How good is Rocky Linux?

Rocky Linux is a free dis­tri­bu­tion for Linux, which is based on Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux and is intended to replace CentOS. The operating system is very stable and user-friendly, however it is too soon to say whether it will become a worthy successor to the popular CentOS.

Rocky Linux is an HPC-capable Linux dis­tri­bu­tion which is suitable for servers and desktop ap­plic­a­tions. The operating system is open source and binary com­pat­ible with the com­mer­cial Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux (RHEL). Rocky Linux is con­sidered the un­of­fi­cial successor to CentOS, a fork of RHEL. The operating system is suitable for a variety of different purposes, and it is a stable and user-friendly option for busi­nesses and private users. The Rocky En­ter­prise Software Found­a­tion is re­spons­ible for this Linux dis­tri­bu­tion.

The need for a new free Linux dis­tri­bu­tion based on RHEL arose when Red Hat announced the end of support for CentOS. CentOS Stream is its re­place­ment, however, it does not continue being open source and a binary-com­pat­ible fork of RHEL. CentOS Stream has been a rolling release since 2021 and receives numerous updates, which means it lacks the necessary security in some cases. CentOS Stream functions primarily as a test en­vir­on­ment for in­nov­a­tions, which may become part of the com­mer­cial dis­tri­bu­tion in the future. This has created a gap for CentOS users which is being filled by two new operating systems.

Rocky Linux was released in 2021, a few months after AlmaLinux. The CentOS co-founder Gregory Kurtzer is re­spons­ible for the new Linux version, which is named after his late colleague Rocky McGaugh. The first stable version of Rocky Linux was released on June 21, 2021, as version 8.4. The high version number is based on the des­ig­na­tion of RHEL. Rocky Linux is a clone of RHEL, which is also binary-com­pat­ible and is already supported by numerous large, fin­an­cially strong sponsors. Rocky Linux’s success depends on whether the existing CentOS users choose to embrace the new system. However, the beginning has been promising.

Rocky Linux has not been active for very long, therefore it is difficult to give a clear overview of all the ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages. However, the first few months have already shown that the system has the potential to succeed CentOS. We’ll take a closer look at the special features to evaluate the pros and cons of the Linux dis­tri­bu­tion.

• Team: Users had a lot of faith in the team behind Rocky Linux before the release. As co-founder of CentOS, Gregory Kurtzer knew exactly what the users of the popular dis­tri­bu­tion would ap­pre­ci­ate in Rocky Linux. This meant it was a worthy successor from the very beginning.
• Stability: Stability has always been one of the ad­vant­ages of CentOS, and this is also the focus of Rocky Linux. The focus is on a system that runs smoothly and without un­pleas­ant surprises due to new updates.
• Com­pat­ib­il­ity: Rocky Linux is binary-com­pat­ible with Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux, making it a good al­tern­at­ive. Migrating from CentOS, AlmaLinux, and other dis­tri­bu­tions is also very easy with the migrate2rocky tool. Container images and cloud-based offerings are not a problem with Rocky Linux.
• Open source: Binary com­pat­ib­il­ity is not the only feature which Rocky Linux is main­tain­ing. The open source feature is also remaining in place, which is a benefit to all users. If the new Linux version manages to unite another large and committed community, nothing should stand in the way of seamless doc­u­ment­a­tion, thorough security man­age­ment, and regular updates, which are developed with the users in mind. Users hope that the Rocky Linux can continue what its pre­de­cessor began.

• Little ex­per­i­ence: Rocky Linux is still a newcomer, which is why there are very few empirical values. Reports from users or detailed doc­u­ment­a­tion are still scarce. It is not possible to con­clus­ively evaluate how good the new Linux dis­tri­bu­tion is yet. This is a big downfall, es­pe­cially for companies, who rely on their operating system really running as securely and smoothly as possible.
• Uncertain future: The second downfall is in a similar vein. Rocky Linux is still in its early stages, but it is already planning for the future. Whether they can deliver regular updates and develop other possible suc­cessors depends on the committed community, and on the necessary funds. Large companies are already acting as sponsors, however, it remains to be seen how long the support will last and whether the money sourced so far will be enough.
• Up-to-dateness: The re­li­ab­il­ity mentioned above may also be seen as a dis­ad­vant­age to some users. Although Rocky Linux also seems to run very stably like CentOS, the latest ap­plic­a­tions take time to become available. You may want to opt for CentOS Stream if you always want to be up to date, since there are frequent updates in the rolling release. Rocky Linux will operate more leisurely in com­par­is­on. That is an advantage for users who rely on con­sist­ency. However, de­velopers and power users might prefer an al­tern­at­ive Linux dis­tri­bu­tion.

The target group for Rocky Linux is already clear. Companies and private users who rely on a reliable, user-friendly, and a free Linux version should be pleased with the successor to CentOS. The key functions of en­ter­prise, hy­per­scale, cloud and high-per­form­ance computing are in­teg­rated, adding Rocky Linux to the list of re­com­mend­able Linux server dis­tri­bu­tions. The RHEL clone is worth con­sid­er­ing, es­pe­cially for companies. You get an almost equi­val­ent and binary-com­pat­ible al­tern­at­ive which is freely available.

There are numerous other Linux dis­tri­bu­tions to choose from if you are not convinced by Rocky Linux.

Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux operating systems. It is also free, open source, and main­tained by a large community. One advantage of the dis­tri­bu­tion is its user-friend­li­ness. The system is also con­sidered very secure and stable.

openSUSE Leap has been available since 2015 and is developed by the Nuremberg-based company SUSE Software Solutions Germany GmbH in close co­oper­a­tion with a developer community. The system uses numerous com­pon­ents of the paid en­ter­prise solution SUSE Linux, but it is open source and free of charge.

After the end of support for CentOS was announced, Rocky Linux was not the only successor who emerged. AlmaLinux is also binary com­pat­ible with Red Hat En­ter­prise Linux and is developed by a community and is freely available. Whether AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux is the better successor to CentOS will be revealed in a few years.