Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

6.0 Release Notes

Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Edition 1

Martin Prpic

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 6.0 Release Notes

Release Notes for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Edition 1
Martin Prpic

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Abstract
The Release No tes do cument the majo r features and enhancements implemented in the Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 6 release.

T able of Cont ent s

T able of Contents
. .. . Int
1
. . .roduct
. . . . . .ion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . . . . . .
. .. .Inst
2
. . . aller
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . . . . . .
2 .1. Ins tallatio n Metho d s
2 .2. Creating Bac kup Pas s p hras es During Ins tallatio n
2 .3. DVD Med ia Bo o t Catalo g Entries
2 .4. Ins tallatio n Cras h Rep o rting
2 .5. Ins tallatio n Lo g s

3
6
6
7
8

. . .File
3
. . .Syst
. . . .ems
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. . . . . . . . . .
3 .1. Fo urth Extend ed Files ys tem (ext4) Sup p o rt
8
3 .2. XFS
9
3 .3. Blo c k Dis c ard enhanc ed s up p o rt fo r thinly p ro vis io ned LUNs and SSD d evic es
9
3 .4. Netwo rk File Sys tem (NFS)
9
. .. .St
4
. .orage
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. . . . . . . . . .
4 .1. Sto rag e Inp ut/O utp ut Alig nment and Siz e
9
4 .2. Dynamic Lo ad Balanc ing with DM-Multip ath
10
4 .3. Lo g ic al Vo lume Manag er (LVM)
10
. . .Power
5
. . . . . Management
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1. 1. . . . . . . . . .
5 .1. p o werto p
11
5 .2. tuned
11
. .. .Package
6
. . . . . . . Management
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1. 1. . . . . . . . . .
6 .1. Stro ng p ac kag e c hec ks ums
11
6 .2. The Pac kag eKit Pac kag e Manag er
12
6 .3. Yum
12
. .. .Clust
7
. . . . ering
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1. 2. . . . . . . . . .
7 .1. Co ro s ync Clus ter Eng ine
12
7 .2. Unified Lo g g ing Co nfig uratio n
12
7 .3. Hig h Availab ility Ad minis tratio n
12
7 .4. G eneral Hig h Availab ility Imp ro vements
13
. .. .Securit
8
. . . . . .y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 3. . . . . . . . . .
8 .1. Sys tem Sec urity Servic es Daemo n (SSSD)
13
8 .2. Sec urity-Enhanc ed Linux (SELinux)
13
8 .3. Bac kup Pas s p hras es fo r Enc ryp ted Sto rag e Devic es
14
8 .4. s Virt
14
8 .5. Enterp ris e Sec urity Client
14
. .. .Net
9
. . .working
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 5. . . . . . . . . .
9 .1. Multiq ueue Netwo rking
15
9 .2. Internet Pro to c o l vers io n 6 (IPv6 )
15
9 .3. Netlab el
15
9 .4. G eneric Rec eive O fflo ad
15
9 .5. Wireles s Sup p o rt
15
. .0.. .Deskt
1
. . . . .op
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 5. . . . . . . . . .
10 .1. G rap hic al Startup
15
10 .2. Sus p end and Res ume
16
10 .3. Multip le Dis p lay Sup p o rt
16
10 .4. no uveau Driver fo r NVIDIA G rap hic s Devic es
18
10 .5. Internatio naliz atio n
18

Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

10 .5. Internatio naliz atio n

18

10 .6 . Ap p lic atio ns

18

10 .7. Netwo rkManag er

20

10 .8 . KDE 4.3

20

. .1.. .Document
1
. . . . . . . . .at
. .ion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. 0. . . . . . . . . .
11.1. Releas e Do c umentatio n
11.2. Ins tallatio n and Dep lo yment
11.3. Sec urity
11.4. To o ls & Perfo rmanc e
11.5. Hig h Availab ility
11.6 . Virtualiz atio n

21
21
22
22
22
23

. .2.. .Kernel
1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 3. . . . . . . . . .
12.1. Res o urc e Co ntro l
23
12.2. Sc alab ility
23
12.3. Erro r Rep o rting
24
12.4. Po wer Manag ement
24
12.5. Analyz ing Kernel Perfo rmanc e
24
12.6 . G eneral Kernel Up d ates
25
. .3.. .Compiler
1
. . . . . . . .and
. . . .T.ools
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 5. . . . . . . . . .
13.1. Sys temTap
13.2. O Pro file

25
26

13.3. G NU Co mp iler Co llec tio n (G CC)

13.4. G NU C Lib rary (g lib c )

26
26

13.5. G NU Pro jec t d eb ug g er (G DB)

27

. .4.. .Int
1
. . eroperabilit
..........y
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. 7. . . . . . . . . .
14.1. Samb a

27

. .5.. .Virt
1
. . .ualiz
. . . .at
. .ion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. 8. . . . . . . . . .
15.1. Kernel-b as ed Virtual Mac hine
28
15.2. Xen
15.3. virt-v2v

30
31

. .6.. .Support
1
. . . . . . . abilit
. . . . .y. and
. . . .Maint
. . . . .enance
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
...........
16 .1. firs taid kit Sys tem Rec o very To o l
31
16 .2. Bug Rep o rting
16 .3. Auto mated Bug Rep o rting To o l

31
31

. .7.. .Web
1
. . . .Servers
. . . . . . .and
. . . .Services
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
...........
17.1. Ap ac he HTTP Web Server
32
17.2. PHP: Hyp ertext Prep ro c es s o r (PHP)
32
17.3. memc ac hed

33

. .8.. .Dat
1
. . .abases
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
...........
18 .1. Po s tg reSQ L
18 .2. MySQ L

33
33

. .9.. .Archit
1
. . . . . ect
. . .ure
. . . Specific
. . . . . . . .Not
. . . es
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
...........
. .. .Revision
A
. . . . . . . .Hist
. . . ory
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
...........

1 . Int roduct ion

1. Int roduct ion

Red Hat is pleased to announce the availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 6 is the next generation of Red Hat's comprehensive suite of operating systems, designed for
mission-critical enterprise computing and certified by top enterprise software and hardware vendors.
This release is available as a single kit on the following architectures:
i386
AMD 64/Intel64
System z
IBM Power (64-bit)
In this release, Red Hat brings together improvements across the server, systems and the overall Red
Hat open source experience.

Note
This version of the Release Notes may contain outdated material. Refer to the Online Release
Notes for a current overview of the new features contained in this release

2. Inst aller
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux installer (also known as anaco nd a) assists in the installation of Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 6. This section of the release notes provides an overview of the new features
implemented in the installer for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

Further Reading
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Installation Guide provides detailed documentation of the
installer and the installation process.

2.1. Inst allat ion Met hods

The installer provides three main interfaces to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux: kickstart, the graphical
installer and the text-based installer.

2 .1 .1 . Graphical Inst alle r

The Red Hat Enterprise Linux graphical installer steps the user through the major steps involved in
preparing a system for installation. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 installation GUI introduces major
usability enhancements for disk partitioning and storage configuration.
Early in the installation process, the user is now given the choice of basic storage devices or
specialized storage devices. Basic Storage Devices typically do not need any additional configuration
settings before the device is usable. A new interface has been implemented for configuring
specialized storage devices. Firmware RAID devices, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) devices,

Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

multipath devices, and other storage area network (SAN) devices can now be easily configured using
the new interface.

Fig u re 1. Sp ecializ ed St o rag e D evices C o n f ig u rat io n

The interface for choosing partitioning layouts has been enhanced, providing detailed descriptions
and diagrams for each default partitioning layout

Fig u re 2. Part it io n in g layo u t ch o ices

1 . Int roduct ion

The Installer allows storage devices to be specified as either install target devices or data storage
devices prior to installation.

Fig u re 3. Sp ecif yin g St o rag e D evices

2 .1 .2 . Kickst art
Kickstart is an automated installation method that system administrators use to install Red Hat
Enterprise Linux. Using kickstart, a single file is created, containing the answers to all the questions
that would normally be asked during a typical installation.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 introduces improvements to the validation of kickstart files, allowing the
installer to capture issues with kickstart file syntax before an installation commences.

2 .1 .3. T e xt -base d Inst alle r

The text-based installer is provided primarily for systems with limited resources. The text-based
installer has been simplified, permitting installation to the default disk layouts, and installation of new
and updated packages.

Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

Fig u re 4 . t ext - b ased in st aller

Note
Some installations require advanced installation options that are not present in the text-based
installer. If the target system cannot run the graphical installer locally, use the Virtual Network
Computing (VNC) display protocol to complete the installation.

2.2. Creat ing Backup Passphrases During Inst allat ion

The installer in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 provides the ability to save encryption keys and create
backup passphrases for encrypted filesystems. This feature is discussed in futher detail in
Section 8.3, Backup Passphrases for Encrypted Storage D evices

Note
Currently, creating backup passphrases for encrypted devices during installation can only be
achieved during a kickstart installation. More information on this new feature, including how to
utilize this feature in a kickstart installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, refer to the D isk
Encryption appendix in the Installation Guide.

2.3. DVD Media Boot Cat alog Ent ries

The D VD media for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 include boot catalog entries for both BIOS- and UEFIbased computers. This allows the media to boot systems based on either firmware interface. (UEFI is
the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, a standard software interface initially developed by Intel
and now managed by the Unified EFI Forum. It is intended as a replacement for the older BIOS
firmware.)

1 . Int roduct ion

Important
Some systems with very old BIOS implementations will not boot from media which include
more than one boot catalog entry. Such systems will not boot from a Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 D VD but may be bootable using a USB drive or over a network using PXE.

Note
UEFI and BIOS boot configurations differ significantly from each other and are not
interchangeable. An installed instance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 will not boot if the
firmware it was configured for is changed. You cannot, for example, install the operating
system on a BIOS-based system and then boot the installed instance on a UEFI-based system.

2.4 . Inst allat ion Crash Report ing

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features enhanced installation crash reporting in the installer. If the
installer encounters an error during the installation process, details of the error are reported to the
user.

Fig u re 5. in st allat io n erro r rep o rt in g

Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

The details of the error can be instantly reported to the Red Hat Bugzilla bug tracking website, or in
cases where there is no internet connectivity, saved locally to disk.

Fig u re 6 . Sen d in g t o B u g z illa

2.5. Inst allat ion Logs

To assist troubleshooting and debugging of installations, additional details are now included in log
files produced by the installer. Further information on installation logs, and how to use them for
troubleshooting can be found in the following sections of the Installation Guide.
Troubleshooting Installation on an Intel or AMD System
Troubleshooting Installation on an IBM POWER System
Troubleshooting Installation on an IBM System z System

3. File Syst ems

Further Reading
The Storage Administration Guide provides further instructions on how to effectively manage
file systems on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. Additionally, the Global File System 2 document
details specific information on configuring and maintaining Red Hat Global File System 2 for
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

3.1. Fourt h Ext ended Filesyst em (ext 4 ) Support

The fourth extended filesystem (ext4) is based on the third extended filesystem (ext3) and features a
number of improvements. These include support for larger file systems and larger files, faster and

4 . St orage

more efficient allocation of disk space, no limit on the number of subdirectories within a directory,
faster file system checking, and more robust journaling. The ext4 file system is selected by default
and is highly recommended.

3.2. XFS
XFS is a highly scalable, high-performance file system which was originally designed at Silicon
Graphics, Inc. It was created to support filesystems up to 16 exabytes (approximately 16 million
terabytes), files up to 8 exabytes (approximately 8 million terabytes) and directory structures
containing tens of millions of entries.
XFS supports metadata journaling, which facilitates quicker crash recovery. The XFS file systems
can also be defragmented and expanded while mounted and active.

3.3. Block Discard enhanced support for t hinly provisioned LUNs and SSD
devices
Filesystems in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 use the new block discard feature to allows a storage
device to be informed when the filesystem detects that portions of a device (also known as blocks)
are no longer in active use. While few storage devices feature block discard capabilities, newer solid
state drives (SSD s) utilize this feature to optimize internal data layout and invoke proactive wear
levelling. Additionally, some high end SCSI devices use block discard information to help implement
thinly provisioned LUNs.

3.4 . Net work File Syst em (NFS)

A Network File System (NFS) allows remote hosts to mount file systems over a network and interact
with those file systems as though they were mounted locally. This enables system administrators to
consolidate resources onto centralized servers on the network. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 supports
NFSv2, NFSv3, and NFSv4 clients. Mounting a file system via NFS now defaults to NFSv4.
Additional improvements have been made to the NFS in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, providing
enhanced support over Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)

4 . St orage
4 .1. St orage Input /Out put Alignment and Siz e
Recent enhancements to the SCSI and ATA standards allow storage devices to indicate their
preferred (and in some cases, required) I/O alignment and I/O size. This information is particularly
useful with newer disk drives that increase the physical sector size from 512 byes to 4K bytes. This
information may also be beneficial for RAID devices, where the chunk size and stripe size may impact
performance.
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 provides the ability to read and utilize this information, and optimize
how data is read and written from storage devices.

Further Reading
The Storage Administation Guide features a chapter that covers I/O Limits in further detail.

Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

4 .2. Dynamic Load Balancing wit h DM-Mult ipat h

D evice Mapper Multipathing (D M-Multipath) creates a single conceptual device from the multiple
cables, switches and controllers that connect servers to storage arrays. This enables centralized
management of connection devices (also known as paths) and makes it possible to balance loads
over all available paths.
D M-Multipath in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 introduces two new options when dynamically balancing
load over paths. Paths can now be dynamically selected depending on either the queue size of each
path or previous I/O time data.

Further Reading
The D M Multipath book provides information on using the D evice-Mapper Multipath feature of
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

4 .3. Logical Volume Manager (LVM)

Volume management creates a layer of abstraction over physical storage by creating logical storage
volumes. This provides greater flexibility over just using physical storage directly. Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 6 manages logical volumes using the Logical Volume Manager (LVM).

Important
system-co nfi g -l vm is a graphical user interface provided in Red Hat Enterprise Linux to
manage logical volumes. The functionality provided by system-co nfi g -l vm is in the
process of transitioning to a more maintainable tool named g no me-d i sk-uti l i ty (also
referred to as pal i mpsest). As a result, Red Hat will be very selective in updating systemco nfi g -l vm. As g no me-d i sk-uti l i ty reaches feature parity with system-co nfi g l vm, Red Hat reserves the right to remove system-co nfi g -l vm during the life of Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 6.

Further Reading
The Logical Volume Manager Administration document describes the LVM logical volume
manager, including information on running LVM in a clustered environment.

4 .3.1 . LVM Mirro r Im pro ve m e nt s

LVM supports mirrored volumes. By creating mirrored logical volumes, LVM ensures that data written
to an underlying physical volume is mirrored onto a separate physical volume.
4 .3.1.1. Sn ap sh o t s o f Mirro rs
The LVM snapshot feature provides the ability to create backup images of a logical volume at a
particular instant without causing a service interruption. When a change is made to the original
device (the origin) after a snapshot is taken, the snapshot feature makes a copy of the changed data
area as it was prior to the change so that it can reconstruct the state of the device. Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 6 introduces the ability to take a snapshot of a mirrored logical volume.

10

5 . Power Management

4 .3.1.2. Merg in g Sn ap sh o t s
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 introduces the ability to merge a snapshot of a logical volume back into
the origin logical volume. This allows system administrators to revert any changes that have
occurred on a logical volume by merging back to the point preserved by a snapshot.
For more information about the new snapshot merge feature, consult the l vco nvert manpage.
4 .3.1.3. Fo u r- Vo lu me Mirro rs
LVM in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 supports creating a logical volume with up to four mirrors.
4 .3.1.4 . Mirro rin g mirro r lo g s
LVM maintains a small log (on a separate device) which it uses to keep track of which regions are in
sync with the mirror or mirrors. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 provides the ability to mirror this log
device.

4 .3.2 . LVM Applicat io n Library

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features the new LVM Application Library (lvm2app), allowing the
development of LVM based storage management applications.

5. Power Management
Further Reading
The Power Management Guide provides information on effectively managing power
consumption on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

5.1. powert op
The introduction of the tickless kernel in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (refer to Section 12.4.2, Tickless
Kernel ) allows the CPU to enter the idle state more frequently, reducing power consumption and
improving power management. The new p o wert o p tool provides the ability to identify specific
components of kernel and userspace applications that frequently wake up the CPU. p o wert o p was
used in development to identify and tune many applications in this release, reducing unnecessary
CPU wake up by a factor of 10.

5.2. t uned
t u n ed is a system tuning daemon that monitors system components and dynamically tunes system
settings. Utilizing kt u n e (the static mechanism for system tuning), t u n ed can monitor and tune
devices (e.g. hard disk drives and ethernet devices). Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 also introduces
d iskd evst at for monitoring disk operations and n et d evst at for monitoring network operations.

6. Package Management
6.1. St rong package checksums
RPM provides support for signed packages using strong hash algorithms such as SHA-256 in order

11

Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

to ensure package integrity and increase security. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 packages are
transparently compressed with the XZ lossless compression library, which implements the LZ MA2
compression algorithm for greater compression (thus reducing package size) and speedier
unpacking (when installing RPMs). Further information on the stronger package checksums is
available in the D eployment Guide

6.2. T he PackageKit Package Manager

Red Hat provides PackageKit for viewing, managing, updating, installing and uninstalling packages
and package groups compatible with your system, and enabled in Yum repositories. PackageKit
consists of several graphical interfaces that can be opened from the GNOME panel menu, or from the
Notification Area, when PackageKit alerts you that updates are available. Additionally, PackageKit
allows for quick repository enablement and disablement, a graphical and searchable transaction
log, and PolicyKit integration. Futher information on Package Kit is available in the D eployment
Guide

6.3. Yum
Via its plugin architecture, Yum provides new or enhanced support for various capabilities such as
delta RPMs (using the presto plugin), RHN communication (rhnplugin), and auditing and applying
using a calculated least-invasive (minimal) number of updatesonly relevant security fixes to a
system (security plugin).
Yum also ships with the yum-config-manager utility, which shows exhaustive information about all
set configuration options and parameters for each individual repository. Further information on
updates to Yum is available in the D eployment Guide

7. Clust ering
Clusters are multiple computers (nodes) working in concert to increase reliability, scalability, and
availability to critical production services. High Availability using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 can be
deployed in a variety of configurations to suit varying needs for performance, high-availability, load
balancing, and file sharing.

Further Reading
The Cluster Suite Overview document provides an overview of Red Hat Cluster Suite for Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 6. Additionally, the High Availability Administration document describes
the configuration and management of Red Hat cluster systems for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

7.1. Corosync Clust er Engine

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 utilizes the Corosync Cluster Engine for core cluster functionality.

7.2. Unified Logging Configurat ion

The various daemons that High Availability employs now utilize a shared unified logging
configuration. This allows system administrators to enable, capture and read cluster system logs via
a single command in the cluster configuration.

7.3. High Availabilit y Administ rat ion

12

8 . Securit y

Conga is an integrated set of software components that provides centralized configuration and
management for Red Hat Enterprise Linux High Availability. One of the primary components of Conga
is luci, a server that runs on one computer and communicates with multiple clusters and computers.
In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 the web interface that is used to interact with luci has been redesigned.

7.4 . General High Availabilit y Improvement s

In addition to the features and improvements detailed above, the following features and
enhancements to clustering have been implemented for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
Enhanced support for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)
SCSI persistent reservation fencing support is improved.
Virtualized KVM guests can now be run as managed services.

8. Securit y
Further Reading
The Security Guide assists users and administrators in learning the processes and practices
of securing workstations and servers against local and remote intrusion, exploitation and
malicious activity.

