FAQ: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 reaches End of Maintenance Phase and transitions to Extended Life Phase

1. Can you describe the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 life cycle?

Red Hat offers support and services for each major release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux throughout four phases – Full Support, Maintenance Support 1 and 2, and the Extended Life Phase. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, the Full/Maintenance Support Phases spanned 10 years, followed by an Extended Life Phase. Together, these four phases constituted the “life cycle.” The specific support and services provided during each phase are described in detail on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle page.

2. What happened to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 on November 30, 2020?

On November 30, 2020, all Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6-based products listed below transitioned from the Maintenance Support 2 phase to the Extended Life Phase:
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Virtual Data Center
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Entry Level Server
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power Systems
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Z Systems
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP/SAP HANA
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for HPC (all variants)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (Withdrawn from market).

3. What happened to my Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 systems on November 30, 2020?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 systems continued to be subscribed to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 channels via Subscription Manager, continued to require a Red Hat Enterprise Linux entitlement, and continued to have access to:

• Limited technical support for existing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 deployments (for customers with Premium or Standard support only).
• Previously released bug fixes (RHBAs), security errata (RHSAs), and product enhancements (RHEAs) via Subscription Manager. Software maintenance, new bug fixes, and security errata are no longer provided for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 product family.
• Red Hat Knowledgebase articles, Red Hat Enterprise 6 documentation, and other content (white papers, reference architectures, etc.) located in the Red Hat Customer Portal.

Please also note that bug fixes, security, and product enhancements advisories (RHBAs, RHSAs, and RHEAs) are no longer provided for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Cluster Suite and Global File System Add-ons.

4. When Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 transitioned to the Extended Life Phase, what was Red Hat’s suggested course of action for customers?

Your Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription gives you continuous access to all active versions of the Red Hat software in both binary and source form, including all security updates and bug fixes. When Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 transitioned out of the Full/Maintenance Support phases, we strongly recommended that users take full advantage of their subscription services and upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 or higher, which contains compelling new features and enablement for modern hardware platforms and ISV applications. At that time, If users needed to stay on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, we recommended that they add the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on subscription to their current Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription. See the question below that describes ELS.

5. If I am running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and can’t migrate to a later version at this time. What options do I have?

• Continue to use Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and continue to receive access to the subscription services listed above. Note that software maintenance is not provided, and only limited technical support is available (Premium or Standard support subscriptions).
• Continue to run Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and purchase the Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on subscription to continue to receive limited software maintenance and technical support (see the ELS description below).
• Upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, or 9 as soon as you can.

6. How can I continue to receive software maintenance (bug and security fixes) and full technical support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6?

If you require software maintenance and full technical support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat strongly recommends that you purchase the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on subscription. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux ELS Add-on complements your Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription and provides software maintenance services not otherwise available in the Extended Life Phase. Customers who purchase the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ELS Add-on subscription continue to receive software maintenance (per the RHEL 6 Inclusions List, certain Critical and Important security fixes and selected (at Red Hat discretion) urgent priority bug fixes) and technical support as provided in the Maintenance Support 2 Phase. Red Hat Enterprise Linux ELS for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 users is available through June 30, 2024, and requires that you have an existing Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription with equivalent subscription terms and support level. ELS is only available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server subscriptions and does not apply to all RHEL versions covered by ELP.

NOTE: ELS is only supported on the last minor release. In this case, RHEL 6.10.

For more information on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux ELS Add-on, visit the ELS section of the life cycle.

7. How do I access the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 ELS Add-on content via Subscription Manager?

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 ELS Add-on content (per the RHEL 6 Inclusions List, certain qualified Critical and Important security fixes and selected (at Red Hat discretion) urgent priority bug fixes) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 will be available via Subscription Manager as a child channel of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 base channels. The child channel will be located under the product “Red Hat Enterprise Linux ELS.” For more information on how to access Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 ELS content on Subscription Manager, visit How do I access Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) content after Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 transitions to Extended Life Phase?

8. What happened to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Add-ons, such as Red Hat High Availability, Load Balancer, Resilient Storage, and Scalable Filesystem, on November 30, 2020?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Add-on ISOs remain available to active subscribers in their current location in Red Hat Network after November 30, 2020. Note that Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) does not include support for the add-ons, including High Availability, Load Balancer, Resilient Storage, and Scalable Filesystem. During the Extended Life Phase, Red Hat will provide limited ongoing technical support for High Availability, Load Balancer, Resilient Storage, and Scalable Filesystem add-ons. No bug fixes, security fixes, hardware enablement, or root-cause analysis will be available for these add-ons during this phase, and support will be provided on existing installations only.

