AlmaLinux: Everything you need to know about the Linux operating system

AlmaLinux is a stable and free Linux variant which has been designed as a direct successor to CentOS. AlmaLinux is an in­ter­est­ing operating system for busi­nesses and private users, as it has a dedicated community and a binary com­pat­ib­il­ity with Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux.

The AlmaLinux Open Source Found­a­tion ad­vert­ises its operating system with this slogan: For the community, by the community. It is not uncommon for a Linux dis­tri­bu­tion to be main­tained by a community and made available to de­velopers free of charge. However, AlmaLinux is a serious contender, con­sid­er­ing it has been able to win over numerous users since its first release in 2021. This is due to its trans­par­ent approach, which allows users to follow all the steps and actively con­trib­ute if necessary. Its pre­his­tory is also another reason for its pop­ular­ity, con­sid­er­ing AlmaLinux’s pre­de­cessor is a very popular operating system.

The new dis­tri­bu­tion was developed once the end of CentOS was confirmed. CentOS is a free RHEL clone and is highly rated by many de­velopers. The special feature of this system is the binary com­pat­ib­il­ity with RHEL. At the end of 2020, Red Hat announced that they would dis­con­tin­ue support for CentOS and offer CentOS Stream as a successor. However, this other Linux variant does not have binary com­pat­ib­il­ity with RHEL. CentOS Stream is a rolling release which tests the potential updates for the com­mer­cial RHEL. Un­der­stand­ably, this is not practical for many users. Thus, the desire for an al­tern­at­ive successor to CentOS came about.

There are currently two al­tern­at­ives: Rocky Linux, named after the late CentOS co-founder Rocky McGaugh, and AlmaLinux. AlmaLinux is based on the same basic idea as CentOS. The goal is still a Linux dis­tri­bu­tion which is com­pletely free and binary com­pat­ible with the current version of RHEL. The beta version of AlmaLinux was published on February 1, 2021. The stable version was released at the end of March of the same year. Support will be available until at least 2029. Numerous companies, such as ARM, AWS, Equinix and Microsoft, also support AlmaLinux.

While the basic idea of a free Linux dis­tri­bu­tion from the community is com­mend­able, AlmaLinux ul­ti­mately must be measured by how good and useful the operating system proves to be. Therefore, we will be taking a closer look at the ad­vant­ages of the Linux variant. The first advantage will be of interest to the users who pre­vi­ously relied on CentOS and need to switch. AlmaLinux is a clear al­tern­at­ive to the popular dis­tri­bu­tion.

The trans­ition is easy in terms of the provision and the binary com­pat­ib­il­ity with RHEL, and the usage in general. Those who know and like CentOS will quickly become ac­cus­tomed to AlmaLinux. The fork of RHEL differs only slightly from its popular pre­de­cessor in terms of ap­pear­ance and operation. Existing CentOS in­stall­a­tions can also be migrated easily with a script.

Another advantage is the community concept, which has a positive effect currently, but is likely to become even more important in the future. Im­prove­ments and changes are developed together and im­ple­men­ted quickly. The dis­tri­bu­tion has the needs of its actual users in mind and meets their re­quire­ments. There is a strong support and advice available when switching to AlmaLinux. The highly valued community will continue to be very important in the years to come, as they will be working on documents and updates to ensure that further de­vel­op­ment is carried out in the ad­min­is­trat­ors’ best interests.

The source code is based on RHEL, but it can be adapted and optimised for your own purposes. Necessary changes can be in­teg­rated after an exchange with the community. AlmaLinux is very stable and is therefore a secure option, es­pe­cially in com­par­is­on to the two ‘siblings’. New software is initially available for CentOS Stream as a rolling release, but there is still the risk of minor bugs. Once these are fixed, the com­mer­cial version receives the update with Red Hat Linux En­ter­prise. Then, is it AlmaLinux’s turn. This way takes longer, but it is tested at least.

Of course, the cost factor should be mentioned. AlmaLinux is com­pletely free, but it also offers the same features which com­mer­cial operating systems have. There are no fees or charges, and there are no licenses, service contracts, re­gis­tra­tions, or usage re­stric­tions. This dis­tri­bu­tion is truly dedicated to open source and is a worth­while al­tern­at­ive to paid options.

AlmaLinux sees itself as an en­ter­prise operating system and is aimed at companies and or­gan­isa­tions that are looking for a stable and well-main­tained Linux dis­tri­bu­tion for com­mer­cial purposes. It is commonly un­der­stood to be a free al­tern­at­ive to the paid Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux; however, users can also use AlmaLinux to build a secure and ap­plic­a­tion-optimised operating ar­chi­tec­ture. Servers work well with the Linux dis­tri­bu­tion, as they need a reliable operating system. The system is used in physical, virtual, and cloud-based en­vir­on­ments. Despite its focus on companies, AlmaLinux is also suitable for private use.

Although AlmaLinux has impressed most users so far, it is still a very new Linux dis­tri­bu­tion. The system really can only be evaluated con­clus­ively after a few years of use. However, there are some good al­tern­at­ives to AlmaLinux. The obvious al­tern­at­ive is Rocky Linux, which was also created as a successor to CentOS. However, the operating system is still very new and has only been tested to a limited extent.

Debian and Ubuntu are both operating systems which have been on the market for many years, have countless users, and are ex­cel­lently doc­u­mented. openSUSE Leap is another stable and user-friendly al­tern­at­ive, which fosters the co­oper­a­tion of an en­thu­si­ast­ic community. openSUSE Leap is very popular in the field of Linux server dis­tri­bu­tions.

AlmaLinux has thus far lived up to its claim of becoming a secure and user-friendly successor to CentOS. Due to the large and dedicated community, it seems that the operating system will continue to play a role in the future and establish itself as a re­com­mend­able al­tern­at­ive to RHEL. AlmaLinux is a good choice if you are looking for a stable and free en­ter­prise dis­tri­bu­tion.