Overview

When a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) version reaches End of Maintenance Phase and transitions to Extended Life Phase, it is possible to extend support by purchasing Extended Life Support (ELS). ELS delivers certain critical-impact security fixes, selected urgent priority bug fixes, and troubleshooting for the last minor release of a given version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The ELS Add-On applies to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux version currently in the ELS phase.  However, it is strongly recommended to migrate to a newer supported version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. 

Details

If a user must stay on an older version of RHEL, then they must purchase a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-On subscription and a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Standard (or Premium) subscription to continue to receive packages. THE ELS add-on software is not part of the University Site Subscription, which is self-support, and unfortunately cannot be added unless you uplift the RHEL license to at least Standard Support. RHEL Standard support subscriptions are available on an annual subscription basis. It is possible to purchase through end of the Extended Life Phase.  Please contact the Satellite team or your partner for pricing.

Each subscription + ELS covers either:

1. Two RHEL virtual instances
2. or up to two sockets on a physical host.

Here is Red Hat's documentation on RHEL lifecycle: https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata

Request process

1. Get a quote for both Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-On subscription AND a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Standard subscription. Each subscription will cover either two (2) virtual hosts or a single (1) physical host.
2. Customer should provide the quote to the Information Security Office and file an exception, https://security.utexas.edu/policies/exception. 
3. The Information Security Office will verify that the license will cover the duration of their requested exception. Once approved, the customer can then purchase the license quoted. 

Please read the KB Article KB0019001 Purchasing and Licensing Additional Red Hat Software for additional information.