Why Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux Come After CentOS

Wetin make two free rebuilds of Red Hat Enterprise Linux dey exist

Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux dey exist because Red Hat end CentOS Linux years before the date wey e users plan around. CentOS na free, unbranded rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and e get the same long support window. On December 8, 2020, CentOS Project announce say CentOS Linux 8 go stop for end of 2021 instead of continue reach 2029. Dem announce two replacement projects within one week after that post, and both still dey release today.

That announcement only go make sense after you understand wetin CentOS be, and why dem allow free copy of commercial product to exist at all. The story start for 2003.

Where Red Hat Linux go for 2003: Fedora and RHEL

Red Hat original product na boxed distribution wey dem call Red Hat Linux. The first release wey no be beta come out for May 1995. Red Hat no write that system from scratch, and the journey from Bell Labs Unix reach free Linux kernel explain why the pieces wey e package fit sell freely inside box. The last one, Red Hat Linux 9, release on March 31, 2003 and reach end of life on April 30, 2004.

By that time Red Hat dey sell to companies, and companies want something wey the boxed product no fit give dem: version wey go remain stable for years, with security fixes and no surprise upgrades. Red Hat build am as Red Hat Linux Advanced Server, wey become Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 for March 2002. Dem dey sell RHEL as subscription, and dem charge per system every year. The subscription dey pay for updates and support. E still dey pay for certification: hardware vendors and commercial software vendors test against RHEL specifically, and dem mention am for their support terms.

The free line no get clear work again, so Red Hat join am with outside community project. The Fedora Project and the Red Hat Project merge formally on September 22, 2003. Fedora become the fast, free distribution wey new work dey land first. RHEL become the slow, paid one wey dem assemble from am. Work don dey flow for that direction ever since: Fedora dey lead, RHEL dey follow. The clearest example na systemd, wey become Fedora default for May 2011 and reach RHEL only with version 7 for June 2014, so the argument about replacing SysV init don settle upstream many years before e land for enterprise server.

The split leave one gap. Plenty people want RHEL ten-year lifecycle without per-server bill, and Fedora no fit fill am, because dem dey support Fedora release for roughly thirteen months.

Why free rebuild of RHEL fit happen?

RHEL dey build almost completely from software wey free licence cover, and na GNU General Public License (GPL) dey matter here. E require say anybody wey receive the binaries fit also get the matching source. Red Hat meet this duty publicly by publishing source RPMs (SRPMs, na the packaged source for each component) for public server, and later for the git.centos.org repositories.

Source no be the whole product. Two parts of RHEL no ever free to copy. Red Hat trademarks belong to Red Hat, so anybody wey dey rebuild am must remove every logo and every mention of the name. The paid services still dey behind payment: the update servers, the support contract, the certification process, and the errata wey describe each fix.

The method easy to explain. Take the published sources, remove the branding, rebuild dem, then publish the result. The goal na bug-for-bug compatibility. This mean say the rebuild get the same patches and the same behaviour as RHEL, including the bugs. This accuracy matter because commercial software dey certified against RHEL. If the rebuild behave exactly the same way, that software go run on am, although the vendor no go support am there.

Wetin CentOS dey used for?

CentOS mean Community ENTerprise Operating System. E come from one project wey dem call cAos Linux, and Gregory Kurtzer start am for 2002. The first CentOS release show for May 14, 2004, with number 2, because dem build am from RHEL 2.1AS.

The main attraction na the lifecycle. Every CentOS release follow RHEL ten-year support window, and e no cost anything. Hosting companies use am for default images, universities run am for clusters, appliance vendors ship am inside their products, and control panels assume say e dey available. If you rent virtual private server between around 2006 and 2020, CentOS dey for the operating system menu, and many times na the default option.

CentOS Linux 7 show say this promise really work as dem advertise am. Dem release am for July 7, 2014, and e security support reach June 30, 2024, just few days short of complete ten years. Na this record make people comfortable to plan for ten years based on the next release.

Wetin change when CentOS join Red Hat for 2014

For January 7, 2014, Red Hat and the CentOS Project announce say dem dey join hand. Red Hat chief technology officer for that time, Brian Stevens, and CentOS lead developer Karanbir Singh both talk for the announcement. Red Hat contribute staff and infrastructure, some important CentOS developers become Red Hat employees, and the project get formal governing board.

For users, the things wey dem fit see good. Builds dey come faster after every RHEL release. Sources move go git.centos.org. Special Interest Groups produce extra content on top the base distribution, like virtualisation and storage stacks.

The structural change no loud, but na the one wey matter six years later. The project wey dey rebuild RHEL don dey receive funding and staff mostly from the company wey dey sell RHEL. Nothing for that arrangement force Red Hat to keep the rebuild running.

Why CentOS Linux 8 end for 2021?

CentOS Linux 8 release for September 24, 2019. RHEL 8 get support reach May 31, 2029, so people read CentOS Linux 8 say e go good reach 2029 too.

For December 8, 2020, Rich Bowen publish "CentOS Project shifts focus to CentOS Stream" for the CentOS blog. CentOS Linux 8 go end for December 31, 2021. CentOS Linux 7 go keep im original date of June 30, 2024. The reason wey dem give be say the project future na CentOS Stream.

