We’re excited to announce support for Oracle Linux 9 (OL9) worker nodes in Oracle Kubernetes Engine (OKE). 

OL9 brings newer kernels, updated security components, and modern container platform enhancements compared to Oracle Linux 8. 

Key Highlights 

  • Newer UEK Kernels 
  • OL8: UEK 7 / Linux kernel 5.15 
  • OL9: UEK 8 / Linux kernel 6.12 
  • Improved support for modern Kubernetes and container workloads 
  • Updated Security Stack 
  • OpenSSL 3 replaces OpenSSL 1.1 
  • Newer SELinux policy framework and userspace packages 
  • Updated system-wide cryptographic policies 
  • Modern Container Platform 
  • Improved cgroup v2 support 
  • Newer Podman, container runtime, and developer tooling 
  • Updated networking and storage components 
  • Enterprise Platform Benefits 
  • Long-term Oracle Linux support lifecycle 
  • OCI-optimized kernel and drivers 
  • Supported with current OKE Kubernetes versions 

Oracle Linux 9 images are now available for OKE node pools and can be used for both new deployments and cluster upgrades. Start with new node pools or non-production upgrades, validate workload and tooling compatibility, and use the OKE worker node upgrade documentation to plan production rollout. 

Learn more: