AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux are the two most recent newly released Linux distributions whose development started after Red Hat’s announcement on the discontinuation of CentOS.
Today in this article we will analyze the difference and similarities between AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux.
AlmaLinux
AlmaLinux is a newly released free and open-source Linux distribution that is intended to provide a community-supported production-grade enterprise operating system.
After RedHat announce that it will discontinue CentOS, CloundLinux which maintains its own commercial distribution created AlmaLinux. It aims the binary compatibility with the current version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).
The first stable version ”AlmaLinux OS 8.6″ was released on 30th march 2021.
Rocky Linux
Rocky Linux is a newly released Linux distribution that is intended to provide a community-supported production-grade enterprise operating system.
In response to Red Hat’s announcement on CentOS, Rocky Linux was the second distribution after AlmaLinux which presents itself as a replacement for CentOS.
The original developers of CentOS started another project to achieve the goals of CentOS. It is a downstream distribution that maintains complete binary compatibility with RHEL.
The first stable version Rocky Linux 8.4 with the code name “Green Obsidian” was released on 21 June 2021.
AlmaLinux Vs Roky Linux: A detailed comparison
The following table shows the key difference between AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux.
Closing Thoughts
Both AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux are RHEL rebuilds and are intended to fill the vacuum created after CentOS’s end of life.
Both of them are similar in almost every aspect but we can expect differences in responsiveness to bug reports, release lag, release support, communication, and transparency in the project leads.
Now you can share your opinion on this by writing us in the comments below.
This was super helpful—I wasn’t sure which direction to go with my migration. AlmaLinux seems like a solid choice now.