpenJDK 8 is supported on RHEL 9 subject to the OpenJDK 8 lifecycle date shown above.
- OpenJDK 8 in RHEL 9 is usable with any Java applications or library that is compatible with OpenJDK 8 and is compiled with 8 (or lower) as their target bytecode; these applications can't rely on Java components and libraries included currently with RHEL 9 however, since these are compiled targeting OpenJDK 11 bytecode and won't run on an OpenJDK 8 runtime.
- OpenJDK 11 includes an ELS-1 Support Phase (optional, paid extension). See Life Cycle Phases for more information about ELS-1.
- Please note though that although the current system-default OpenJDK in RHEL 9 is OpenJDK 11, this will change in conjunction with the upcoming RHEL 9.5 release and retroactively on all currently supported EUS versions of RHEL 9. All the Java applications that are part of the RHEL 9 distribution are compiled to be compatible with OpenJDK 11, but the system JDK will move to OpenJDK 17 to reduce the risk of using an outdated runtime in production.
- OpenJDK 21 releases no longer include JMC (Java Mission Control) bundled with the release (Windows and RHEL rpms). See Where is JDK Mission Control (JMC) in JDK 21?
OpenJDK Lifecycle Dates and Windows versions
| Windows Server 2012 R2 Support Added | Windows Server 2016 Support Added | Windows 10 and 11 Support Added | Windows Server 2019 Support Added | Windows Server 2022 Support Added | End of Full Support for OpenJDK version | End of ELS-1 Support Phase | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenJDK 8 (1.8) | August 2018 | August 2018 | December 2018 | February 2020 | September 2021 | November 30, 2026 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 11 | October 2018 | October 2018 | December 2018 | February 2020 | September 2021 | October 31, 2024 | October 31, 2027 |
| OpenJDK 17 | November 2021 | November 2021 | November 2021 | November 2021 | November 2021 | October 31, 2027 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 21 | N/A | November 2023 | November 2023 | November 2023 | November 2023 | December 31, 2029 | N/A |
IMPORTANT NOTES
- OpenJDK 11 includes an ELS-1 Support Phase (optional, paid extension). See Life Cycle Phases for more information about ELS-1.
- Windows Server 2012 R2 came to End-of-Life on October 10, 2023. See Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 reaching end of support article on the Microsoft site.
- OpenJDK 21 releases no longer include JMC (Java Mission Control) bundled with the release (Windows and RHEL rpms). See Where is JDK Mission Control (JMC) in JDK 21?
OpenJDK Entitlements
Entitlements for Java workloads on OpenJDK are included in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription. Red Hat Middleware subscriptions include OpenJDK entitlements for Windows when used with Red Hat Middleware. For other Java workloads on Windows (non-Red Hat Middleware), an additional subscription for OpenJDK on Windows is required.
In all cases, a separate entitlement for ELS support is required to receive support during the ELS phase of the lifecycle.
Red Hat support for Eclipse Temurin
Eclipse Temurin is an OpenJDK distribution produced by Eclipse Adoptium. OpenJDK (Open Java Development Kit) is an open source implementation of the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE). The upstream community project OpenJDK is currently sponsored and led by Oracle and is released under the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL 2 and 2+) with a linking exception.
Eclipse Temurin is distributed by Adoptium through their website, API, and marketplace for a variety of platforms as binaries and installers, as well as distributed on DockerHub as official Docker images.
Oracle leads development of the Java Platform SE and contributes heavily to the OpenJDK project. Red Hat is one of the top non-Oracle contributors to the project. See Overview and Development model of Java Platform SE for more details.
The following sections outline the scope of support for Eclipse Temurin from Red Hat.
Eclipse Temurin Life Cycle and Support Policy
A major version of Eclipse Temurin is supported for at least a period of six years from the time it is first introduced. Red Hat provides enterprise support for select Eclipse Temurin binaries, Linux x86_64, Linux aarch64, Windows 32-bit*, and Windows 64-bit as well as developer support for macOS x64 & aarch64. These are respectively supported on specific Linux, Windows, and Mac platforms outlined below.
OpenJDK versions can fall out of support on platforms if the retirement date of the underlying platform precedes the retirement date of the OpenJDK version. There are currently three active major versions available, but customers are advised to migrate to the newest version of OpenJDK as soon as practical to continue to receive updates and support.
