What is AlmaLinux?

What Is AlmaLinux?

AlmaLinux is a community-driven Linux distribution that provides a free and stable alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Following the discontinuation of CentOS as a downstream clone of RHEL in 2020, AlmaLinux emerged to fill the gap for organizations and developers seeking an enterprise-grade, open-source platform that mirrors RHEL’s behavior and performance.

Origins and History

In December 2020, Red Hat announced that CentOS would move from being a downstream rebuild of RHEL to an upstream, rolling-release model called CentOS Stream. This shift left many users without a stable, long-term support option. To address this, CloudLinux Inc. sponsored the creation of AlmaLinux, pledging over $1 million annually to support its initial development and community formation.

By early 2021, the AlmaLinux OS Foundation was established as an independent, non-profit organization to oversee the project. Since then, AlmaLinux has grown rapidly, earning adoption across data centers, enterprises, and cloud infrastructures worldwide.

Key Features of AlmaLinux

AlmaLinux delivers a full, enterprise-ready operating system built for reliability, performance, and open collaboration. Below are its most notable characteristics.

1. 100% Binary Compatibility with RHEL

AlmaLinux aims for total parity with RHEL, ensuring that applications built for RHEL run identically on AlmaLinux without modification. This compatibility simplifies migration and minimizes downtime.

2. Community-Governed Model

Unlike for-profit entities, AlmaLinux is governed by the AlmaLinux OS Foundation, which includes members from all sectors of the Linux ecosystem. Decisions are transparent, and contributions come directly from the community.

3. Long-Term Support Lifecycle

Each AlmaLinux release follows a 10-year support model that mirrors RHEL’s lifecycle, ensuring consistent security patches and updates for a full decade.

4. Security and Stability

Security patches are released in sync with RHEL’s updates, maintaining parity and ensuring enterprises can rely on AlmaLinux for mission-critical workloads.

5. Free Forever

AlmaLinux is open-source and free of licensing fees, allowing organizations of any size to use, distribute, and modify it freely.

Enterprise Advantages of AlmaLinux

For businesses and system administrators, AlmaLinux represents the perfect balance between cost-efficiency and reliability. It’s widely used in hosting, scientific computing, and financial institutions.

• Predictable release cadence: Versioning aligns with RHEL releases for smooth updates.
• Enterprise-grade ecosystem: Compatible with Red Hat Certified software and hardware.
• Cloud-ready architecture: Fully supported by major platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

Migration from CentOS to AlmaLinux

Switching from CentOS to AlmaLinux is straightforward thanks to the AlmaLinux migration tool. This script allows users to convert an existing CentOS system into AlmaLinux without reinstallation or data loss.

1. Back up critical data and configurations.
2. Update your system packages.
3. Run the AlmaLinux migration tool.
4. Reboot and verify the conversion.

Comparison: AlmaLinux vs CentOS Stream vs RHEL

This table highlights key differences between the three major RHEL-related distributions.

Who Should Use AlmaLinux?

• Enterprises: Ideal for production workloads, financial systems, and regulated industries.
• Developers: Perfect for testing and deploying RHEL-compatible applications.
• Educational Institutions: Used for teaching Linux administration in RHEL-like environments.
• Cloud Providers: AlmaLinux is optimized for major hypervisors and cloud images.

Community, Governance, and Support

The AlmaLinux OS Foundation maintains open governance, ensuring transparency and equal representation among contributors. Its board members come from diverse sectors, including cloud infrastructure, academia, and enterprise IT.

Support is available through community forums, professional partners, and third-party vendors offering enterprise-grade SLAs.

Installation & Getting Started with AlmaLinux

Installing AlmaLinux is straightforward. The ISO image is available for download via the official website. Both graphical and command-line installers are supported, with minimal and full installation options.

1. Download the AlmaLinux ISO from the official mirror.
2. Create a bootable USB or mount the image in a virtual environment.
3. Follow the guided setup to configure disks, users, and networking.
4. Complete the installation and update packages post-setup.

Frequently Asked Questions