From Amazon Linux 2 to RHEL: Plan your conversion

The end of support for Amazon Linux 2 (AL2) is upcoming on June 30, 2026. For users, that means that the migration to other distributions is a necessary step in order to keep their systems protected and up to date. If it makes sense for your workloads, the Convert2RHEL utility now allows customers to convert Amazon Linux 2 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, offering a path to join the RHEL ecosystem with all its benefits, including enterprise-level support.

What’s new in Convert2RHEL

Convert2RHEL now includes a set of Amazon Linux 2-focused improvements, so the conversion is simpler and more predictable. In practice, there should be fewer issues during conversion, better handling of package and repository problems, and safer behavior for kernel and boot cases. Post-conversion reporting was also improved, so users can get clearer visibility and AL2-specific information.

How to perform the conversion

Conversion from Amazon Linux 2  follows the same workflow as other conversions, with a few Amazon Linux 2-specific adjustments. Before you begin, review package-related exceptions described in the documentation (for example, Docker and Python 3.8 components). Before conversion, remember to create and verify a backup of your system. Step-by-step guidance is provided in How to perform an unsupported conversion from a RHEL-derived Linux distribution to RHEL.

Understanding unsupported conversion

Note that conversion from Amazon Linux 2 to RHEL 7 is an unsupported path, which means that Red Hat does not provide support during the conversion process, but the resulting system can be supported. Keep in mind that Red Hat support will not be provided for the third-party packages that are left unchanged during the conversion process, as described in, As a customer how does Red Hat support me when I use non-Red Hat components?

After the conversion, you can either stay on RHEL 7 and get support with an additional Extended Life Cycle subscription, or perform an in-place upgrade to newer versions of RHEL using Leapp.

Choosing the right subscription

RHEL 7 reached its end of maintenance support on June 30, 2024, at which point it transitioned to extended life-cycle support, as described in Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle.

If you plan to stay on RHEL 7, you can use a subscription with an ELS add-on, such as the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Third Party Linux Migration with ELS AWS pay-as-you-go subscription, so your system will receive security updates till May 31, 2029.

If you want to upgrade to RHEL 8 or later versions after the conversion to RHEL 7, you can use a subscription without the ELS add-on, such as the following no-cost options:

• Red Hat Developer Subscription for Teams
• Red Hat Developer Subscription for Individuals
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Open Source Infrastructure
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Business Developers

If you want to use your resulting RHEL system in production, contact sales or explore the Red Hat Store to upgrade to a paid subscription.