Eclipse Temurin Life Cycle - Red Hat Enterprise Linux x86_64 and aarch64 versions
| RHEL 8.x Support | RHEL 9.x Support | End of Full Support for Eclipse Temurin | End of ELS-1 Support | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenJDK 8 | Y | Y | November 30, 2026 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 11 | Y | Y | October 31, 2024 | October 31, 2027 |
| OpenJDK 17 | Y | Y | October 31, 2027 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 21 | Y | Y | December 31, 2029 | N/A |
Eclipse Temurin Life Cycle - Ubuntu Linux x86_64 and aarch64 versions
| Ubuntu 18.04.x Support | Ubuntu 20.04.x Support | Ubuntu 22.04.x Support | Ubuntu 24.04.x Support | End of Full Support for Eclipse Temurin | End of ELS-1 Support | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenJDK 8 | Y | Y | Y | Y | November 30, 2026 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 11 | Y | Y | Y | Y | October 31, 2024 | October 31, 2027 |
| OpenJDK 17 | Y | Y | Y | Y | October 31, 2027 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 21 | Y | Y | Y | Y | December 31, 2029 | N/A |
Eclipse Temurin Life Cycle - SUSE Linux Enterprise Server x86_64 and aarch64 versions
| SLES 15 | End of Full Support for Eclipse Temurin | End of ELS-1 Support | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenJDK 8 | Y | November 30, 2026 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 11 | Y | October 31, 2024 | October 31, 2027 |
| OpenJDK 17 | Y | October 31, 2027 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 21 | Y | December 31, 2029 | N/A |
Eclipse Temurin Life Cycle for Windows 32-bit and 64-bit versions
| Windows Server 2012 R2 Support Added | Windows Server 2016 Support Added | Windows 10 and 11 Support Added | Windows Server 2019 Support Added | Windows Server 2022 Support Added | End of Full Support for Eclipse Temurin | End of ELS-1 Support | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenJDK 8 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | November 30, 2026 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 11 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | October 31, 2024 | October 31, 2027 |
| OpenJDK 17 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | October 31, 2027 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 21* | N/A | Y | Y | Y | Y | December 31, 2029 | N/A |
[*] NOTE: 32-bit Windows is no longer supported with the release of Eclipse Temurin OpenJDK 21.
Eclipse Temurin Life Cycle for macOS versions
| macOS 11 | macOS 12 | macOS 13 | macOS 14 | End of Support for Eclipse Temurin | End of ELS-1 Support | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenJDK 8 | x64 only | x64 only | x64 only | N | November 30, 2026 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 11 | Y | Y | Y | Y | October 31, 2024 | October 31, 2027 |
| OpenJDK 17 | Y | Y | Y | Y | October 31, 2027 | N/A |
| OpenJDK 21 | Y | Y | Y | Y | December 31, 2029 | N/A |
Entitlements for Eclipse Temurin support
Entitlements for Eclipse Temurin are the same as the Red Hat build of OpenJDK: Entitlements for Java workloads on OpenJDK are included in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription. Red Hat Middleware subscriptions include OpenJDK entitlements for Windows when used with Red Hat Middleware. For other Java workloads on Windows (non-Red Hat Middleware), an additional subscription for OpenJDK on Windows is required. For workloads on non-RHEL or Mac, an additional subscription for OpenJDK is required.
Eclipse Temurin 11 includes an ELS-1 Support Phase (optional, paid extension). See Life Cycle Phases for more information about ELS-1.
Frequently Asked Questions and References
What's the Service Level Agreement and Scope of Coverage for OpenJDK
The Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Scope of Coverage (SoC) for OpenJDK is determined by the use case.
The SoC for Developer Support is defined here and the SLA is defined here.
For production deployments of OpenJDK on RHEL and Windows the SoC is defined here and the SLA is defined here.
Can Red Hat patch OpenJDK?
Yes. Red Hat has the ability to provide updates to OpenJDK software shipped in Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows distributions subject to the lifecycle guidance provided in this article and subject to the availability of fixes in the upstream distributions. Red Hat can also backport fixes from newer OpenJDK versions to older supported versions when a fix is not provided in the older upstream version.
What support is provided for Windows?
See this article
Can we install multiple versions of OpenJDK on the same RHEL server?
Yes, it is possible to have multiple versions of OpenJDK on the same Red Hat Enterprise Linux server as long as they are available on the media (DVD) or Red Hat Network channels. These packages are separate packages with the version number clearly identified in the name of the RPM. It is also possible for a third-party Java JDK/JRE to be installed concurrently with OpenJDK. For customer convenience, Red Hat also bundles the IBM JDK via the Supplementary channels. Note that the IBM JDK is not integral to the RHEL content set and follows IBM's guidance on updates and life cycle. We recommend you use the alternatives tool[1] to configure OpenJDK or a third-party Java.
How can I install multiple minor releases on the same server?