9. What happened to my Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 systems on December 1, 2020, if I decided not to purchase an Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on subscription?

During the Extended Life Phase, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription provides continued access to previously released content on the Red Hat Customer Portal, as well as other content such as documentation and the Red Hat Knowledgebase. Advice for upgrading to currently supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions may also be provided. For additional resources available to upgrade to a currently supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux version, please visit https://red.ht/upgraderhel.

For versions of products in the Extended Life Phase, Red Hat will provide limited ongoing technical support. No bug fixes, security fixes, hardware enablement, or root-cause analysis will be available during this phase, and support will be provided on existing installations only.

10. What will happen to my Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 systems using the Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on on July 1, 2024?

On July 1, 2024, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 will continue its Extended Life Phase (ELP). During ELP, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription provides continued access to previously released content on the Red Hat Customer Portal, as well as other content such as documentation and the Red Hat Knowledgebase. Advice for upgrading to currently supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions may also be provided. For additional resources available to upgrade to a currently supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux version, please visit https://red.ht/upgraderhel.

For versions of products in the Extended Life Phase, Red Hat will provide limited ongoing technical support. No bug fixes, security fixes, hardware enablement, or root-cause analysis will be available during this phase, and support will be provided on existing installations only.

11. Will I need an active RHEL ELS Add-on subscription to continue to have access to the RHEL 6 ELS content after the Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-on end date for RHEL 6 is reached?

No. On July 1, 2024, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 ELS repository will transfer its content to a new repository called "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Server - Retired Extended Life Cycle Support (RPMs)" with the label "rhel-6-server-retired-els-rpms". This repository will be accessible to anyone with a subscription to the "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server" product. For any RHEL 6 servers currently accessing the ELS repository (rhel-6-server-els-rpms), you may remove the subscription from your client that provides access to this repository and enable the new "rhel-6-server-retired-els-rpms" instead to continue to be able to access the available ELS content.

Note: The ELS Add-On, referred to above, is distinct from the ELS Long-Life Add-On. Click here for more information regarding that Add-On.

12. How were Red Hat Satellite installations affected?

After November 30, 2020, customers with active Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 subscriptions can continue to use Satellite to consume previously released bug fixes, security errata, and product enhancements, as well as provision Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 systems. Customers will continue to consume a Red Hat Enterprise Linux entitlement for every server associated with Red Hat Satellite. Red Hat Satellite customers who purchase Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 must reconfigure their Satellite server to access the RHEL 6 ELS content set. To learn how to access the RHEL 6 ELS content, please refer to How do I access Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) content after Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 transitions to Extended Life Phase?

13. What is the difference between the Extended Life Phase and the Extended Life Cycle Support Add-on?


During the Extended Life Phase, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription provides continued access to previously released content on the Red Hat Customer Portal and other content such as documentation and the Red Hat Knowledgebase. Advice for migrating to currently supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions may also be provided. For additional resources available to upgrade to a currently supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux version, please visit https://red.ht/upgraderhel.

For versions of products in the Extended Life Phase, Red Hat will provide limited ongoing technical support. No bug fixes, security fixes, hardware enablement, or root-cause analysis will be available during this phase, and support will be provided on existing installations only.

Extended Life Cycle Support is an add-on subscription that delivers certain Red Hat defined Critical and Important security fixes and selected (at Red Hat discretion) urgent priority bug fixes and troubleshooting for the last minor release of RHEL 6; RHEL 6.10. This add-on is available from December 1, 2020, through June 30, 2024.

14. How is the Extended Life Cycle Support Add-on packaged and sold?

ELS is an optional Add-on subscription that allows customers, for a fee, to extend their support one year at a time. ELS is typically sold as single-year subscriptions; however, it is possible to buy multiple years upfront as part of a multi-year contract. A customer must already have paid for a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription before purchasing the ELS Add-on subscription. ELS Add-on applies to Standard or Premium subscriptions and can not be applied to self-support subscriptions.

Note that ELS should be purchased before the start date of the ELS period (December 1, 2020, for RHEL 6). Otherwise, the ELS Add-on subscription must be back-dated to that start date.