The long ARM of Linux: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server for ARM Development Preview

Today, we are making the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server for ARM Development Preview 7.1 available to all current and future members of the Red Hat ARM Partner Early Access Program as well as their end users as an unsupported development platform, providing a common standards-based operating system for existing 64-bit ARM hardware. Beyond this release, we plan to continue collaborating with our partner ISVs and OEMs, end users, and the broader open source community to enhance and refine the platform to ultimately work with the next generation of ARM-based designs.

So what exactly does this release deliver? As the name implies, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server for ARM Development preview is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. While it retains many key features that the enterprise IT world has come to expect from the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform, this specialized offering is based on the latest version of the Linux kernel that can support 64-bit ARM v8A architecture. It also brings a familiar environment and tooling to our existing customers, thus offering a seamless user experience across architectures and simplifying porting and development efforts for our partners, ISVs and enterprise developers.

This represents the next step forward in our support for early innovators in this hardware platform architecture, which began with the launch of the Red Hat ARM Partner Early Access Program in July 2014. Aimed at supplementing the community efforts, enhancing partner collaboration and facilitating partner-initiated system designs based on the 64-bit capable ARMv8-A architecture, the program has grown since its start, with more than 40 partner companies now participating in the program to help build towards common software standards for 64-bit ARM architecture.

Organizations interested in evaluating particular hardware designs with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server for ARM Development Preview should inquire with their respective hardware vendor to determine availability and request access.

If you are attending Red Hat Summit 2015 this week, we encourage you to attend “Developing Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 64-bit ARM: Platform standardization for customer success,” taking place on Wednesday, June 24, to learn more about Red Hat’s and our partners’ work with the ARM ecosystem.