As many of you know, RedHat’s enterprise Linux distribution is one of the most popular distros for commercial use of the open-source operating system Linux.
RedHat provides maintenance and ongoing support of their Linux distro, in addition to additional features and the stability that comes with utilizing a commercial distribution.
Users of the distro can be confident that their version of Linux has been thoroughly tested before release, and that it performs as expected.
Red Hat patches and updates
RedHat also releases patches and updates for Linux, which are critical for ensuring servers are protected from exploitations of known vulnerabilities, one of the biggest security threats to any company.
However, patching RedHat Linux servers is not always as simple as it seems. Users must download and apply patches themselves, which involves ensuring system requirements are met, and running complex scripts for each update applied.
Third-party patch management solutions are often not built for Linux, which means even with guidance from RedHat on what patches are needed, you need to manually ensure patches are applied quickly and across all affected servers.
Using separate tools to patch
This can be done using Chef or Puppet, but these options require you to create the patching scripts and manage and update them continuously.
Many companies do not have the resources to dedicate this amount of time to patching their RedHat servers, which can lead to them being left unpatched for weeks or months.
Given that Linux can include upwards of 10,000 patches with each new version, delaying patch application is risky.
In addition to the difficulties encountered when patching RedHat Linux, you’ll also quickly discover the workflow and tools used to patch RedHat are different than those needed for other Linux distros, not to mention patching for your Windows servers.
Using separate tools to patch each operating system, in addition to the numerous third-party applications that run on top of operating systems, is an extremely time-consuming task.
Centralized patch management for Red Hat
The solution is to use one central patch management tool that has the ability to patch various Linux distributions, including RedHat, in addition to other operating systems and applications such as Adobe and Java.
Automox is a cloud-native patch management solution that is built with modern networks in mind.
Rather than focusing on one OS or application, Automox has the ability to patch all devices and servers from a single dashboard.
Automox achieves this through a lightweight cloud agent which is installed on all endpoints, and automatically checks for patches and updates from RedHat, other Linux distros, Windows, and Mac OS X.
Using Automox, you immediately gain full visibility into the patch status of your entire infrastructure, even your cloud-native infrastructure.
Now you can see the real-time status of every server across distros and applications, and know where you’re vulnerable.
Unlike many third-party patch management solutions, Automox allows users to set flexible rules to dictate when patches are applied to each OS.
This means that patches for RedHat and other systems are quickly and painlessly applied according to your specifications and on your own set schedule.
By automating the patching process, you can reach 100% patch compliance even if you’re running multiple operating systems and Linux distros.
Automox for Easy IT Operations
Automox is the cloud-native IT operations platform for modern organizations. It makes it easy to keep every endpoint automatically configured, patched, and secured – anywhere in the world. With the push of a button, IT admins can fix critical vulnerabilities faster, slash cost and complexity, and win back hours in their day.
Grab your free trial of Automox and join thousands of companies transforming IT operations into a strategic business driver.