8.1. Syst em Securit y Services Daemon (SSSD)

The System Security Services D aemon (SSSD ) is a new feature in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 that
implements a set of services for central management of identity and authentication. Centralizing
identity and authentication services enables local caching of identities, allowing users to still identify
in cases where the connection to the server is interrupted. SSSD supports many types of identity and
authentication services, including: Red Hat D irectory Server, Active D irectory, OpenLD AP, 389,
Kerberos and LD AP.

Further Reading
The D eployment Guide contains a section that describes how to install and configure the
System Security Services D aemon (SSSD ), and how to use the features that it provides.

8.2. Securit y-Enhanced Linux (SELinux)

Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) adds Mandatory Access Control (MAC) to the Linux kernel, and
is enabled by default in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. A general purpose MAC architecture needs the
ability to enforce an administratively-set security policy over all processes and files in the system,
basing decisions on labels containing a variety of security-relevant information.

8 .2 .1 . Co nfine d Use rs
Traditionally, SELinux is used to define and control how an application interacts with the system.
SELinux in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 introduces a set of policies that allows system administrators
to control what particular users can access on a system.

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Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

8 .2 .2 . Sandbo x
SELinux in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features the new security sandbox feature. The security
sandbox adds a set of SELinux policies that enables a system administrator to run any application
within a tightly confined SELinux domain. Using the sandbox, system administrators can test the
processing of untrusted content without damaging the system.

8 .2 .3. X Acce ss Co nt ro l Ext e nsio n (XACE)

The X Window System (commonly refered to a " X" ) provides the base framework for displaying the
graphical user interface (GUI) on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. This release features the new X Access
Control Extension (XACE), which permits SELinux to access decisions made within X, specifically,
controlling information flow between window objects.

8.3. Backup Passphrases for Encrypt ed St orage Devices

Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides the ability to encrypt the data on storage devices, assisting in the
prevention of unauthorized access of the data. Encryption is achieved by transforming the data into
a format that can only be read using a specific encryption key. This key which is created during
the installation process, and protected by a passphrase is the only way to decrypt the encrypted
data.

Fig u re 7. D ecryp t in g D at a
However, if the passphrase is misplaced, the encryption key cannot be used, and data on the
encrypted storage device cannot be accessed.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 provides the ability to save encryption keys and create backup
passphrases. This feature allows for the recovery of an encrypted volume (including the root device)
even when the original passphrase is misplaced.

8.4 . sVirt
libvirt is a C language application programming interface (API) for managing and interacting with the
virtualization capabilities of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. In this release, libvirt features the new sVirt
component. sVirt integrates with SELinux, providing security mechanisms to prevent unauthorized
access of guests and hosts in a virtualized environment.

8.5. Ent erprise Securit y Client

The Enterprise Security Client (ESC) is a simple GUI that allows Red Hat Enterprise Linux to manage
smart cards and tokens. New smart cards can be formatted and enrolled, meaning that new keys are
generated and certificates requested for the smart card automatically. The smart card lifecycle can be
managed, as well, so that lost smart cards can have their certificates revoked and expired certificates
can be renewed. The ESC works in conjunction with a larger public-key infrastructure management
product, either Red Hat Certificate System or D ogtag PKI.

14

9 . Net working

9. Net working
9.1. Mult iqueue Net working
Every data packet transferred over a network device represents processing which must be completed
by a CPU. The low-level network implementation in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 allows network device
drivers to divide network packet processing across multiple queues. D ividing these processes allows
a system to better utilize the multiple processors and CPU cores present on modern systems.

9.2. Int ernet Prot ocol version 6 (IPv6)

The next-generation Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) specification is designed as the successor to
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). IPv6 specifies a wide range of improvements over IPv4, including:
expanded addressing capabilites, flow labeling and simplified header formats.

9 .2 .1 . Opt im ist ic Duplicat e Addre ss De t e ct io n

D uplicate Address D etection (D AD ) is a feature of the Neighbor D iscovery Protocol portion of IPv6.
Specifically, D AD is tasked with checking if an IPv6 address is already being used. Red Hat
Enterprise Linux features Optimistic D uplicate Address D etection, a speed optimization of D AD .

9 .2 .2 . Int ra-Sit e Aut o m at ic T unne l Addre ssing Pro t o co l

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features support for the Intra-Site Automatic Tunnel Addressing Protocol
(ISATAP). ISATAP is a protocol designed to assist in the transition from IPv4 to IPv6, by providing a
mechanism to connect IPv6 routers and hosts over IPv4 network infrastructure.

9.3. Net label

Netlabel is a new kernel-level feature in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 that provides network packet
labeling services for Linux Security Modules (LSMs). Labeling data packets using netlabel allows an
LSM to better enforce security requirements on incoming network packets.

9.4 . Generic Receive Offload

The low-level network implementation in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features Generic Receive Offload
(GRO) support. The GRO system increases the performance of inbound network connections by
reducing the amount of processing done by the CPU. GRO implements the same technique as the
Large Receive Offload (LRO) system, but can be applied to a wider range of transport layer protocols.

9.5. Wireless Support

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 contains enhanced support for wireless networking and devices. Support
for the wireless local area networking using the IEEE 802.11 set of standards has been improved,
with added support for 802.11n based wireless networking.

10. Deskt op
10.1. Graphical St art up
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 introduces a new, seamless graphical boot sequence that commences
immediately after the hardware has initialized.

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Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

Fig u re 8. G rap h ical B o o t Screen

The new graphical boot sequence provides the user with simple visual feedback on the progress of
the system boot, and seamlessly switches to the login screen. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
graphical boot sequence is enabled by the Kernel Modesetting feature and is available on ATI, Intel
and NVID IA graphics hardware.

Note
System Administrators are still able to view detailed progress of the boot sequence by pressing
the F11 key at any time during the graphical boot.

10.2. Suspend and Resume

Suspend and resume is a current feature in Red Hat Enterprise Linux that allows a machine to be
placed into and removed from a low power state. The new kernel modesetting feature enables
enhanced support for the suspend and resume feature. Previously, graphics hardware was
suspended and resumed via userspace applications. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, this functionality
has moved into the kernel, providing a more reliable mechanism for enabling low power mode.

10.3. Mult iple Display Support

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features enhanced support for workstations with multiple displays. When
an additional display is attached to a machine, the graphics driver detects it and automatically adds
it to the desktop. Conversely, when a display is unplugged, the graphics driver automatically
removes it from the desktop.

