Bol released version of Rocky Linux 9.7, aimed at creating a free build of RHEL that can replace classic CentOS. The distribution is binary compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and can be used as a replacement for RHEL 9.7 and CentOS 9 Stream. Support for the Rocky Linux 9 branch will continue until May 31, 2032. Installation ISO images of Rocky Linux are prepared for the x86_64, aarch64, ppc64le and s390x (IBM Z) architectures. Additionally, live builds with GNOME, KDE, Cinnamon, and Xfce desktops are available for the x86_64 architecture. The Rocky Linux 10.1 update, based on the RHEL 10 branch, was released last week.
As in classic CentOS, the changes made in Rocky Linux packages are aimed at removing ties to the Red Hat brand and eliminating RHEL-specific packages such as redhat-*, insights-client, and subscription-manager-migration*. Otherwise, changes in Rocky Linux 9.7 correspond to changes in RHEL 9.7.
Among the features specific to Rocky Linux, it is worth noting the provision in a separate plus repository of openldap 2.6.8, iftop 1.0, and nmon 16q packages, as well as the NFV repository for virtualizing network components, developed by the NFV SIG group (Network Functions Virtualization). Rocky Linux also supports CRB repositories (Code Ready Builder with additional packages for developers, replacing PowerTools), RT (real-time operation packages), HighAvailability, ResilientStorage, SAP, and SAPHANA (packages for SAP HANA). An experimental package with the Linux kernel — kernel-uki is also supplied, providing a unified UKI (Unified Kernel Image) signed with a separate key for SecureBoot.
As a source of source packages for building Rocky Linux 9.7, the OpenELA repository is used, supported jointly with Oracle and SUSE. The changes in the development process are due to Red Hat's cessation of providing the source texts of RHEL rpm packages in the public repository git.centos.org. Source packages are provided to customers through a restricted section of the company's website, where a user agreement (EULA) prohibits redistribution of this data, preventing the use of these packages for creating derivative distributions. Source texts remain available in the CentOS Stream repository, but it is not fully synchronized with RHEL, and not always the latest versions of packages match those from RHEL.
Distribúcia Rocky Linux sa vyvíja pod záštitou organizácie Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF), ktorá je registrovaná ako nezisková organizácia (Public Benefits Corporation). Majiteľom organizácie je Gregory Kurtzer, zakladateľ CentOS, ale riadiace funkcie sú podľa prijatého štatútu delegované na správnu radu, ktorú volia členovia komunity zapojení do projektu. Paralelne bola vytvorená komerčná spoločnosť Ctrl IQ na rozvoj rozšírených produktov založených na Rocky Linux a na podporu komunity vývojárov tejto distribúcie, ktorá získala investície vo výške 26 miliónov dolárov. Na vývoji a financovaní projektu sa podieľajú aj také spoločnosti ako Google, Amazon Web Services, GitLab, MontaVista, 45Drives, OpenDrives a NAVER Cloud.
Zdroj: opennet.ru
