To display Red hat version use any one of the following command/method to find our your Red Hat Enterprise Linux server version.
| Tutorial details | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Easy (rss) |
| Root privileges | Yes |
| Requirements | None |
| Time | 1m |
- lsb_release command
- /etc/redhat-release file
- /etc/issue file
- /etc/os-release file
- hostnamectl command (only works on RHEL 7.x)
Find RHEL version using /etc/redhat-release file
Type the following cat command to display the contents of a file called /etc/redhat-release:
$ cat /etc/redhat-release
Sample outputs:
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 6.5 (Santiago)
In this example, I am using RHEL version 6.5.
How to display RedHat Enterprise Linux version using /etc/os-release
Type the following cat command:
$ cat /etc/os-release
Sample outputs:
NAME="Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server" VERSION="7.6 (Maipo)" ID="rhel" ID_LIKE="fedora" VARIANT="Server" VARIANT_ID="server" VERSION_ID="7.6" PRETTY_NAME="Red Hat Enterprise Linux" ANSI_COLOR="0;31" CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.6:GA:server" HOME_URL="https://www.redhat.com/" BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugzilla.redhat.com/" REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT="Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7" REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT_VERSION=7.6 REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="Red Hat Enterprise Linux" REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION="7.6"
Determine what version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is running using lsb_release command
You need to install a package called redhat-lsb-core using yum command:
$ sudo yum install redhat-lsb-core
Sample outputs:
Loaded plugins: product-id, protectbase, rhnplugin This system is receiving updates from RHN Classic or RHN Satellite. 0 packages excluded due to repository protections Setting up Install Process Resolving Dependencies --> Running transaction check ---> Package redhat-lsb-core.x86_64 0:4.0-7.el6 will be installed epel/filelists_db | 8.1 MB 00:02 ksplice-uptrack/filelists | 2.2 kB 00:00 rhel-x86_64-server-6/filelists | 28 MB 00:04 rhel-x86_64-server-6-debuginfo/filelists | 38 MB 00:05 rhel-x86_64-server-optional-6/filelists | 10 MB 00:01 rhel-x86_64-server-optional-6-debuginfo/filelists | 34 MB 00:05 rhel-x86_64-server-supplementary-6/filelists | 1.5 MB 00:00 rhel-x86_64-server-supplementary-6-debuginfo/filelists | 863 B 00:00 --> Processing Dependency: perl-Test-Simple for package: redhat-lsb-core-4.0-7.el6.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: perl-CGI for package: redhat-lsb-core-4.0-7.el6.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: /usr/bin/pax for package: redhat-lsb-core-4.0-7.el6.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: /usr/bin/patch for package: redhat-lsb-core-4.0-7.el6.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: /bin/gettext for package: redhat-lsb-core-4.0-7.el6.x86_64 --> Processing Dependency: /usr/bin/msgfmt for package: redhat-lsb-core-4.0-7.el6.x86_64 --> Running transaction check ---> Package gettext.x86_64 0:0.17-16.el6 will be installed --> Processing Dependency: cvs for package: gettext-0.17-16.el6.x86_64 ---> Package patch.x86_64 0:2.6-6.el6 will be installed ---> Package pax.x86_64 0:3.4-10.1.el6 will be installed ---> Package perl-CGI.x86_64 0:3.51-136.el6 will be installed ---> Package perl-Test-Simple.x86_64 0:0.92-136.el6 will be installed --> Running transaction check ---> Package cvs.x86_64 0:1.11.23-16.el6 will be installed --> Finished Dependency Resolution Dependencies Resolved ================================================================================ Package Arch Version Repository Size ================================================================================ Installing: redhat-lsb-core x86_64 4.0-7.el6 rhel-x86_64-server-6 25 k Installing for dependencies: cvs x86_64 1.11.23-16.el6 rhel-x86_64-server-6 712 k gettext x86_64 0.17-16.el6 rhel-x86_64-server-6 1.8 M patch x86_64 2.6-6.el6 rhel-x86_64-server-6 91 k pax x86_64 3.4-10.1.el6 rhel-x86_64-server-6 69 k perl-CGI x86_64 3.51-136.el6 rhel-x86_64-server-6 209 k perl-Test-Simple x86_64 0.92-136.el6 rhel-x86_64-server-6 112 k Transaction Summary ================================================================================ Install 7 Package(s) Total download size: 3.0 M Installed size: 0 Is this ok [y/N]: y Downloading Packages: (1/7): cvs-1.11.23-16.el6.x86_64.rpm | 712 kB 00:00 (2/7): gettext-0.17-16.el6.x86_64.rpm | 1.8 MB 00:00 (3/7): patch-2.6-6.el6.x86_64.rpm | 91 kB 00:00 (4/7): pax-3.4-10.1.el6.x86_64.rpm | 69 kB 00:00 (5/7): perl-CGI-3.51-136.el6.x86_64.rpm | 209 kB 00:00 (6/7): perl-Test-Simple-0.92-136.el6.x86_64.rpm | 112 kB 00:00 (7/7): redhat-lsb-core-4.0-7.el6.x86_64.rpm | 25 kB 00:00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 3.1 MB/s | 3.0 MB 00:00 Running rpm_check_debug Running Transaction Test Transaction Test Succeeded Running Transaction Installing : cvs-1.11.23-16.el6.x86_64 1/7 Installing : gettext-0.17-16.el6.x86_64 2/7 Installing : perl-Test-Simple-0.92-136.el6.x86_64 3/7 Installing : pax-3.4-10.1.el6.x86_64 4/7 Installing : perl-CGI-3.51-136.el6.x86_64 5/7 Installing : patch-2.6-6.el6.x86_64 6/7 Installing : redhat-lsb-core-4.0-7.el6.x86_64 7/7 Verifying : patch-2.6-6.el6.x86_64 1/7 Verifying : perl-CGI-3.51-136.el6.x86_64 2/7 Verifying : redhat-lsb-core-4.0-7.el6.x86_64 3/7 Verifying : pax-3.4-10.1.el6.x86_64 4/7 Verifying : gettext-0.17-16.el6.x86_64 5/7 Verifying : perl-Test-Simple-0.92-136.el6.x86_64 6/7 Verifying : cvs-1.11.23-16.el6.x86_64 7/7 Installed: redhat-lsb-core.x86_64 0:4.0-7.el6 Dependency Installed: cvs.x86_64 0:1.11.23-16.el6 gettext.x86_64 0:0.17-16.el6 patch.x86_64 0:2.6-6.el6 pax.x86_64 0:3.4-10.1.el6 perl-CGI.x86_64 0:3.51-136.el6 perl-Test-Simple.x86_64 0:0.92-136.el6 Complete!
Now type the following command:
$ lsb_release -a
Sample outputs:
Fig.01: Finding out RHEL version
Finding RHEL release and version using /etc/issue file
Type the following cat command:
$ cat /etc/issue
Sample outputs:
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 6.5 (Santiago) Kernel \r on an \m
How to check Redhat version using hostnamectl command
Type the following hostnamectl command (only works on RHEL 7.x or above):
$ hostnamectl
Sample outputs:
Related media
This tutorials is also available in a quick video format:
Video 01: What Version Of Linux Am I Running?
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For RHEL 7.x/8.x use the hostnamectl command.