16

9 . Net working

Note
By default, the additional display is added in a spanning layout to the left of the current
display.
The automatic detection of additional displays is useful in situations where displays are added and
removed frequently (e.g. setting up a laptop with an external projector)

1 0 .3.1 . Display Pre fe re nce s

The new D isplay Preferences dialog provides the ability to further customize multiple display layouts.

17

Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

Fig u re 9 . D isp lay Pref eren ces d ialo g

The new dialog provides the ability to instantly change the positioning, resolution, refresh rate and
rotation settings for each individual display that is currently attached to a machine.

10.4 . nouveau Driver for NVIDIA Graphics Devices

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features the new nouveau driver as default for NVID IA graphics devices
up to and including the NVID IA GeForce 200 series. nouveau supports 2D and software video
acceleration and kernel modesetting.

Note
The previous default driver for NVID IA hardware (nv) is still available in Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 6.

10.5. Int ernat ionaliz at ion

1 0 .5 .1 . IBus
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 introduces the Intelligent Input Bus (IBus) as the default input method
framework for Asian languages.

1 0 .5 .2 . Cho o sing and Co nfiguring Input Me t ho ds

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 includes i m-cho o ser, a graphical user interface to enable and
configure input methods. im-chooser (located under System > P references > Input Metho d
in the main menu) allows the user to easily enable and configure the input methods available on the
system.

1 0 .5 .3. Indic Onscre e n Ke ybo ard

The new Indic Onscreen Keyboard (iok) is a screen based virtual keyboard for Indic languages,
enabling input using Inscript keymap layouts and other 1:1 key mappings.

1 0 .5 .4 . Indic Co llat io n Suppo rt

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 includes improved sorting for Indic languages. The order of menus and
other interface elements are now correctly sorted in Indic languages.

1 0 .5 .5 . Fo nt s
Font support in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 has been improved, with updates to fonts for Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, Indic and Thai languages.

10.6. Applicat ions

The majority of applications on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 desktop have been updated. The
following section documents the most notable updates.

1 0 .6 .1 . Fire fo x

18

9 . Net working

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 introduces version 3.5 of the Mozilla Firefox web browser.
For details on the new features in Firefox, refer to the Firefox Release Notes

1 0 .6 .2 . T hunde rbird 3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 includes version 3 of the Mozilla Thunderbird email client, providing
tabbed messaging, smart folders, and a message archive. For further details on new features in
Thunderbird 3, refer to the Thunderbird Release Notes

1 0 .6 .3. Ope nOffice .o rg 3.1

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features OpenOffice.org 3.1, adding support for reading a wider range of
file formats, including Microsoft Office OOXML format. Additionally, OpenOffice.org has improved file
locking support and has the ability to render graphics using anti-aliasing.

Fig u re 10. O p en O f f ice.o rg 3.1

Full details on all the features in this version of OpenOffice.org are available in the OpenOffice.org
Release Notes .

19

Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

10.7. Net workManager

NetworkManager is the desktop tool that is used to set up, configure and manage a wide range of
network connection types.

Fig u re 11. N et wo rkMan ag er

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, NetworkManager provides enhanced support for Mobile Broadband
devices, IPv6 and added support for connecting to Bluetooth Personal Area Network (PAN) devices.

10.8. KDE 4 .3
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 provides KD E 4.3 as an alternative desktop enviroment.
KD E 4.3 features an entirely new user experience, featuring:
The new Plasma D esktop Workspace, including Plasma Widgets for a more customizable
desktop.
Oxygen, with enhanced icon and sound themes.
Enhancements to the KD E Window Manager (kwin)
Additionally, the d o l phi n file browser has replaced ko nq uero r as the KD E default.

11. Document at ion

D ocumentation for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is comprised of 18 separate documents. Each of these
documents belongs to one or more of the following subject areas:

20

1 1 . Document at ion

Release D ocumentation
Installation and D eployment
Security
Tools and Performance
Clustering
Virtualization

11.1. Release Document at ion

R elease N o t es
The Release Notes document the major new features in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
T ech n ical N o t es
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux Technical Notes contains detailed information specific to this release,
including: Technology Previews, package change details and known issues.
Mig rat io n G u id e
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux Migration Guide documents migration from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

11.2. Inst allat ion and Deployment

In st allat io n G u id e
The Installation Guide documents relevant information regarding the installation of Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 6
D ep lo ymen t G u id e
The D eployment Guide documents relevant information regarding the deployment, configuration and
administration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
St o rag e Ad min ist rat io n G u id e
The Storage Administration Guide provides instructions on how to effectively manage storage
devices and file systems on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. It is intended for use by system
administrators with intermediate experience in either Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Fedora distributions
of Linux.
G lo b al File Syst em 2
The Global File System 2 book provides information about configuring and maintaining Red Hat
GFS2 (Red Hat Global File System 2) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
Lo g ical Vo lu me Man ag er Ad min ist rat io n
The Logical Volume Manager Administration book describes the LVM logical volume manager,
including information on running LVM in a clustered environment.

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Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

11.3. Securit y
Secu rit y G u id e
The Security Guide is designed to assist users and administrators in learning the processes and
practices of securing workstations and servers against local and remote intrusion, exploitation and
malicious activity.
SELin u x U ser G u id e
The SELinux User Guide covers the management and use of Security-Enhanced Linux for those with
minimal or no experience with the framework. It serves as an introduction to SELinux and explains
the terms and concepts in use.
Man ag in g C o n f in ed Services
The Managing Confined Services guide is designed to assist advanced users and administrators
when using and configuring Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux). It is focused on Red Hat Enterprise
Linux and describes the components of SELinux as they pertain to services an advanced user or
administrator might need to configure. Also included are real-world examples of configuring these
services and demonstrations of how SELinux complements their operation.

11.4 . T ools & Performance

R eso u rce Man ag emen t G u id e
The Resource Management Guide documents tools and techniques for managing system resources
on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
Po wer Man ag emen t G u id e
The Power Management Guide explains how to manage power consumption on Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 6 systems effectively. This document discusses different techniques that lower power
consumption (for both server and laptop), and how each technique affects the overall performance of
a system.
D evelo p er G u id e
The D eveloper Guide describes the different features and utilities that make Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 an ideal enterprise platform for application development.
Syst emT ap B eg in n ers G u id e
The SystemTap Beginners Guide provides basic instructions on how to use SystemTap to monitor
different subsystems of Red Hat Enterprise Linux in finer detail.
Syst emT ap T ap set R ef eren ce
The SystemTap Tapset Reference guide describes the most common tapset definitions users can
apply to SystemTap scripts.

