As December 2024 approaches and marks the conclusion of Oracle Linux 7’s decade-plus Premier Support period, your organization may find itself at a crossroads regarding the upgrade of its operating system (OS). For some customers, there are substantial business considerations that may demand more time to upgrade the OS, such as legacy applications that can require a migration plan, extensive updates, or replacement.
Expanded coverage for Oracle Linux 7 Extended Support
Regardless of what your unique business needs may be, Oracle offers Oracle Linux Extended Support for continued access to updates for versions that are past the production support period. Extended Support for Oracle Linux 7, now available through June 2028, includes expanded coverage of security issues and select high-impact critical bug fixes. This extended duration allows customers to confidently maintain their OS for production usage and provides the flexibility to choose when to upgrade the OS based on operational readiness. For more details on the Oracle Linux lifecycle, including the timeline for Oracle Linux 7 Extended Support, please refer to the Lifetime Support Policy.
Customers with an Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) subscription can take advantage of Extended Support at no additional cost, following the same timelines outlined in the Lifetime Support Policy.
Reap the benefits of Oracle Linux Support
During the Extended Support period, customers can take advantage of 24×7 access to both My Oracle Support, where service requests can be submitted for any security vulnerability they believe they have discovered in Oracle Linux and receive technical support from dedicated Linux support specialists, and the Oracle Unbreakable Linux Network, from where patches and updates can be obtained. This helps customers quickly address and mitigate security risks while maintaining the stability and optimal performance of their Oracle Linux deployments—an aspect of the complete value of Oracle Linux Support.
Considering upgrading to the latest Oracle Linux releases? Explore your options
CentOS Linux 7’s end-of-life is around the corner. If your organization still relies on CentOS Linux and has not yet found an alternative OS, your systems could become increasingly vulnerable to major security risks due to the lack of ongoing updates and security patches. With Oracle Linux, you can transition to a highly reliable, stable alternative to CentOS Linux. Oracle Linux updates and errata are freely available and can be applied to instances of CentOS Linux or Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) without necessitating a complete OS reinstallation. For a detailed, step-by-step guide on migrating from CentOS Linux 7 to Oracle Linux 8, refer to this blog.
To upgrade Oracle Linux 7 systems to Oracle Linux 8 or upgrade Oracle Linux 8 systems to the latest Oracle Linux 9 release, you can take advantage of the Leapp utility. For step-by-step instructions on upgrading your systems, review the following documentation for Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9.