What Is New in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10? Features That Matter to Administrators
Discover what’s new in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (RHEL 10). Complete guide on features, security, Lightspeed AI, containers & upgrades. RHEL 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, RHEL 10 features, RHCSA RHEL 10, EX200 v10, RHEL 10 upgrades, Lightspeed AI assistant, RHEL 10 installer, SELinux 3.8, Podman RHEL 10, RHEL 10 system roles, Red Hat certification 2026, RHEL 10 containers, RHEL 10 web console, RHEL 10 security, RHEL 10 cloud support, RHEL 10 edge computing, Red Hat RHCE, Red Hat training, RHEL 10 review
Quick answer: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, released in 2025, is Red Hat's current major release. Key changes include image mode for managing systems as bootable container images, the Lightspeed command-line assistant, post-quantum cryptography support, Wayland-only desktops, a newer hardware baseline and a ten-year lifecycle. RHCSA (EX200) and RHCE (EX294) are based on RHEL 10.
Key takeaways
- RHEL 10 is the current major release, with a ten-year lifecycle like RHEL 8 and 9. Its kernel is based on the 6.12 series.
- Image mode lets you build, deploy and update RHEL as a bootable container image.
- Lightspeed is an AI command-line assistant; useful for learning, but you do your own work in the exam.
- Security additions include support for post-quantum cryptography algorithms and ongoing hardening.
- RHCSA EX200 is now based on RHEL 10, so learners should practise on it.
What is RHEL 10?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is Red Hat's commercial enterprise Linux distribution. RHEL 10 is the major release that follows RHEL 9 and was announced in 2025. Like RHEL 8 and 9, it has a ten-year lifecycle: five years of full support and five years of maintenance support. The official dates and phases are on Red Hat's life cycle page, and the product documentation is at docs.redhat.com. Older lifecycle mentions such as RHEL 5 to 8 in earlier versions of this article are no longer the right frame, since RHEL 10 is the current release.
What are the main new features?
| Area | What changed | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Image mode | Build and deploy RHEL as a bootable container image using bootc, then update it as an image | Consistent, versioned systems and rollback; closer to how containers are managed |
| Command-line assistant | RHEL Lightspeed answers questions in natural language from the terminal | Helps with learning and troubleshooting; verify its answers |
| Post-quantum cryptography | Support for newer quantum-resistant algorithms in the crypto stack | Prepares systems against future cryptographic threats |
| Kernel | Based on the 6.12 series with Red Hat's backports | Hardware support and features for the release's lifetime |
| Desktop | Wayland-based graphical session; the traditional Xorg server was removed | Remote desktop and older X11 tools may need adjustment |
| Remote access and installer | Improvements such as RDP-based graphical remote access and a simplified installer | Easier lab and server setup |
| Web console | Updated Cockpit web interface for management | Useful for visual administration |
| Hardware baseline | Raised minimum CPU requirements on x86-64 and dropped 32-bit packages | Check old hardware and virtual machine CPU settings before installing |
| Software stack | Updated languages and toolchains such as Python 3.12 | Applications may need testing |
Feature details change across minor releases, so confirm each item in the official release notes before relying on it.
What is image mode?
With traditional RHEL, you install packages and configure each server. In image mode, you describe the operating system in a container file, build it into an image, push it to a registry, and boot machines from it. Updates are new images, and rollback means returning to the previous image. This suits fleets of similar servers and edge devices. Package mode remains available, so existing skills still apply.
What does Lightspeed do?
Lightspeed is a generative AI assistant in the command line that can answer questions about RHEL tasks and errors. For learners, it can explain commands. Two cautions: AI answers can be wrong, so verify against documentation, and in a certification exam you must complete tasks yourself.
How does it affect RHCSA and RHCE preparation?
RHCSA is exam EX200 and RHCE is exam EX294, both based on RHEL 10. Practise on RHEL 10 or a compatible rebuild such as Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux. Check Red Hat's current objectives for any new items; changes in desktop, crypto policy, container tooling and installer behaviour can appear in practice labs, but the exams test the published objectives. Make sure your lab virtual machine CPU settings meet the new baseline, as an old VM template may fail to boot.
What are the upgrade considerations?
- Red Hat provides supported in-place upgrade tooling between major releases for some paths. Read the official upgrade documentation for supported versions and prerequisites.
- Test applications for changed library and language versions.
- Check hardware and virtualisation compatibility, including CPU baseline and dropped 32-bit support.
- Review deprecated and removed features in the release notes before planning.
- For large estates, a fresh deployment with automation is often cleaner than an in-place upgrade.
Common mistakes
- Studying RHEL 8 or 9 material for an EX200 exam based on RHEL 10.
- Assuming every feature in a blog post exists in your minor release.
- Skipping the release notes and breaking an application after upgrade.
- Using CentOS Linux, which is end-of-life, as a practice platform.
Next steps
Read RHEL 10 features and enhancements and RHEL 10 compared with previous versions. To practise, see our RHCSA EX200 course.
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