AlmaLinux

Last updated
AlmaLinux
AlmaLinux Icon Logo.svg
AlmaLinux 9.1 desktop.png
Screenshot of default desktop on AlmaLinux version 9.1, showing AlmaLinux homepage in Firefox.
Developer The AlmaLinux OS Foundation
Written in C (kernel)
OS family Linux (Unix-like)
Working stateCurrent
Source model Open source
Initial release30 March 2021;3 years ago (2021-03-30)
Latest release
9:9.4 / 6 May 2024(8 days ago) (2024-05-06)
8:8.9 / 21 November 2023(5 months ago) (2023-11-21)
Repository github.com/AlmaLinux
Marketing target Servers, desktop computers, workstations, supercomputers
Update method DNF
Package manager RPM
Platforms x86-64 AArch64 ppc64le s390x
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux kernel)
Userland GNU
Default
user interface 		GNOME Shell, Bash
License GPLv2 and others
Preceded by CentOS
Official website almalinux.org

AlmaLinux is a free and open source Linux distribution, developed by the AlmaLinux OS Foundation, a 501(c) organization, to provide a community-supported, production-grade enterprise operating system that is binary-compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). The name of the distribution comes from the word "alma", meaning "soul" in Spanish and other Latin languages. It was chosen to be a homage to the Linux community. [1]

Contents

The first stable release of AlmaLinux was published on March 30, 2021, [2] and will be supported until March 1, 2029. [3] AlmaLinux is built using publicly-viewable and reproducible methods using the AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS), which is a customized build system whose source code, like the distribution itself, is publicly distributed and licensed under open-source licenses.

History

On December 8, 2020, Red Hat announced that development of CentOS, a free-of-cost downstream fork of the commercial Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), would be discontinued and its official support would be cut short to focus on CentOS Stream, a stable LTS release without minor releases officially used by Red Hat to preview what is intended for inclusion in updates to RHEL. [4] [5] [6]

In response, CloudLinux – which maintains its own commercial Linux distribution, CloudLinux OS – announced that it would back AlmaLinux to provide a community-supported spiritual successor to CentOS Linux, [7] aiming for binary-compatibility with the current version of RHEL. [8] A beta version of AlmaLinux was first released on February 1, 2021, [9] and the first stable release of AlmaLinux was published on March 30, 2021. [2] AlmaLinux 8.x will be supported until 2029. [10] Numerous companies, such as ARM, AWS, Equinix, and Microsoft, also support AlmaLinux. [11] On March 30, 2021, the AlmaLinux OS Foundation was created as a 501(c) organization to take over AlmaLinux development and governance from CloudLinux, which has promised $1 million in annual funding to the project. [12]

Following the release of AlmaLinux 8.6, on June 20, 2022, the AlmaLinux OS Foundation released the AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS). [13]

In September 2022, the AlmaLinux OS Foundation held its first election, [14] announcing a board of 7 community-elected members on September 19. [15] Shortly after the election, Igor Seletskiy, the CEO of CloudLinux and then chair of the board, announced he would be stepping down to allow AlmaLinux to continue on as a community-lead operating system, [16] and the board chose benny Vasquez as the new chair. [17]

On December 7, 2022, it was announced that CERN and Fermilab would be providing AlmaLinux as the standard operating system for their experiments. [18]

3 weeks after June 21, 2023, Red Hat's announcement that new restrictions were put on their code, [19] Alma replied in a blog post that "the AlmaLinux OS Foundation board today has decided to drop the aim to be 1:1 with RHEL. AlmaLinux OS will instead aim to be binary compatible with RHEL". [20]

In September of 2023 the Foundation announced they would be expanding the board, [21] and in December of 2023 the AlmaLinux OS Foundation held their second election and announced Alejandro Iribarren of CERN and Jun Yoshida of Cybertrust Japan would be joining the board. [22]

Project ELevate

In September of 2021, the AlmaLinux project announce a tool called ELevate that would allow in-place upgrades between major versions of enterprise linux distributions. [23] [24] "ELevate is developed in a distribution agnostic way and is built as a tool for the whole ecosystem, not just AlmaLinux. ELevate supports migrating to/from other distributions and is open for all to contribute to and enhance." [25] In January of 2024 they expanded the tool to include support for additional repos, [26] and in April of 2024 they added support for upgrading from CentOS 6 to CentOS 7, allowing some to upgrade in-place from CentOS 6 through an enterprise linux version 9 distribution of their choice. [27]

