Overview
* Virtual machine image for North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.
* Direct support from Red Hat
* Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) eligible.
* Red Hat Hybrid Committed Spend eligible
* Flexible pricing options available via Private Offers. Contact your Red Hat account team or partner for more information.
Need to move fast in the cloud? Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for AWS is your launchpad for building and scaling applications with speed and confidence. Pre-tuned for AWS and deeply integrated with services like CloudWatch and the AWS CLI, it delivers a ready-to-use experience that helps you hit the ground running without extra setup or configuration. Trusted by 90%* of the Fortune 500, RHEL provides a consistent, secure foundation across AWS, hybrid, and on-prem environments. Whether you're deploying one instance or scaling across regions, get started with Pay As You Go and start building on a platform designed for performance and peace of mind.
RHEL for AWS is an optimized Red Hat Enterprise Linux offering designed specifically for AWS environments. It includes built-in features and integrations that streamline performance, management, and security, such as:
* Pre-configured AWS-specific performance profiles for faster, consistent deployments
* Elastic Network Adapter (ENA) support for enhanced network performance
* Integrated AWS CLI and CloudWatch telemetry for seamless observability and management
* Red Hat Insights for proactive monitoring and intelligent issue resolution across hybrid environments
* Immutable image mode and container-native tooling to simplify cloud-native development and reduce attack surfaces
* Optional automated updates and rollbacks for faster operations with reduced risk
* Leverage RHEL as a trusted AI foundation with an extensive ecosystem of trusted partners and tools.
For Procurement
* Take advantage of your existing Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) when purchasing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, to optimize costs and spend down your commitment.
* Pay-as-you-go pricing is based on instance size and vCPU quantity. Discounted 1 & 3 year VM software reservation purchase options are also available.
* Flexible pricing options available via Private Offer. Please contact your Red Hat account team or Red Hat partner for more details.
For Developers
Build faster
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for AWS is optimized for speed and developer productivity. Pre-tuned images with AWS-specific performance profiles eliminate the need for manual configuration, so you can spend less time setting up and more time coding. Integrated toolchains, container runtimes, and cloud-native workflows help you build, test, and deploy applications faster directly within your AWS environment.
Streamline your workflows
Use RHEL for AWS's integrated AWS CLI to manage AWS services directly from your RHEL command line. System roles and automation integration with Red Hat Ansible® Automation Platform help standardize configurations across instances, saving time and reducing manual effort.
Support
Direct support from Red Hat's award-winning support team with 24x7 access for high-severity issues, and access to an extensive Knowledgebase and other tools in the Red Hat Customer Portal.
For System Admins and Corporate IT
Reduce risk
RHEL for AWS comes hardened with built-in security profiles, Secure Boot, and Confidential Compute to help safeguard your workloads from boot to runtime. Benefit from a trusted software supply chain and meet compliance mandates with confidence using a platform certified across major security standards.
Decrease downtime
Red Hat Insights continuously monitors your RHEL for AWS deployments and flags issues before they impact performance. Get real-time visibility into vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and drift, plus step-by-step remediation guidance, all from a centralized dashboard. Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorized, it's enterprise-ready out of the box.
Streamline management and automation
With deep integration into AWS services, RHEL for AWS enables you to manage cloud resources and infrastructure from a single interface. Automate patching, updates, and image lifecycle management using Red Hat Satellite and integrated telemetry from Amazon CloudWatch. Access decades of Red Hat's Linux expertise with RHEL Lightspeed, which uses AI to provide proactive guidance on building, deploying, and managing RHEL.
Highlights
- Protect your business with innovative, built-in capabilities. Red Hat Enterprise Linux also provides security technologies, controls, certifications, and the ongoing support of Red Hat to help safeguard your IT infrastructure and business.
- Gain enterprise workload consistency with a unified foundation. Red Hat Enterprise Linux delivers a consistent application and user experience regardless of the underlying infrastructure.
- Simplify management with integrated tools. Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers built-in manageability and integration with Red Hat management and automation products. Every active Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription includes access to Red Hat Insights.
Details
Unlock automation with AI agent solutions

Features and programs
Buyer guide

Financing for AWS Marketplace purchases
Pricing
- ...
Dimension | Cost/hour |
---|---|
m5.large Recommended | $0.03 |
t2.micro AWS Free Tier | $0.03 |
t3.micro AWS Free Tier | $0.03 |
r6a.24xlarge | $1.085 |
m7i.48xlarge | $1.92 |
m6i.16xlarge | $0.723 |
m5zn.12xlarge | $0.542 |
r6in.large | $0.03 |
h1.8xlarge | $0.362 |
r5dn.4xlarge | $0.181 |
Vendor refund policy
All fees are non-refundable
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Delivery details
64-bit (x86) Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
An AMI is a virtual image that provides the information required to launch an instance. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances are virtual servers on which you can run your applications and workloads, offering varying combinations of CPU, memory, storage, and networking resources. You can launch as many instances from as many different AMIs as you need.
Additional details
Usage instructions
- Launch the product via 1-Click or the marketplace listing.
