What does Red Hat Enterprise Linux use OpenSSL compatibility packages for?

Solution Verified - Updated -

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3

Issue

What are OpenSSL compatibility packages?

Resolution

Many applications in Red Hat Enterprise Linux use the OpenSSL library (in the package openssl) which implements various cryptographic functions and protocols that use cryptography to provide authentication, communications privacy and/or protection against tampering. In addition to the regular openssl runtime packages, Red Hat provides some optional compatibility packages. These compatibility packages provide older versions of the OpenSSL library, which are useful if you have third-party binary applications that expect to use the older OpenSSL library versions. For example, you may have a third-party application compiled for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 (which ships with OpenSSL 0.9.7) that you wish to use on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (which ships with OpenSSL 0.9.8).

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 includes an openssl098e compatibility library, compatible with openssl packages from Red  Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 includes an openssl097a compatibility library, compatible with openssl packages from Red  Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4 include an openssl096b compatibility library, compatible with openssl packages from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1

These compatibility packages are optional, and are only required if you are using third-party applications that need an older version of the OpenSSL library. Red Hat updates the compatibility libraries as required, to address important or critical security issues with backported security patches.

Unlike most other such compability packages, the OpenSSL ones do not have "compat" in their name to indicate their status as compatiblity packages. As they are only intended for runtime compatibility, there is no  corresponding "devel" package for them like there is for the regular openssl package.

Comments

The whitepaper Red Hat Enterprise Linux: Application Compatibility Specification (provided as part of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Resource Center) discusses various aspects of compatiblity in detail. For older relases, there is a paper

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 Application Compatibility which was written around the time Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 was released;  the general ideas in it apply equally to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

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