11.5. High Availabilit y

C lu st er Su it e O verview

22

1 2 . Kernel

The Cluster Suite Overview document provides an overview of High Availability for Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 6.
H ig h Availab ilit y Ad min ist rat io n
The High Availability Administration document describes the configuration and management of Red
Hat High Availability systems for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
Virt u al Server Ad min ist rat io n
The Virtual Server Administration book discusses the configuration of high-performance systems and
services with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and the Linux Virtual Server (LVS) system.
D M Mu lt ip at h
The D M Multipath book provides information on using the D evice-Mapper Multipath feature of Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

11.6. Virt ualiz at ion

Virt u aliz at io n G u id e
The Virtualization Guide details the process to install, configure and manage the virtualization
technologies in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

12. Kernel
12.1. Resource Cont rol
1 2 .1 .1 . Co nt ro l Gro ups
Control groups are a new feature of the Linux kernel in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. Each control
group is a set of tasks on a system that have been grouped together to better manage their
interaction with system hardware. Control groups can be tracked to monitor the system resources that
they use. Additionally, system administrators can use control group infrastructure to allow or to deny
specific control groups access to system resources such as memory, CPUs (or groups of CPUs),
networking, I/O, or the scheduler. Management of control groups in userspace is provided by
l i bcg ro up, enabling system administrators to create new control groups, start new processes in a
specific control group and set control group parameters.

Note
Control Groups and other resource management features are discussed in detail in the Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Resource Management Guide

12.2. Scalabilit y
1 2 .2 .1 . Co m ple t e ly Fair Sche dule r (CFS)

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Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

A process (or task) scheduler is a specific kernel subsystem that is responsible for assigning the
order in which processes are sent to the CPU. The kernel (version 2.6.32) shipped in Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 6 replaces the O (1) scheduler with the new C o mpl etel y Fai r Sched ul er
(C FS). The CFS implements the fair queuing scheduling algorithm.

1 2 .2 .2 . Virt ual Me m o ry Page o ut Scalabilit y

Implemented by the kernel, virtual memory presents applications with a single, contiguous block of
memory addresses. The reality underlying this presentation is complex, with actual physical
addresses commonly fragmented and even paged out to much slower devices such as fixed disks.
The virtual memory addresses are organized by the kernel into standard units called pages. The
kernel in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features enhanced management of virtual memory pages,
reducing the processing load required on systems with large amounts of physical memory.

12.3. Error Report ing

1 2 .3.1 . Advance d Erro r Re po rt ing (AER)
The kernel in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features Advanced Error Reporting (AER). AER is a new
kernel feature that provides enhanced error reporting for PCI-Express devices.

1 2 .3.2 . Kdum p Aut o Enable m e nt

Kdump is now enabled by default on systems with large amounts of memory. Specifically, kdump is
enabled by default on:
systems with more than 4GB of memory on architectures with a 4KB page size (i.e. x86 or x86_64),
or
systems with more than 8GB of memory on architectures with larger than a 4KB page size (i.e
PPC64).

12.4 . Power Management

1 2 .4 .1 . Aggre ssive Link Po we r Manage m e nt (ALPM)
The kernel in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features support for Aggressive Link Power Management
(ALPM). ALPM is a power-saving technique that helps the disk save power by setting a SATA link to
the disk to a low-power setting during idle time (i.e. when there is no I/O). ALPM automatically sets the
SATA link back to an active power state once I/O requests are queued to that link.

1 2 .4 .2 . T ickle ss Ke rne l
Previously the kernel implemented a timer that periodically queried the system to check if there were
any outstanding tasks to process. Consequently, the CPU would remain in an active state,
consuming unnecessary power. The kernel in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 enables the new tickless
kernel feature, replacing the periodic timer interrupts with on-demand interrupts. The tickless kernel
allows a CPU to enter longer sleep states when idle, and wake only when a task is queued for
processing.

12.5. Analyz ing Kernel Performance

1 2 .5 .1 . Pe rfo rm ance Co unt e r fo r Linux (PCL)

24

1 3. Compiler and T ools

The Linux Performance Counter infrastructure provides an abstraction of performance counter

hardware capabilities, such as instructions executed, cache misses, and branches mis-predicted.
PCL provides per-task and per-CPU counters, and adds event capabilities on top of these counters.
Performance counter information can be used to profile kernel functions and events, and assist in the
analysis of kernel performance issues.

1 2 .5 .2 . Ft race and pe rf
Two new tools are available in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 to assist in analyzing kernel performance.
Ftrace provides call graph style tracing for the kernel. The new perf tool monitors, logs and analyzes
system hardware events.

12.6. General Kernel Updat es

1 2 .6 .1 . Physical Addre ss Ext e nsio n (PAE)
The Physical Address Extension (PAE) is a feature implemented in modern x86 processors. PAE
extends memory addressing capabilities, allowing more than 4 gigabytes (GB) of random access
memory (RAM) to be used. The default kernel shipped with the x86 architecture version of Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 6 is PAE enabled. A PAE enabled processor is a minimum requirement for the x86
variant of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

1 2 .6 .2 . Lo adable Firm ware File s

Firmware files for which there is no appropriately licensed source code have been removed from the
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 kernel. Modules that require loadable firmware now use a kernel interface
to request firmware from userspace.

13. Compiler and T ools

13.1. Syst emT ap
SystemTap is a tracing and probing tool that allows users to study and monitor the activities of the
operating system (particularly, the kernel) in fine detail. It provides information similar to the output of
tools like netstat, ps, top, and iostat; however, SystemTap is designed to provide more filtering and
analysis options for collected information.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features SystemTap version 1.1, which introduces many new features and
enhancements, including:
Improved support for user-space probing.
Support for probing C++ programs with native C++ syntax.
A more secure script-compile server.
The new unprivileged mode, allowing non-root users to use SystemTap.

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Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

Important
Unprivileged mode is new and experimental. The stap-server facility on which it relies is
undergoing work for security improvements and should be deployed with care on a
trustworthy network.

13.2. OProfile
OProfile is a system-wide profiler for Linux systems. The profiling runs transparently in the
background and profile data can be collected at any time.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features version 0.9.5 of OProfile, adding support for new Intel and AMD
processors.

13.3. GNU Compiler Collect ion (GCC)

The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) includes, among others, C, C++, and Java GNU compilers and
related support libraries. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features version 4.4 of GCC, which includes the
following features and enhancements:
Conformance to version 3.0 of the Open Multi-Processing (OpenMP) application programming
interface (API).
Additional C++ libraries to utilize OpenMP threads
Futher implementations of the next ISO C++ standard draft (C++0x)
Introduction of variable tracking assignments to improve debugging using the GNU Project
D ebugger (GD B) and SystemTap.
More information about the improvements implemented in GCC 4.4 is available from the GCC website.