- Access your instance using ssh
- Open an SSH client
- Locate your private key file that was used to launch this instance.
- Use the default username 'ec2-user' and the ssh key registered with AWS. Note that 'root' is disabled by default.
- You should regularly update the OS to apply security fixes and enhancements.
- To do this, run 'sudo yum -y update'
- For more information please see the Deploying Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Amazon Web Services documentation.
Resources
Support
Vendor support
Please create a case. Get answers quickly by opening a support case with us.
AWS infrastructure support
AWS Support is a one-on-one, fast-response support channel that is staffed 24x7x365 with experienced and technical support engineers. The service helps customers of all sizes and technical abilities to successfully utilize the products and features provided by Amazon Web Services.
Standard contract
Customer reviews
RHEL review from an MSP perspective
A robust operating system offering helpful insights and automation for building images
What is our primary use case?
My use case for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is for dockerization; I use it for Docker or Postman. We use it for microservices, for example, to install JBoss and deploy some applications and pipelines for processes such as CI/CD. A summary of what I do includes microservices for applications such as Tomcat or JBoss, or for microservices in Postman, and installing Jenkins and launching pipelines.
How has it helped my organization?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has helped reduce downtime and lower risks for me. There are rarely crashes or errors.
Image Builder or system roles feature is beneficial because it is a feature that allows you to create small images for what you need. With these images, you can go to a registry or whatever with VMware or KVM, and you can deploy them very quickly and efficiently. I tested it because it's better than having to install another machine all over again and losing much time. With Image Builder, you can create a small image tailored to your necessities. It is a good solution; you have to embrace automation, and the Image Builder helps you automate the creation of servers and images.
What is most valuable?
I appreciate all the Red Hat products available and the support provided when encountering any issues or needing help. You can open a case, and they answer very quickly.Â
The other reason is it is a very strong OS for your needs. For example, I work in a banking system and in a financial system, and all kinds of products that you have—the problems may come from development, not from the server or machine.
In the knowledge base of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I can find everything I need. I don't have to go elsewhere. There are some videos with practical advice, all in one place, and all for free. I'm very happy with this kind of resource and knowledge base.
I find Red Hat Insights very helpful and beneficial. In all IT departments worldwide, I find it important because when I call my colleagues or other companies, this is a very significant feature. Insights gives many opportunities, particularly regarding security, and provides more facilities to improve security in your servers. In my opinion, the most important security feature in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is Red Hat Insights. When you use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), you can install an agent in your Linux, and this agent runs on your Linux and gives you all the CVEs or security issues you have. For me, as an administrator, this is very helpful because with minimal clicks, I have the solutions and instructions on how to solve them. You only need to connect to Red Hat, and they provide a deployment, scan your machine, or all machines with Ansible, and give you a summary of your vulnerabilities, and you apply the solutions they provide.
What needs improvement?
The areas that have room for improvement in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) include having more case bases and possibly more forums or places. A community that is not just informal but rather official could be beneficial. Everything else is good.
I would suggest improving compatibility. Sometimes I find that Red Hat is not aligned with the rest of the world. They create their own solutions, such as Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, and OpenShift, which can be better than what others offer. This can be both good and bad, depending on the situation. On the positive side, their innovations can enhance the overall quality of the company’s offerings. On the downside, when you need certain images or components that deviate from industry standards, it can become confusing. I find it difficult to understand why they choose to differentiate themselves from the rest.Â
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been in IT for 24 years, working with Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for about 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is scalable for my business. It is very important, and I cannot imagine working without it.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the technical support of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have worked with Ubuntu and SUSE, but I prefer Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) because the support is better than others. All solutions, how the machine or OS works, and all the other products, for example, OpenShift, I appreciate. I feel very comfortable with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) because it is a solution based on CentOS and Fedora, and since my early career, I studied and learned in this distribution.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is very easy.
What was our ROI?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has saved me about 40% to 50% time.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) to other users; it depends on the company size. For medium and bigger companies, it is necessary because all the components needed, such as support and stability, are available. I cannot help much with the pricing because I do not work with licenses; this comes from another department. I discuss with my boss about how many machines or servers we need, and they coordinate with the commercials. I do not have information about whether it is cheaper or expensive, but I hear that they are very comfortable depending on how you deal with them.Â
I would rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
RHEL Experience
Supports long-term industry migrations and improves infrastructure versatility across consulting services
What is our primary use case?
My main use cases for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Â are that it has been part of our core delivery solutions for many industries, mostly for telecom.
What is most valuable?
The features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Â that I find most valuable include all of the features since system V.Â
In my organization, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) provides an agnostic interface for many storage vendors that we deal with, which helps us to have a wider spectrum of offerings in our consultancy offerings.
