Linux – How to Update Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 using CentOS Repos

You can use the lsb_release command on various Linux distributions:

lsb_release -i -r 

This will tell you the Distribution and Version and is a little bit more accurate than accessing files that may or may not have been modified by the admin or a software package. As well as working across multiple distros.

For RHEL, you should use:

cat /etc/redhat-release

https://access.redhat.com/discussions/3106621#comment-1196821

Don't forget that you might need to reboot because of core library updates, at least if it is glibc. (And also, services may need to be restarted after updates).

If you install the yum-utils package, you can use a command called needs-restarting.

You can use it both for checking if a full reboot is required because of kernel or core libraries updates (using the -r option), or what services need to be restarted (using the -s option).

needs-restarting -r returns 0 if reboot is not needed, and 1 if it is, so it is perfect to use in a script.

An example:

root@server1:~> needs-restarting  -r ; echo $?
Core libraries or services have been updated:
  openssl-libs -> 1:1.0.1e-60.el7_3.1
  systemd -> 219-30.el7_3.9

Reboot is required to ensure that your system benefits from these updates.

More information:
https://access.redhat.com/solutions/27943
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