Build system

A diagram of the AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS) AlmaLinux Build System Diagram (2022).jpg
A diagram of the AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS)

The AlmaLinux Build System, commonly shortened to "ALBS", is the build system of AlmaLinux. It was first used to release version 8.6 (Sky Tiger), and has the capability of automating builds for the x86-64, AArch64, ppc64, and S390x architectures. The ALBS consists of five components: the Git Service, Release System, Sign Server, Test System, Build Node. Each component is governed by an overarching component known as the "Master Service", which is intended to be controlled via its own API.

Git Service

AlmaLinux's source code is directly sourced from Git code repositories of software packages that comprise Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Using a "listener" that monitors changes to existing repositories or additions of new repositories, the AlmaLinux Git Service pulls source code to its own publicly-available Gitea server instance. This public server's web interface also provides a view of build pipelines for each package. In addition, the service exposes an API that allows repositories to be directly consumed by the rest of ALBS.

Build Node

Corresponding with the Master Service, the Build Node's purpose is to perform the compilation of source code stored in the Git repositories to create RPM packages that can later be used as part of the distribution installation process. As artifacts of the build process, these pieces have a dedicated storage from which they can be further processed.

Test System

The AlmaLinux Test System (ALTS) tests RPM packages that exist as build artifacts. Using containerization technology, packages are given dedicated environments for which test suites can be exercised.

Release System and Sign Server

In order to ensure integrity, each software package that is released for the AlmaLinux distribution is digitally-signed using the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) cryptographic algorithm. The Sign Server simply takes artifacts created from the Build Node, signs them, and returns them back to artifact storage. From there, the Release System can upload them to release repositories.

Releases

AlmaLinux versionCodenameArchitecturesRHEL baseKernelAlmaLinux release dateRHEL release dateDelay (days)
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.3Purple Manulx86-648.34.18.0-2402021-03-30 [2] 2020-11-03 [28] 147 / 110 [note 1]
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.4Electric Cheetahx86-64, ARM648.44.18.0-3052021-05-26 [29] 2021-05-18 [28] 8
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.5Arctic Sphynxx86-64, ARM64, ppc64le8.54.18.0-3482021-11-12, [30] 2022-02-25 [31] 2021-11-09 [28] 3
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.6Sky Tigerx86-64, ARM64, ppc64le, s390x8.64.18.0-3722022-05-12 [32] 2022-05-10 [28] 2
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.7Stone Smilodon8.74.18.0-4252022-11-10 [33] 2022-11-09 [28] 1
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.8Sapphire Caracal8.84.18.0-4772023-05-18 [34] 2023-05-16 [28] 1
Older version, yet still maintained: 8.9Midnight Oncilla8.94.18.0-513.5.12023-11-21 [35] 2023-11-14 [28] 7
Old version, no longer maintained: 9.0Emerald Puma9.05.14.0-70.13.12022-05-26 [36] 2022-05-17 [28] 9
Old version, no longer maintained: 9.1Lime Lynx9.15.14.0-162.6.12022-11-17 [37] 2022-11-15 [28] 2
Old version, no longer maintained: 9.2Turquoise Kodkod9.25.14.0-284.11.12023-05-10 [38] 2023-05-10 [28] 0
Old version, no longer maintained: 9.3Shamrock Pampas Cat9.35.14.0-362.8.12023-11-13 [39] 2023-11-07 [28] 6
Current stable version:9.4Seafoam Ocelot9.45.14.0-427.13.12024-05-06 [40] 2024-04-30 [28] 6
Legend:
Old version
Older version, still maintained
Latest version
Latest preview version
Future release

