In Brief: an atomic distribution based on AlmaLinux (an unrestricted Enterprise-class Linux distribution).
Some insights from FAQ
What is HeliumOS?
It is an atomic operating system for desktop computers built on AlmaLinux, inheriting its stability, security, and compatibility with the Enterprise Linux ecosystem.
What does HeliumOS offer?
GNOME, a Flatpak package manager, and 10 years of support that will last the entire lifecycle of your computer.
Why is it called ‘atomic’?
System updates are distributed through OCI-compatible images BootC. As a result, even if the power is cut during an update, it will not affect the system's operability.
Comparison with other distributions
Ubuntu
Unlike Ubuntu, HeliumOS does not use snap packages and belongs to a family of distributions based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Alpine
Fedora and the project Universal Blue offer atomic operating systems based on Fedora; however, Fedora's lifecycle is 13 months, while HeliumOS is supported for 10 years.
AlmaLinux
HeliumOS is directly based on AlmaLinux and utilizes many of its components, but unlike AlmaLinux, HeliumOS is designed to provide an atomic operating system for desktop computers suitable for all users.
Now some insights into the creation of the distribution from its creator, published in Alma's blog:
My goal is to create a Linux operating system for desktop computers that is user-friendly, stable, and reliable.
Initially, I used Debian for this purpose, but encountered some issues:
- Debian is supported for 3-5 years, and while it is quite stable compared to other distributions, I wanted something more stable.
- Unexpected interruption during a traditional package update in Linux can result in the system failing to boot or functioning incorrectly.
A couple of months ago, I learned about Image mode for RHEL — a new deployment method for RHEL that uses OCI images for updates. Switching to Enterprise Linux and using BootC (the technology behind Image mode for RHEL) would resolve both issues I found in Debian. Overall, after a series of experiments, we announced the alpha version of HeliumOS based on CentOS Stream.
Despite addressing several issues, the transition to CentOS Stream led to new ones:
- CentOS Stream is a rolling release, which can complicate the support of programs or drivers that require a specific kernel version, for example.
- CentOS Stream is supported for only 5 years, which may be acceptable in some cases, but limits the use of HeliumOS in situations where longer support is required.
It's clear that switching to an Enterprise Linux distribution with fixed updates, such as AlmaLinux, would resolve both issues.
Through collaboration in chats with the teams from AlmaLinux and Fedora, we set up workflows to create bootable AlmaLinux images, so updates and new releases of HeliumOS will be delivered via bootable images obtained from AlmaLinux.
The bright face of the chief developer: Isaac Beverly
Source: linux.org.ru
