What's new in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Beta

RHEL 8.6 includes a number of features that will translate into operational benefits for your organization. While not a comprehensive list, here are some of the improvements that stand out in this beta.

Web console administration for Stratis Storage and passthrough devices

To simplify administration, we've added the ability to take on new tasks in RHEL's web console, based on the upstream Cockpit project. 

• Support for passthrough devices in the web console: With 8.6, you'll be able to set up "passthrough" for host PCI and USB devices to virtual machines using the web console. This means you can set up a virtual machine to have exclusive use of a device straight from the console without any CLI commands.

• Stratis Storage support in the web console (tech preview): Stratis Storage is a storage-management solution for Linux that focuses on ease of use for advanced storage features like file system snapshots, thin provisioning and more without needing to understand or work directly with the underlying storage layers and commands. In 8.6, we've made it even easier by giving administrators the ability to manage Stratis Storage via the web console.

New RHEL, new roles

Automation is the name of the game for managing systems at scale. In RHEL 8.6 Beta we're continuing our focus on making it easier to automate operations, standardize deployments at scale, and simplify day-to-day administration. 

With RHEL 8.6, we're unleashing even more system roles to streamline RHEL configuration for common tasks. 

• High Availability Cluster System Role: This role is moving from tech preview to fully supported alongside 8.6. It provides automated tooling to create consistent and stable RHEL HA Cluster solutions. You can now create an HA Cluster more easily, using prescriptive use case scenarios, configurations, and topology recommendations.

• System Role for web console: As noted already, the web console helps make RHEL administration even easier. Now we're making it even easier to set up the web console, too! This role automates the installation and configuration of the RHEL web console, including specifying which web console packages should be installed, starting and enabling the web console, and optionally configuring settings such as the idle timeout.

• Firewall System Role: A well-configured firewall is a vital part of network security. This role provides organizations with the ability to automate the management of their firewall configuration. The new Firewall System Role feature supports RHEL 7 and 8 managed nodes, and will be able to support RHEL 9 nodes as well.

Want to learn more about the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Beta features and capabilities? See the RHEL 8.6 Beta release notes.

Red Hat Customers can directly access the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Beta from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Customer Portal. Learn more about beta access in the introducing the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux Beta experience article.