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "FAQ | AlmaLinux Wiki". wiki.almalinux.org. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  2. 1 2 3 Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. (March 30, 2021). "CloudLinux Launches AlmaLinux, CentOS Linux clone". ZDNet . Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Release Notes | AlmaLinux Wiki". wiki.almalinux.org. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  4. ↑ "FAQ/CentOSStream - CentOS Wiki". wiki.centos.org. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  5. ↑ Salter, Jim (2020-12-10). "CentOS Linux is dead—and Red Hat says Stream is "not a replacement"". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  6. ↑ Janvier 2021, Par Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols | Jeudi 14 (14 January 2021). "CloudLinux prépare le remplacement de CentOS Linux : AlmaLinux". ZDNet France (in French). Retrieved 2021-07-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Seletskiy, Igor. "AlmaLinux is born!!". blog.cloudlinux.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  8. ↑ "FAQ | AlmaLinux Wiki". web.archive.org. 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  9. ↑ "CloudLinux Releases AlmaLinux Beta". www.businesswire.com. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  10. ↑ AlmaLinux (January 26, 2021). "Frequently asked questions" . Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  11. ↑ "AlmaLinux: Everything you need to know about the Linux operating system". IONOS Digitalguide. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  12. ↑ "CloudLinux Establishes AlmaLinux Open Source Foundation, Launches First Stable Release". www.businesswire.com. 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  13. ↑ Larabel, Michael (June 20, 2022). "RHEL-Based AlmaLinux Announces "ALBS" Access For Its Public Build System" . Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  14. ↑ "First AlmaLinux Community Election Coming Soon! - AlmaLinux OS Blog". AlmaLinux OS. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  15. ↑ "First AlmaLinux Board Election Announces 7 New Seats - AlmaLinux OS Blog". AlmaLinux OS. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  16. ↑ Seletskiy, Igor. "Why I have decided to step down from the AlmaLinux OS Foundation Board". blog.cloudlinux.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  17. ↑ "Hi, I'm benny. How can I help?". AlmaLinux OS. 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  18. ↑ "LISTSERV 16.5 - SCIENTIFIC-LINUX-USERS Archives". listserv.fnal.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  19. ↑ "Furthering the evolution of CentOS Stream". www.redhat.com. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  20. ↑ Vasquez, benny (2023-07-13). "The Future of AlmaLinux is Bright". AlmaLinux OS - Forever-Free Enterprise-Grade Operating System. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  21. ↑ "AlmaLinux OS Foundation Election - 2023". AlmaLinux OS. 2023-09-14. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  22. ↑ "Meet our two new board members!". AlmaLinux OS. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  23. ↑ AlmaLinux and the New CentOS Ecosystem . Retrieved 2024-05-07– via www.youtube.com.
  24. ↑ "Announcing ELevate -- Migration between Major Versions (7.x to 8x) of RHEL Derivative Distributions". AlmaLinux OS. 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  25. ↑ "AlmaLinux OS - ELevate Your Distribution". web.archive.org. 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  26. ↑ "ELevate Project Updates". AlmaLinux OS. 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  27. ↑ "Expanding ELevate support: CentOS 6 to CentOS 7 migrations". AlmaLinux OS. 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Release Dates". Red Hat. 17 May 2023.
  29. ↑ "AlmaLinux OS 8.4 Stable Now Available". almalinux.org. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  30. ↑ "AlmaLinux OS 8.5 Stable Now Available". almalinux.org. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  31. ↑ "AlmaLinux for PowerPC 8.5 Stable Now Available!". almalinux.org. 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  32. ↑ "AlmaLinux 8.6 Stable is Now Available!". almalinux.org. 2022-05-12. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  33. ↑ "AlmaLinux 8.7 - Now Available". almalinux.org. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  34. ↑ Jack Aboutboul (2023-05-18). "AlmaLinux 8.8 - Now Available". almalinux.org. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  35. ↑ Jack Aboutboul (2023-11-21). "Announcing AlmaLinux 8.9 Stable!". almalinux.org. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  36. ↑ "AlmaLinux 9 Now Available!". almalinux.org. 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  37. ↑ "AlmaLinux 9.1 - Now Available". almalinux.org. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  38. ↑ "AlmaLinux 9.2 - Now Available". almalinux.org. 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  39. ↑ "Announcing AlmaLinux 9.3 Stable!". almalinux.org. 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  40. ↑ "General Availability of AlmaLinux 9.4 Stable!". almalinux.org. 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  1. ↑ AlmaLinux was announced 10 December 2020, first beta release was 53 days later.