Overview of the Support Lifecycle for a few selected Enterprise Linux Distributions
This was first posted on http://linuxdistributions-lifecycle-comparison.cloud7-itconsult.com
Overview of the Support Lifecycle for a few selected Enterprise Linux Distributions.
Last Updated 26.11.2014
RedHat Enterprise Linux (13 year extended support)
| RedHat Enterprise Linux | RHEL 7 | RHEL 6 | RHEL 5 | RHEL 4 | RHEL 3 |
| Release Date | 10-Jun-14 | 10-Nov-10 | 15-Mar-07 | 14-Feb-05 | 23-Oct-03 |
| EOL End of Life |
30-Jun-24 | 30-Nov-20 | 31-Mar-17 | 29-Feb-12 | 31-Oct-10 |
| EOS Final end of Support (Extended) |
30-Jun-27 | 30-Nov-23 | 31-Mar-20 | 31-Mar-17 | 30-Jan-14 |
| Currently under support? |
YES | YES | YES | YES | NO |
| Lifetime in Years | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 12.1 | 10.3 |
| Life kernel patching available? | YES kpatch Dynamic Kernel Patching |
NO | NO | NO | NO |
CentOS Linux (10 year lifecycle)
| CentOS Linux | CentOS 7 | CentOS 6 | CentOS 5 | CentOS 4 | CentOS 3 |
| Release Date | 7-Jul-14 | 10-Jul-10 | 12-Apr-07 | 9-Mar-05 | 19-Mar-04 |
| EOL End of Life |
30-Jun-24 | 30-Nov-20 | 31-Mar-17 | 29-Feb-12 | 31-Oct-10 |
| EOS Final end of Support (Extended) |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Currently under support? |
YES | YES | YES | NO | NO |
| Lifetime in Years | 9.9 | 10.3 | 9.9 | 6.9 | 6.6 |
| Life kernel patching available? | YES kpatch Dynamic Kernel Patching |
NO | NO | NO | NO |
Oracle Enterprise Linux
| Oracle Linux | OEL 7 | OEL 6 | OEL 5 |
| Release Date | Jul-14 | Feb-11 | Mar-07 |
| EOL End of Life |
Jul-24 | Mar-21 | Mar-17 |
| EOS Final end of Support (Extended) |
Jul-24 | Mar-21 | Mar-17 |
| Currently under support? |
YES | YES | YES |
| Lifetime in Years | 10.0 | 10.1 | 10.0 |
| Life kernel patching available? |
YES Ksplice for the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel |
YES Ksplice for the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel |
YES Ksplice for the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel |
Ubuntu Server LTS (Long Term Support Version)
5 year lifecycle
| Ubuntu Server LTS | 14.04 LTS 14.04.1 LTS Trusty Tahr |
12.04 LTS 12.04.5 LTS Precise Pangolin |
10.04 LTS 10.04.3 LTS Lucid Lynx |
8.04 LTS 8.04.4 LTS Hardy Heron |
6.06 LTS 6.06.2 LTS Dapper Drake |
| Release Date | 17-Apr-2014 | 26-Apr-2012 | 29-Apr-2010 | 24-Apr-2008 | 1-Jun-2006 |
| EOL End of Life |
30-Apr-2019 | 30-Apr-2017 | 30-Apr-2015 | 9-May-2013 | 1-Jun-2011 |
| EOS Final end of Support (Extended) |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Currently under support? |
YES | YES | YES | NO | NO |
| Lifetime in Years | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.0 |
| Life kernel patching available? | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
Debian Linux
| Debian Linux | Debian 7 Wheezy | Debian 6 Squeeze | Debian 5 Lenny | Debian 4 etch |
| Release Date | 4-May-2013 | 6-Feb-2011 | 15-Apr-2009 | 8-Apr-2007 |
| EOL End of Life |
4-May-2018 | 6-Feb-2016 | 6-Feb-2012 | 15-Feb-2010 |
| EOS Final end of Support (Extended) |
TBA (estimated five years after initial release) |
TBA (estimated five years after initial release) |
10-Mar-2012 | 20-Jun-2010 |
| Currently under support? |
YES | YES | NO | NO |
| Lifetime in Years | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
| Life kernel patching available? | NO | NO | NO | NO |
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (10 year lifecycle & extended support)
| SUSE LES Linux Enterprise Server |
SLES 12 | SLES 11 | SLES 10 | SLES 9 |
| Release Date | 27-Oct-2014 | 24-Mar-2009 | 17-Jun-2006 | 8-Nov-2004 |
| EOL End of Life |
1-Oct-2021 | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Jul-2013 | 31-Aug-2011 |
| EOS Final end of Support (Extended) |
TBA | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Jul-2016 | 31-Aug-2014 |
| Currently under support? | YES | YES | YES | NO |
| Lifetime in Years | 7.0 | 13.0 | 10.1 | 9.8 |
| Life kernel patching available? | YES Live Kernel Patching with kGraft |
NO | NO | NO |
