=== Current Active Kernel ===
The following command shows the current active kernel!
<sxh bash>
uname -r
</sxh>
Output example:
<sxh bash>
# uname -r
2.6.32-696.3.1.el6.x86_64
</sxh>
\\
=== Latest Installed ===
There may be an installed kernel on the device that is NOT active (reboot required). You should run the following command to check installed kernels, and then compare the installed kernel to the active kernel method shown above. 
<sxh bash>
rpm -q kernel
</sxh>
Example output:
<sxh bash>
# rpm -q kernel
kernel-2.6.32-696.1.1.el6.x86_64
kernel-2.6.32-696.3.1.el6.x86_64
kernel-2.6.32-696.3.2.el6.x86_64
</sxh>
\\
\\
**__WARNING__**: Please note, the kernel may be excluded from yum updates in /etc/yum.conf. Another command useful for exploring the latest kernel and avoiding the excludes can be found below:
\\
=== Latest Available ===
<sxh bash>
yum list update kernel -q --disableexcludes=all 2>&1
</sxh>
Example output:
<sxh bash>
# yum list update kernel -q --disableexcludes=all 2>&1
Installed Packages
kernel.x86_64                                                                                2.6.32-696.1.1.el6                                                                                 @rhel-x86_64-server-6
kernel.x86_64                                                                                2.6.32-696.3.1.el6                                                                                 @rhel-x86_64-server-6
kernel.x86_64                                                                                2.6.32-696.3.2.el6                                                                                 @rhel-x86_64-server-6
</sxh>