The Oracle Linux and Virtualization team is pleased to announce the 4.5.5 release of Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager. This release supports Oracle Linux 8 Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) compute hosts and is based on the 4.5.5 release of the open source oVirt project. This server virtualization management platform can be easily deployed to configure, monitor, and manage an Oracle Linux KVM environment with enterprise-grade performance and support from Oracle.
In addition to the base virtualization management features required to operate your data center, notable features added with the Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager 4.5.5 release include:
- FIPS mode operation: Enables Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) operating mode.
- Enhanced Oracle Linux 8 KVM host support: Users run updated KVM Utilities (QEMU, Libvirt) that are available with Oracle Linux 8 KVM. The kvm_utils3 appstream module components offer higher performance and expanded support for the latest hardware.
- Update to oVirt 4.5.5 release: The latest oVirt 4.5.5 release offers a number of enhancements and bug fixes over the oVirt 4.5.4 release.
What’s New
Federal Information Processing Standard
The Federal Information Processing Standards of the United States are standards that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed for use in computer sites of non-military United States government agencies and contractors. FIPS establishes requirements for ensuring computer security and interoperability and are intended for cases in which suitable industry standards do not already exist.
Based on an increased demand to support FIPS, Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager 4.5.5 introduces FIPS operating mode support, which you can enable selectively on specific Virtual Machines (VMs) and bare metal machines, or across your environment.
The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) Release 7 for Oracle Linux 8 and 9 has achieved FIPS 140-3 validated status, and additional Oracle Linux cryptographic module validation for FIPS 140-3 is in progress. Visit Oracle Security Evaluations to learn more details about the Oracle products that have completed FIPS security certifications and those that are in progress.
Installation and Upgrades
Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager 4.5 can be installed from the Oracle Linux yum server or the Unbreakable Linux Network. Customers that have already deployed Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager 4.4 can upgrade to 4.5 using these same sites. Two yum repository channels have been created for Oracle Linux 8 to install or upgrade Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager:
- oVirt 4.5 – base packages required for Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager
- oVirt 4.5 Extra Packages – additional packages for Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager
Oracle Linux 8 hosts can be installed with installation media (ISO images) available from the Oracle Linux yum server or the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud. Step-by-step instructions to download the Oracle Linux 8 ISO can be found on the Oracle Linux Community website. Using the “Minimal Install” option during the installation process sets up a base KVM system, which will be updated using the KVM AppStream in the Oracle Linux 8 repositories. These KVM enhancements and other important packages for your Oracle Linux KVM host will be automatically installed.
Both Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager and Oracle Linux can be downloaded, used, and distributed free of charge, and all updates and errata are freely available.
Support
Support for Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager is available to customers with an Oracle Linux Premier Support subscription. Refer to Oracle Linux Support for information about Oracle Linux support levels.