How do I exclude Kernel or other packages from getting updated in RHEL while updating system via yum?

Excluding  Kernel or other packages from getting updated in RHEL while updating system via yum

The up2date command in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 excludes kernel updates by default. The yum in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5  includes kernel updates by default.

 To skip installing or updating kernel or other packages while using the yum update utility in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and 6 use following options:

 Temporary solution via Command line:

 # yum update --exclude=PACKAGENAME

For example, to exclude all kernel related packages:

# yum update --exclude=kernel*

To make permanent changes, edit the /etc/yum.conf file and following entries to it:

[main]
cachedir=/var/cache/yum/$basearch/$releasever
keepcache=0
debuglevel=2
logfile=/var/log/yum.log
exclude=kernel* redhat-release*                           <====

NOTE: If there are multiple package to be excluded then separate them using a single space or comma. Also, do not add multiple 

exclude= lines in the configuration file because yum only considers the last exclude entry.

To exclude 32 bit packages edit /etc/yum.conf file.

exclude=*.i?86 *.i686