AlmaLinux 8.4 distribution released, synchronized with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4. Assemblies are prepared for the x86_64 architecture in the form of boot (709 MB), minimum (1.9 GB) and full image (9.8 GB). In the near future, it is also planned to publish builds for the ARM architecture.
The distribution is considered ready for production deployments and is completely identical to RHEL in functionality, with the exception of changes related to rebranding and removal of RHEL-specific packages such as redhat-*, insights-client and subscription-manager-migration*. Of the specific changes compared to the first release of AlmaLinux, the implementation of support for booting in UEFI Secure Boot mode, support for the OpenSCAP package, the creation of the devel repository, the addition of several new App Streams modules and updating the compilers used are noted.
The AlmaLinux distribution was founded by CloudLinux in response to the premature end of support for CentOS 8 by Red Hat (it was decided to stop releasing updates for CentOS 8 at the end of 2021, and not in 2029, as users expected). Despite the involvement of CloudLinux resources and developers, the project is overseen by a separate non-profit organization AlmaLinux OS Foundation, which was created to develop in a neutral platform with community participation. A million dollars a year has been allocated for the development of the project. All developments of AlmaLinux are published under free licenses.
The distribution develops in accordance with the principles of the classic CentOS, is formed through a rebuild of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 package base and retains full binary compatibility with RHEL, which allows it to be used as a transparent replacement for the classic CentOS 8. Updates for the AlmaLinux distribution branch based on the RHEL 8 package base , they promise to release until 2029. To migrate existing installations of CentOS 8 to AlmaLinux, just download and run a special script.
The distribution is free for all categories of users, developed with the involvement of the community and using a management model similar to the organization of the Fedora project. AlmaLinux is trying to find the optimal balance between corporate support and the interests of the community - on the one hand, the resources and developers of CloudLinux, which has extensive experience in supporting RHEL forks, are involved in the development, and on the other hand, the project is transparent and controlled by the community.
As alternatives to the old CentOS, in addition to AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and Oracle Linux are also positioned. In addition, Red Hat has made RHEL available free of charge to open source organizations and individual developer environments of up to 16 virtual or physical systems.
Source: opennet.ru