[ANNOUNCE] SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 RC2 is out!

[SUSE Beta Program]

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 - the RC2 Milestone has been
achieved!

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 16.1 Release Candidate 2 (RC2) is
now available. This is an intermediate milestone on the road to
General Availability.

What's changed since RC1

Between RC1 and RC2, the following has moved forward:

- 1,862 updated binary packages, built from 243 changed source
packages
- 721 security fixes, made up of 185 kernel CVEs and 536 userspace
patches
- 822 feature and bug fixes, closing 24 tracked feature requests and
798 issue tickets
- Supported architectures remain x86-64, aarch64, ppc64le, and
s390x

As always with an RC toolchain shift, we'd ask ISVs, container
maintainers, and hardware partners to re-test their workloads
against this build when they get a chance.

A few things worth knowing about

Kernel: updated with upstream fixes, bringing the CVE fixes, some
hardware enablement work, such as, the enablement for Fujitsu MONAKA
platform, architectural groundwork for future SGI UV systems, and a
few ARM64 improvements (e.g. Memory Tagging Extension support for
hugetlb, batched TLB flush optimizations, and TLBI errata
mitigations for Microsoft Azure Cobalt 100 ARM CPUs).

Toolchain: the default C/C++ runtime across all four architectures
is now GCC 16.1.1. Core base runtime libraries (libgcc_s1,
libstdc++6, libgomp1, libatomic1) have moved over, and GCC 15
side-by-side runtimes (like libstdc++6-gcc15) stay installed so
existing compiled binaries keep running. Worth flagging: every
container base image and third-party binary built against SLES 16.1
inherits this ABI shift, which is part of why we're asking for early
re-testing.

Security roll-up: 536 non-kernel CVEs addressed this round,
including curl 8.21.0 (24 CVEs around connection-reuse
vulnerability classes and host credential protection), OpenSSL
3.5.0 (the "HollowByte" memory allocation DoS issue, bsc#1271712),
and glibc 2.40 (critical resolv buffer overread fixes for
CVE-2026-6238 and CVE-2026-5435, plus new POWER10-optimized
string comparison routines).

Developer runtimes refreshed: Go 1.26 (with point updates across
legacy streams; FIPS-capable -openssl variants aligned directly
with upstream point releases), Rust 1.96.0 with matching cargo
tooling, Python 3.14.6, Node.js 24.18.0, Ruby 3.4.10 (with
ruby-common 4.0.0), and PHP 8.5.8.

Installer: the Agama installer (version 23) brings improved
CPU/memory detection on s390x, expanded VLAN/IP configuration,
asynchronous storage D-Bus initialization, and updated CLI shell
completions.

SAP migration: re-added migrate-sles-to-sles4sap tool supports
in-place migration from SLES 16.1 to SLES for SAP Applications 16.1.

High Availability: LVS load balancer support is re-introduced via
ldirectord and ipvsadm.

SELinux: the policy module store relocates from /var/lib/selinux to
/etc/selinux, with the migration executed safely during package
transaction phases to prevent system stranding on unexpected
interruptions.

Try it out!

RC2 is available for testing across public cloud providers, download
portals, and container registries. We encourage our user base and
partner ecosystem to deploy this candidate, validate workloads, and
report any findings through official support channels before we lock
things down for GA.

For more information about the SLES 16.1 Beta program, please visit
https://www.suse.com/betaprogram/sles16-beta .

As this is not a final release, please report bugs via bugzilla[1].

We will release the release candidates publicly and finally we plan to
release the gold version in November 2026.

Known Issues

- BZ #1272636[2] - Kernel panic during mdadm hot swapping raid0/1

Download

The following beta products are available for download:

- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1[3]
- SUSE Linux Enterprise for SAP applications 16.1[4]
- SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.1[5]

SLE Beta Subscription and Registration Code

Please note that your regular SLE key will not activate the beta
environment. A special Beta Registration Code is required to access
the SUSE Linux Enterprise 16 beta online channels and repositories
within the SUSE Customer Center. Without this code, you will not be
able to access the beta content.

To obtain a Beta Registration Code and unlock your Beta Subscription,
please submit a request to beta-programs at suse.com. When
requesting, specify the desired products (SLES 16.1, SLES for SAP
16.1, SLE HA 16.1, or all) and the relevant architectures.

Documentation

Draft release notes are currently available:

- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1: susedoc.github.io/release-notes/sles-16.1/html/release-notes/

- SUSE Linux Enterprise for SAP Applications 16.1: susedoc.github.io/release-notes/slesap-16.1/html/release-note
s/[6]

- SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.1: susedoc.github.io/release-notes/sleha-16.1/html/release-notes
/[7]


Draft product documentation can be found at
susedoc.github.io/#sles16

The beta allows for both online and offline installation using the
Agama installer. More details are available at
agama-project.github.io[8]

Please be aware that documentation for the beta is still under
development, and not all content is finalized or available yet.

Questions?

For additional details, please consult the dedicated Beta
webpage[9].

If you want to contact us for any inquiry, we are at your disposal via
email at beta-programs at suse.com.

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Team.

Your SUSE Linux Enterprise team

Click here to unsubscribe[10]


[1]:https://bugzilla.suse.com/enter_bug.cgi?product=SUSE%20Li
nux%20Enterprise%20Server%2016.1

[2]:https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1272636
[3]:https://www.suse.com/download/sles/
[4]:https://www.suse.com/download/sle-sap/
[5]:https://www.suse.com/download/sle-ha/
[6]:https://susedoc.github.io/release-notes/slesap-16.1/html/
release-notes/index.html

[7]:https://susedoc.github.io/release-notes/sleha-16.1/html/r
elease-notes/index.html

[8]:https://agama-project.github.io/
[9]:https://www.suse.com/betaprogram/sles16-beta
[10]:mailto:sle-beta-leave at lists.suse.com?subject=Unsubscribe
%20from%20SLES%20Public%20Beta%20Program&body=Unsubscribe%20f
rom%20SLES%20Public%20Beta%20Program

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