RHEL has a proven track record of maintaining binary compatibility of key components for the life of the (major) release. OpenJDK is no exception to this rule. Users are free to stay at a particular release (e.g. "1.41.1.10.4.el6"). However, we strongly recommend that you update to the most recent release that is available. This ensures that you receive fixes to the most recent critical bugs and security fixes.
While Red Hat will make a commercially reasonable effort to support the earlier release, it may become necessary to update to the most recent release to help reproduce and identify a problem. Red Hat will treat any binary incompatibility between releases as a bug and will attempt to provide a fix as per the SLA. The exceptions to this include and are not limited to our need to patch security vulnerabilities in the package with no option to avoid binary compatibility breakage. These cases are very rare and are clearly documented in the errata.
How to install multiple minor versions of OpenJDK on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system?
Can we install multiple versions of OpenJDK on the same Windows server?
Red Hat provides both OpenJDK 8 and OpenJDK 11 distribution for Windows servers. And running both versions on a single Windows system is fully supported.
Are the binary plugs that Oracle did not release the source code for supported?
The binary plugs are no longer used in OpenJDK at all as of 2010, so we do not ship any of them in OpenJDK.
Does Red Hat perform the TCK compliance testing?
Yes, we run the TCK test suite, which is a set of tests that we received from Oracle. Anytime there is a code change, we run the TCK to ensure that OpenJDK is in compliance with the Java specification.
Is Red Hat releasing OpenJDK 9, 10, or 11?
Our intent is to support Long Term Support Releases so Red Hat skipped Java SE 9 and 10, and shipped an OpenJDK distribution based on Java SE 11. See the Red Hat OpenJDK 11 Advice article for additional information.
Does Red Hat provide a 32 bit distribution?
Red Hat provides 32 bit distributions for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and 7. Red Hat has no plans to support a 32 bit distribution in any other OpenJDK distributions.
What hardware architectures are supported by the Red Hat build of OpenJDK for RHEL?
The following architectures are supported for OpenJDK 8 and 11 and packaged in RPMs.
-x86_64
-PPC64 (starting wth RHEL 7)
-PPC64LE (starting with RHEL 7)
-i686
-AARCH64
The OpenJDK 11 lifecycle appears short in comparison older versions, why is that?
Red Hat ships OpenJDK versions with an initial commitment of 6 years of support. We review the lifecycle regularly and can extend the lifecycle if we determine there is sufficient demand. The OpenJDK 8 lifecycle has been reviewed and extended already, and OpenJDK 11 will receive the same review later in its lifecycle.
How does the OpenJDK lifecycle relate to the lifecycles of JBoss Middleware products?
The OpenJDK 7 and 8 lifecycles have been updated to better align with the product lifecycles of the products in the JBoss Middleware portfolio. In general, JBoss products support more than one JVM version, and we define lifecycles to ensure that users have a fully supported stack for the lifetime of the JBoss product. Users may have to upgrade from one Java version to a newer version within the lifetime of the JBoss product. JBoss lifecycles are defined on the Red Hat JBoss Middleware Product Update and Support Policy page.
Is OpenJDK included in the Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on for RHEL 6?
No. The inclusion list is documented in this article, and OpenJDK is excluded.
Do the lifecycle dates apply to the OpenJDK images available in OpenShift?
Yes.
Is OpenJDK included in RHEL, OpenShift, and Middleware product entitlements?
Yes.
Is the OpenJDK for Windows available in the customer portal the same binary as what's on developers.redhat.com?
They are not guaranteed to be the same, and generally the binaries on the developer portal and on the customer portal are not the same. For production support users must use the binaries from the customer support portal.
Does Red Hat's OpenJDK distribution included JavaFX?
No. Red Hat does not have plans to deliver JavaFX or the OpenJFX project in our distribution.
Does Red Hat’s build of OpenJDK included Java Web Start?
Yes, the Red Hat's build of OpenJDK version 8 for RHEL and Windows includes Java Web Start support.
Does Red Hat provide support for Applets?
No, Red Hat does not test nor provide support for Applets with its OpenJDK distribution. Applets have been determined to be a security risk, were deprecated with Java 9, and are unsupported by current browsers.
Is Shenandoah GC supported on Red Hat build of OpenJDK for Windows?
Yes, the Red Hat's build of OpenJDK for Windows supports the Shenandoah Garbage Collector. To know which versions are included, please check above where all the configurations are listed.
What are the differences between Red Hat's OpenJDK distribution and the Oracle JVM?
The known differences are detailed in this article.
[1] Using alternatives to manage different JDKs: What is the alternatives system and how do I configure it?
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