What needs improvement?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) can be improved by adopting a feature similar to YaST from a big European competitor, which would significantly enhance Red Hat technologies.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) since 2005 when it was in release four, which makes it 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would assess the stability and reliability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as favorable, noting that during the last five years, we've experienced fewer crashes and downtimes compared to other commercial Unix and Linux distributions in the market.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) scales excellently with the growing needs of my organization, and I would rate it ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
I evaluate customer service and tech support as excellent; with either the partner portal or customer portal, we receive very good RCAs and analyses for any case we submit to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). On a scale of one to ten, I would rate customer service and technical support as ten out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to adopting Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I was using Commercial Unix, Oracle Solaris . The factor that led me to change was that during the last decades, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has absorbed many features straight from Solaris, enabling us to perform effective migrations from Commercial Unix to RHEL.
How was the initial setup?
At the very beginning, at the earliest versions of Red Hat since version six, there was a kernel that was not compatible with many cluster vendors, and that's why we were adopting another vendor of Linux. However, we've seen that during these past years, Red Hat has been experiencing a lot of enhancements overcoming these kinds of barriers. And now Red Hat has become more versatile in accepting more hardware that allows us to standardize our Red Hat offerings in our consultancy services.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). For data points, in one of the key industries I handle, which is telecom, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has been one of the key strategic providers offering a good price to implement automation and containerization across all of the network elements we manage with several vendors, and in the latest five years, we have observed a good investment return in terms of ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that I strongly believe Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) offers a good relationship between value and price, and despite it being quite pricey, it's definitely worth it.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before selecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I considered SLES, which is a competitor of Red Hat.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to other organizations considering Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is to have a good plan and to establish the relationship as a key strategic reference for any upcoming migration. The partnership and customer support provided is a high-value option. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has helped mitigate downtime and lower risk through high availability solutions and key features that enable network redundancy, allowing us to achieve this.Â
I would assess the knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as excellent because it has become one of the key standards in the industry for following guidelines according to any topic in the RHEL environment.Â
On a scale of one to ten, I rate this solution an eight.
Enables consistent networking performance and increases uptime while supporting collaborative problem-solving
What is our primary use case?
My main use cases for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)  are Virtual Desktop  Interface (VDI ) for the server, supporting Telco work workflows, manufacturing software for manufacturing, and travel software. I have a huge base for what we're targeting around AWS or Red Hat solutions.
What is most valuable?
I favor the network manager feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Â ; I appreciate the versatility and flexibility of network manager. I appreciate that we can make super-fast modifications to networking solutions, and I value the support for IPv6.Â
I also value the support for working with the community very specifically. Bringing the solutions we need for customer problems to reality tends to result from our conversations with Red Hat. Normally, if I need help making a customer experience better, I can have a conversation with the business teams at Red Hat, and then we can find a collaborative solution.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has helped to mitigate downtime and lower risk; although it's hard for me to say that I really understand it outside of an analyst report, I can say that I truly believe it has increased uptime based on my experience.Â
There's a consistency, and my example is that I trust the kernel and the quality engineering, which leads me to more favorable results in places where other distributions might make changes that slow down my networking or storage network in unpredictable ways.
What needs improvement?
For a new release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), the main improvement could be in the pricing models, particularly understanding how to better present those pricing models in a more predictable manner. It is very difficult from a partner perspective to figure out how to position software to a customer when the pricing may or may not be competitive, so that's my biggest 'how could I fix this?' question.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for 25 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
When assessing the stability and reliability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I can say that on every operating system, there are always exceptions and new issues to fix.Â
However, if I have software validated for RHEL, I know I can expect a certain level of certainty that issues will be ones that have either never been seen before or are the result of our new approaches.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) by itself scales incredibly. However, the problem tends to arise where increased consumption raises total costs.Â
As the total cost increases across the operating system distribution, my requirements for support decrease, making it difficult to gauge a return on investment, which complicates the situation for me as a representative of an entire fleet.
How are customer service and support?
I would evaluate customer service and technical support as generally positive; I've never had a problem with my support. Sometimes, individual support agents might not know what they're discussing or misunderstand the question, possibly due to my clarity or other factors. I would say that it is at least at the same level or better than any support group I've ever engaged with in technology.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to adopting Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), I was using another solution within the RHEL family. I often test workloads using Fedora or CentOSÂ as a foundation and then move those production workloads to Red Hat.
How was the initial setup?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been confusing; it feels different every time. The complications often arise from being unable to predict exactly what is necessary for a deployment, as the build-out and sales cycles are significantly more complex.
What was our ROI?
I have most definitely seen a return on investment with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL); I don't think my job would exist if there wasn't a return on investment.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
By policy, I am required to use Amazon Linux for everything, however, by necessity, I am replacing that with Red Hat solutions where we have space during my evaluation process.
What other advice do I have?
My business relationship with Red Hat is that I am a Partner.
The knowledge base offered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is still hard to search, but I recognize that AI is probably making that easier during this period. I think Lightspeed is an important part of our structure for interacting with the knowledge base information, and I look forward to making that work better.
I typically advise other organizations considering Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) by asking how important their workload is to them. I question what happens if it goes down and how much time they have to spend fixing it. If they value that aspect, then it's their choice to determine their path.Â
My biggest question often relates to how much they would pay to replace the community, and if they are willing to understand the significant number of partners and open-source champions contributing to Red Hat, they will see how that community cannot be replaced in terms of how software fits their business needs.
I rate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) ten out of ten.