AlmaLinux
AlmaLinux Icon Logo.svg
AlmaLinux 9.1 desktop.png
Screenshot of default desktop on AlmaLinux version 9.1, showing AlmaLinux homepage in Firefox.
DeveloperThe AlmaLinux OS Foundation
Written inC (kernel)
OS familyLinux (Unix-like)
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source
Initial release30 March 2021 (21 months ago) (2021-03-30)
Latest release
9:9.1 / 17 November 2022 (58 days ago) (2022-11-17)
8:8.7 / 10 November 2022 (2 months ago) (2022-11-10)
Repositorygithub.com/AlmaLinux
Marketing targetServers, desktop computers, workstations, supercomputers
Update methodDNF
Package managerRPM
Platformsx86-64 AArch64 ppc64le s390x
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux kernel)
UserlandGNU
Default
user interface		GNOME Shell, Bash
LicenseGPLv2 and others
Preceded byCentOS
Official websitealmalinux.org

AlmaLinux is a free and open source Linux distribution, created originally by CloudLinux to provide a community-supported, production-grade enterprise operating system that is binary-compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). The first stable release of AlmaLinux was published on March 30, 2021,[1] and will be supported through March 1, 2029.[2]

Etymology

The name of the distribution comes from the word "alma", meaning "soul" in Spanish and other Latin languages. It was chosen to be an homage to the Linux community.[3]

History

On December 8, 2020, Red Hat announced that development of CentOS Linux, 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 – created AlmaLinux to provide a community-supported spiritual successor to CentOS Linux, aiming for binary-compatibility with the current version of RHEL.[7] A beta version of AlmaLinux was first released on February 1, 2021,[8] and the first stable release of AlmaLinux was published on March 30, 2021.[1] AlmaLinux 8.x will be supported until 2029.[7] Numerous companies, such as ARM, AWS, Equinix, and Microsoft, also support AlmaLinux.[9] 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.[10]

In September of 2022 the AlmaLinux OS Foundation held its first election,[11] announcing a board of 7 community-elected members on September 19th.[12]

On December 7th, 2022 it was announced that CERN and Fermilab would be providing AlmaLinux as the standard operating system for their experiments.[13]

Releases

AlmaLinux version Codename Architectures RHEL base Kernel AlmaLinux release date RHEL release date Delay (days)
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.3 Purple Manul x86-64 8.3 4.18.0-240 2021-03-30[1] 2020-11-03[14] 147 / 110 *
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.4 Electric Cheetah x86-64, ARM64 8.4 4.18.0-305 2021-05-26[15] 2021-05-18[14] 8
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.5 Arctic Sphynx x86-64, ARM64, ppc64le 8.5 4.18.0-348 2021-11-12,[16] 2022-02-25[17] 2021-11-09[14] 3
Old version, no longer maintained: 8.6 Sky Tiger x86-64, ARM64, ppc64le, s390x 8.6 4.18.0-372 2022-05-12[18] 2022-05-10[14] 2
Older version, yet still maintained: 8.7 Stone Smilodon 8.7 4.18.0-425 2022-11-10[19] 2022-11-09[14] 1
Old version, no longer maintained: 9.0 Emerald Puma 9.0 5.14.0-70.13.1 2022-05-26[20] 2022-05-17[14] 9
Current stable version: 9.1 Lime Lynx 9.1 5.14.0-162.6.1 2022-11-17[21] 2022-11-15[14] 2

* AlmaLinux was announced 10 December 2020 (2020-12-10), first beta release was 53 days later.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. (March 30, 2021). "CloudLinux Launches AlmaLinux, CentOS Linux clone". ZDNet. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  2. ^ "Release Notes | AlmaLinux Wiki". wiki.almalinux.org. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  3. ^ "FAQ | AlmaLinux Wiki". wiki.almalinux.org. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  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. "CloudLinux prépare le remplacement de CentOS Linux : AlmaLinux". ZDNet France (in French). Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  7. ^ a b AlmaLinux (January 26, 2021). "Frequently asked questions". Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Business Wire (February 1, 2021). "CloudLinux Releases AlmaLinux Beta". Retrieved April 22, 2021. ((cite web)): |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ "AlmaLinux: Everything you need to know about the Linux operating system". IONOS Digitalguide. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  10. ^ Business Wire (March 30, 2021). "CloudLinux Establishes AlmaLinux Open Source Foundation, Launches First Stable Release". ((cite web)): |last= has generic name (help)
  11. ^ "First AlmaLinux Community Election Coming Soon! - AlmaLinux OS Blog". AlmaLinux OS. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  12. ^ "First AlmaLinux Board Election Announces 7 New Seats - AlmaLinux OS Blog". AlmaLinux OS. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  13. ^ "LISTSERV 16.5 - SCIENTIFIC-LINUX-USERS Archives". listserv.fnal.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Release Dates". Red Hat.
  15. ^ "AlmaLinux OS 8.4 Stable Now Available". almalinux.org. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  16. ^ "AlmaLinux OS 8.5 Stable Now Available". almalinux.org. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  17. ^ "AlmaLinux for PowerPC 8.5 Stable Now Available!". almalinux.org. 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  18. ^ "AlmaLinux 8.6 Stable is Now Available!". almalinux.org. 2022-05-12. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  19. ^ "AlmaLinux 8.7 - Now Available". almalinux.org. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  20. ^ "AlmaLinux 9 Now Available!". almalinux.org. 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  21. ^ "AlmaLinux 9.1 - Now Available". almalinux.org. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-15.

External links

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