13.4 . GNU C Library (glibc)

The GNU C Library (glibc) packages contain the standard C libraries used by multiple programs on
Red Hat Enterprise Linux. These packages contains the standard C and the standard math libraries.
Without these two libraries, the Linux system cannot function properly.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features version 2.11 of glibc, providing many features and
enhancements, including:
An enhanced dynamic memory allocation (malloc) behaviour enabling higher scalability across
many sockets and cores. This is achieved by assigning threads their own memory pools and by
avoiding locking in some situations. The amount of additional memory used for the memory pools
(if any) can be controlled using the environment variables MALLOC_ARENA_TEST and
MALLOC_ARENA_MAX. MALLOC_ARENA_TEST specifies that a test for the number of cores is
performed once the number of memory pools reaches this value. MALLOC_ARENA_MAX sets the
maximum number of memory pools used, regardless of the number of cores.
Improved efficiency when using condition variables (condvars) with priority inheritance (PI)
mutual exclusion (mutex) operations by utilizing support in the kernel for PI fast userspace
mutexes.
Optimized string operations on the x86_64 architecture.

26

1 4 . Int eroperabilit y

The g etad d ri nfo () function now has support for the D atagram Congestion Control Protocol
(D CCP) and the UD P-Lite protocol. Additionally, g etad d ri nfo () now has the ability to look up
IPv4 and IPv6 addresses simultaneously.

13.5. GNU Project debugger (GDB)

The GNU Project debugger (normally referred to as GD B) debugs programs written in C, C++, and
other languages by executing them in a controlled fashion, and then printing out their data. Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 6 features version 7.0 of GD B.
Pyt h o n Scrip t in g
This updated version of GD B introduces the new Python API, allowing GD B to be automated using
scripts written in the Python Programming Language.
One notable feature of the Python API is the ability to format GD B output (normally referred to as
pretty-printing) using Python scripts. Previously, pretty-printing in GD B was configured using a
standard set of print settings. The ability to create custom pretty-printer scripts gives the user control
of the way GD B displays information for specific applications. Red Hat Enterprise Linux will ship with
a complete suite of pretty-printer scripts for the GNU Standard C++ Library (lib st d c+ + ).
En h an ced C + + su p p o rt
Support for the C++ programming language in GD B has been improved. Notable improvements
include:
Many improvements to expression parsing.
Better handling of type names.
The need for extraneous quoting has nearly been eliminated
" next" and other stepping commands work properly even when the inferior throws an exception.
GD B has a new " catch syscall" command. This can be used to stop the inferior whenever it makes
a system call.
In d ep en d en t t h read d eb u g g in g
Thread execution now permits debugging threads individually and independently of each other;
enabled by new settings " set target-async" and " set non-stop" .

14 . Int eroperabilit y
14 .1. Samba
Samba is a suite of programs which use NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) to enable the sharing of files,
printers and other information (such as directories of available files and printers). This package
provides a Server Message Block or SMB server (also known as a Common Internet File System or
CIFS server) which can provide network services to SMB/CIFS clients.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 provides the following significant enhancements to Samba:
Internet Protocol version 6 support (IPv6)
Support for Windows 2008 (R2) trust relationships.

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Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

Support for Windows 7 domain members.

Support for Active D irectory LD AP signing/sealing policy.
Improvements for libsmbclient
Better support for Windows management tools (mmc and User Manager)
Automatic machine password changes as domain member
New registry based configuration layer
Encrypted SMB transport between Samba client and server
Full support for Windows cross-forest, transitive trusts and one-way domain trusts
New NetApi remote management and winbind client C libraries
A new graphical user interface for joining Windows D omains

Further Reading
Refer to the D eployment Guide for futher information on Samba configuration on Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 6.

15. Virt ualiz at ion

15.1. Kernel-based Virt ual Machine
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 includes full support for the Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) hypervisor
on the AMD 64 and Intel 64 architectures. KVM is integrated into the Linux kernel, providing a
virtualization platform that takes advantage of the stability, features, and hardware support inherent
in Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

1 5 .1 .1 . Me m o ry e nhance m e nt s
Transparent Hugepages increase the memory page size from 4 kilobytes to 2 megabytes.
Transparent Hugepages provide significant performance advantages on systems with highly
contended resources and large memory workloads. Additionally, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
provides support for utilizing Transparent Hugepages with KSM.
Extended Page Table age bits enables a host to make smarter choices for swapping memory
under memory pressure and allows swapping of Transparent Hugepages by breaking the
extended pages into smaller pages.

1 5 .1 .2 . Virt ualize d CPU fe at ure s

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 supports up to 64 virtualized CPUs for a single virtualized guest.
CPU extensions present on the host processor can now be utilized by virtualized guests. Support
for these instruction sets allow virtualized guests to take advantage of modern processor
instruction sets and hardware features.

28

1 5. Virt ualiz at ion

The new x2api c virtual Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) improves virtualized
x86 _6 4 guest performance by allowing direct guest APIC access and removing the overhead of
emulated access.
New user space notifiers allow the caching of CPU registers, avoiding the computationally
expensive actions of preserving register states of unused components during context switches.
Read copy update (RCU) kernel locking is now uses enhanced symmetric multiprocessing
support. RCU kernel locking provides greater performance for networking functions and multiprocessing systems.

1 5 .1 .3. St o rage
The Q EMU emulated block driver features support for fully asynchronous I/O, pread v and
pwri tev functions. These functions increase performance for storage devices using the QEMU
emulated block driver.
The QEMU Monitor Protocol (QMP) allows applications to communicate with the QEMU Monitor
correctly. QEMU provides a text-based format that can be easily parsed and support for
asynchronous messages and capabilities negotiation.
Indirect ring entries (spin locks) for the para-virtualized (virt io ) driver improve block I/O
performance and allows more concurrent I/O operations.
Virtualized storage devices can now be added and removed (hot plugged) from guests during
runtime.
Support for block alignment storage topology awareness. Underlying storage hardware features
and physical storage sector sizes (for example, 4KB sectors) are presented to guests. This feature
requires compatible storage device information and commands. Guest topology awareness
allows virtualized guests to optimize file system layouts and improved performance of
applications using I/O optimizations.
Performance enhancements for the qcow2 virtualized image format.

1 5 .1 .4 . Ne t wo rking
The vh o st - n et feature moves various network functions from the QEMU user space into the
kernel. vh o st - n et uses fewer context switches and vmexit calls. These enhancements improve
performance of SR-IOV devices, directly assigned network device and other network devices.
MSI-X support which increases the number of interrupts available to network devices. MSI-X
support increases the performance of compatible hardware.
Virtualized network devices can now be hot plugged and hot removed from running guests.
Network boot using gpxe fora more advanced PXE network booting.

