The Red Hat Enterprise Linux ( RHEL ) Confidential VM ( CVM ) image is a variant of RHEL tailored to run on Azure Confidential VMs. The image is based on RHEL Unified Kernel Image which is designed to provide strong boot time integrity protection using SecureBoot and Measured Boot technologies.

RHEL CVM provides data protection at runtime guarantees by enabling hardware technologies underpinning Azure Confidential VMs, as well as data protection at rest by supporting software based Confidential OS disk encryption for the whole VM disk.

RHEL CVM may be preferred over a standard RHEL image when strong confidentiality guarantees for the data stored and processed within the VM are required. The image targets workloads where security and compliance requirements mandate data confidentiality guarantees including isolation from the underlying cloud infrastructure.

While the image is mainly targeting Azure Confidential VMs and their features, it can also be run with Trusted Launch VMs and Standard Generation 2 VMs.Standard Generation 2 VMs.

More than 33,000 customers and 90%* of Fortune 500 companies rely on Red Hat ® Enterprise Linux ® ( RHEL ). This intelligent operating system (OS) serves as the consistent foundation across Microsoft Azure, on premise, hybrid and multicloud environments, all the way to the edge. Not only is Red Hat Enterprise Linux optimized for a cloud environment, but also designed to host your most critical workloads with reliability and security. Additionally, organizations can take advantage of their Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) when purchasing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, helping to optimize costs and spend down their commitments.

Why do organizations of all sizes around the world choose Red Hat Enterprise Linux ( RHEL )?

Reduce risk
Security resources and tooling: Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides built-in security features and security profiles to simplify the way organizations can reduce risk and maintain compliance. Security standards certification and a trusted software supply chain allow organizations to run their applications on Red Hat Enterprise Linux with confidence.

Build faster
Developer-friendly tools and features: Red Hat Enterprise Linux combines production stability with developer agility. It includes features that accelerate application development and deliver efficient and convenient access to reliable OS images in Azure. Toolchains, libraries, container tools, and runtimes are integrated into your Azure environment.

Avoid surprises
Integrated analytics and remediation: Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes Red Hat Insights, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering that collects analytics about each deployment to proactively identify and provide guidance for fixing issues. Red Hat Insights delivers continuous vulnerability alerts and targeted assistance to help organizations maximize uptime and avoid emergencies due to security issues, noncompliant settings, unpatched systems, and configuration drift. Additionally, Red Hat Insights is Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) approved.

Save time
Streamlined management and automation: Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes built-in workflow automation tools and integrates with Red Hat Ansible ® Automation Platform to help organizations administer their environments more efficiently and effectively. System roles, a collection of supported workflows included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, let organizations rapidly and consistently configure different Red Hat Enterprise Linux instances using the same automation playbooks.

Eliminate uncertainty
Long-term life cycle support and flexibility: Red Hat Enterprise Linux delivers flexible and stable performance, fulfilling business requirements with long-term life cycle support. Organizations can choose from multiple supported versions, upgrade on their schedule, and adopt new features as needed. Red Hat’s published, predictable release cadence provides up to 10 years of support for major releases and 2 years of support for minor releases, letting organizations plan for long-term success. Red Hat maintains a consistent kernel version for each major release and its associated minor releases, ensuring application and hardware stability for the entire release life cycle. Red Hat also provides in-place upgrade upgrade tools to help organizations upgrade to newer versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux more precisely.