Knowing the current version of the kernel on a Linux system is very important for several reasons - one being when adding modules to the kernel. Well, it's no big deal in retrieving this information. Here are four ways to glean this information:
1) $ uname -r
- This command is going to spit out exactly what you need. Just add water and stir (i.e. just type in the command, and press ENTER).
2) $ cat /proc/version
- This command is going to provide you with a little bit more than the Linux kernel version, but it certainly won't be hard to identify kernel version information
3) $ hostnamectl
- You probably weren't expecting to see this one, because you've used it primarily when managing hostname information for a Linux system. Well, in addition to that duty, it also provides the version of the Linux kernel. In the 16 lines of information that it provides, just look for the line that begins with the word "Kernel".
Note: The hostnamectl command is a component of systemd, which means that you'll have no trouble in using it on a RHEL system. However, as you've already assessed, this command is not available on a Linux system that is not using systemd. Just thought I'd through that in for those of you who "might" spend time with other distros.
4) $ dmesg | grep "Linux version"
- Because the dmesg command can spit out a lot of info, it might be a good idea to filter for "Linux version". This is not a requirement - just an efficiency suggestion.
Take your pick - the choice yours!!!
Trevor "Red Hat Evangelist" Chandler