1 5 .1 .5 . Ke rne l Sam e Page Me rging

The KVM hypervisor in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features Kernel SamePage Merging (KSM), allowing
KVM guests to share identical memory pages. Page sharing reduces memory duplication and makes
running more similar guest operating systems on a given host practical.

1 5 .1 .6 . PCI passt hro ugh

PCI passthrough (direct assignment) devices can now be hot plugged and hot removed from running
guests.

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Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

1 5 .1 .7 . SR-IOV
SR-IOV now supports a raw socket mode. Previously networking interrupts were handled through
software bridging in tap mode. SR-IOV supports assigning logical network interfaces to guests.
SR-IOV, previously, did not support migration. The vhost-net abstraction provides SR-IOV with
transparent assignment and allows migration with non-identical systems.

1 5 .1 .8 . virt io -se rial

The para-virtualized serial device (virtio-serial) provides a simple communication interface between
the host's user space and the guest's user space. virtio-serial can be used for communication where
networking is not be available or unusable.

1 5 .1 .9 . sVirt
sVirt is a new feature included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0 that integrates SELinux and
virtualization. sVirt applies Mandatory Access Control (MAC) to improve security when using
virtualized guests. sVirt improves security and hardens the system against bugs in the hypervisor
that might be used as an attack vector for the host or to another virtualized guest.

1 5 .1 .1 0 . Migrat io n
Guest ABI stability provides enhanced migration support. Guests PCI device numbers are
preserved during migration and identical PCI device positions are presented after migrating the
guest.
Migration now accounts for CPU models. CPU models allow guests to take advantage of new
processor instruction sets. Guests can be migrated to hosts with a compatible CPU model.
The vhost-net feature allows guests using SR-IOV to migrate to non-identical host configurations
that also use SR-IOV devices.
Enhancements to the migration protocol.

1 5 .1 .1 1 . Gue st de vice ABI st abilit y

As part of the new qdev device model, the guest ABI is now stable and will be kept consistent for
newer releases. The devices and device arrangements on guests will remain consistent in future
updates. This feature resolves issues with some operating system activation processes.

Note
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 includes components providing functionality for the Simp le
Pro t o co l f o r In d ep en d en t C o mp u t in g En viro n men t s ( SPIC E) remote display protocol.
These components are only supported for use in conjunction with Red Hat Enterprise
Virtualization products and are not guaranteed to have a stable ABI. The components will be
updated to synchronize with functional requirements of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization
products. Migration to future releases may require manual operations on a per-system basis.

15.2. Xen

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1 6 . Support abilit y and Maint enance

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is supported as a Xen guest for the x86 and the AMD 64 and Intel 64
architectures. The para-virtualized operations (pv-ops) are included in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 kernel. The default Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 kernel can be used as a Xen para-virtualized guest
and as a Xen full virtualized guest on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 hosts. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
includes the para-virtualized drivers for fully virtualized Xen guest installations.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is not supported as a Xen host.

Further Reading
The Virtualization Guide details the process to install, configure and manage the virtualization
technologies in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

15.3. virt -v2v

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features the new vi rt-v2v tool, enabling system administrators to
convert and import virtual machines created on other systems such as Xen and VMware ESX. vi rtv2v provides a migration path for Xen guests running on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 hypervisor.

16. Support abilit y and Maint enance

16.1. first aidkit Syst em Recovery T ool
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 includes the new fi rstai d ki t system recovery tool. By automating
common recovery processes, fi rstai d ki t provides an interactive environment to assists in the
troubleshooting and recovery of a system that boots incorrectly. Additionally, system administrators
are able to create custom automated recovery processes using the fi rstai d ki t plugin
infrastructure.

Important
fi rstai d ki t is considered a Technology Preview in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

16.2. Bug Report ing

1 6 .2 .1 . Inst allat io n Crash Re po rt ing
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features enhanced installation crash reporting in the installer. Refer to
Section 2.4, Installation Crash Reporting

16.3. Aut omat ed Bug Report ing T ool

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features the new Automated Bug Reporting Tool (ABRT). ABRT logs
details of software crashes on a local system, and provides interfaces (both graphical and command
line based) to instantly open a ticket in the Red Hat Bugzilla bug tracking website.

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Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

Fig u re 12. Au t o mat ed B u g R ep o rt in g T o o l

17. Web Servers and Services

17.1. Apache HT T P Web Server
The Apache HTTP Server is a robust, commercial-grade open source Web server. Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 6 includes the Apache HTTP Server 2.2.15 as well as a number of server modules designed to
enhance its functionality.
Apache in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features support for the Server Name Indication (SNI) protocol,
which enables name-based virtual hosting over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connections.
Additionally, support for the Web Server Gateway Interface (WSGI) has been added to Apache for this
release, enabling the use of python web application frameworks that implement the WSGI standard.

17.2. PHP: Hypert ext Preprocessor (PHP)

PHP is an HTML-embedded scripting language commonly used with the Apache HTTP Web server. In
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, PHP now supports the Alternative PHP Cache (APC).

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1 8 . Dat abases

17.3. memcached
memcached is a high-performance distributed object caching server that is designed to increase the
performance of dynamic web applications by reducing database load. memcached is a new feature
in this release, and provides bindings for C, PHP, Perl and Python programming languages.

18. Dat abases

18.1. Post greSQL
PostgreSQL is an advanced Object-Relational database management system (D BMS). The
postgresql packages include the client programs and libraries needed to access a PostgreSQL
D BMS server.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 features version 8.4 of PostgreSQL

18.2. MySQL
MySQL is a multi-user, multi-threaded SQL database server. It consists of the MySQL server daemon
(mysqld) and many client programs and libraries.
This release features version 5.1 of MySQL. For a list of all enhancements that this version provides,
refer to the MySQL Release Notes

19. Archit ect ure Specific Not es

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is architecturally complete, and all supported architectures are now
available.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 will not provide support for the Intel Itanium architecture. All Itaniumrelated development will be incorporated into Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 exclusively. Through March
2014, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 will provide support, deliver new features, and enable new Itanium
hardware in accordance with the published Red Hat Enterprise Linux product life-cycle. In addition,
extended support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 for Itanium is available up to March 2017 from
selected OEMs.
On the POWER architecture, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 requires a POWER6 or higher CPU.
POWER5 processors are not supported on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

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Red Hat Ent erprise Linux 6 6 .0 Release Not es

A. Revision Hist ory

R evisio n 1- 1
Wed Feb 25 2015
Adding metadata to improve document display on the portal.

Lau ra B ailey

R evisio n 1- 0
Wed Au g 12 2010
Initial version of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Release Notes

R yan Lerch

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