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  {
    "label": "Announced at release, September 2019",
    "support_window": 9.7
  },
  {
    "label": "Delivered, ended December 2021",
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CentOS Linux 8 come with expected support window of about 9.7 years. E deliver about 2.3. Dem no remove any feature, and no code become worse. Wetin people lose na date wey dem don already plan for, for machines wey dey production, with small pass one year notice. Moving operating system across plenty machines na planned work, but this one become unplanned work with deadline attached.

CentOS Stream na wetin, exactly?

Plenty write-up still dey describe CentOS Stream as the thing wey cancel CentOS Linux. The timing correct, but the description no correct, because the two products dey move for opposite directions.

CentOS Linux dey downstream of RHEL. Red Hat release RHEL minor release, then CentOS rebuild am afterwards. The copy always dey arrive after the original.

CentOS Stream dey upstream of RHEL. Na the public branch wey dem dey use assemble the next RHEL minor release. Work dey move from Fedora enter CentOS Stream, then enter RHEL, so package go first appear for Stream before e reach RHEL minor release later. Stream dey release continuously, so e no dey remain still between minor versions the way shipped RHEL dey.

This one make Stream useful for work wey CentOS Linux no fit ever do. If you maintain software wey must continue to work for the next RHEL minor release, Stream go show you that release months before time. If you want make dem fix bug for RHEL, Stream na place wey you fit send the patch, something downstream rebuild never provide. Red Hat argument for 2020 be say this one dey turn passive copy into distribution wey community fit actually change.

Stream still no be good replacement for wetin CentOS Linux users want, and the support window show am. CentOS Stream 10 release on December 12, 2024 with window of about five years, compared with RHEL ten years. Team wey dey run fleet with ten-year plan no receive faster version of that plan. Dem receive different product with different purpose.

Where Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux come from

Dem announce Rocky Linux on December 8, 2020, the same day wey CentOS make im announcement, by Gregory Kurtzer, the person wey start the project wey CentOS grow from. The name na tribute to Rocky McGaugh, one of the early CentOS co-founders. Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF) dey govern the project, while CIQ, the company wey Kurtzer found, na im main commercial backer. Release candidate show for the end of April 2021, and the first stable release, Rocky Linux 8.4 "Green Obsidian", follow on June 21, 2021.

AlmaLinux come from CloudLinux, a company wey already dey sell RHEL-derived distribution to hosting providers. On December 15, 2020, CloudLinux commit more than one million US dollars every year to free RHEL rebuild, wey dem first call Project Lenix. Dem announce the AlmaLinux name on January 12, 2021, beta come out on February 1, and dem release AlmaLinux 8.3 "Purple Manul" on March 30, 2021. That same day, ownership move go AlmaLinux OS Foundation, a non-profit wey hold the trademark and run the project board.

The two projects solve the same problem with different governance. Rocky come from the person wey start CentOS, with company wey build around am. AlmaLinux come from company wey hand the trademark over to foundation on the day wey e release am. For two years, the practical difference small, and both deliver wetin CentOS Linux users lose.

Wetín Red Hat change about RHEL sources for 2023

For June 21, 2023, Mike McGrath, wey be vice president of core platforms for Red Hat that time, publish "Furthering the evolution of CentOS Stream". The main sentence talk say CentOS Stream go become the only repository for public RHEL-related source code releases. The RHEL sources wey dem dey push go git.centos.org stop to dey push there.

Red Hat customers and partners still get access to RHEL sources through the customer portal. This satisfy the GPL because the obligation apply to the people wey receive the binaries. Na the public route change. Dem no longer dey openly post the package-by-package record of exactly wetin ship for one RHEL minor release. CentOS Stream dey ahead of RHEL instead of dey for the same level. So, rebuilder wey dey use only Stream no fit reproduce released minor version exactly.

Red Hat position be say Stream na the upstream, and public source suppose dey upstream. The rebuild projects' position be say the change remove the material wey dem don build on since 2004. Both descriptions correct. The disagreement na about wetin the licence dey for, no be about wetin e talk.

How the rebuilds respond, and wetin OpenELA be

Rocky Linux answer first. For one post wey dem date June 29, 2023, the project talk say e go continue to obtain RHEL sources through routes wey no carry extra agreement: Red Hat Universal Base Image (UBI) container images, and pay-per-use RHEL instances for public clouds. Anybody wey receive those binaries get GPL right to the matching source. Rocky still hold on to the goal of tracking every RHEL release.

AlmaLinux answer different. For July 2023, e board, under benny Vasquez as chair, drop the goal of being one-to-one with RHEL and choose application binary interface (ABI) compatibility instead. ABI compatibility mean say software wey dem build for RHEL go run for AlmaLinux without modification, even though the two no be identical builds. This trade-off give dem more freedom. AlmaLinux fit release fix before RHEL, and e fit continue to support hardware wey RHEL don drop.

Two bigger vendors move too. For July 11, 2023, SUSE talk say e go fork RHEL wey public people fit access, and invest more than ten million US dollars for a compatible distribution. Oracle, wey don release Oracle Linux as RHEL-compatible product since 2006, publish its own response that same week.

For August 10, 2023, CIQ, Oracle and SUSE announce Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA). Na trade association wey get one job: publish enterprise Linux sources so RHEL-compatible distributions fit continue to build, and make those sources remain free for redistribution. For November 2023, e announce its governance documents and say the code dey available. AlmaLinux no join, and this follow from its ABI decision, because e no longer need exact source feed.

Wich one you suppose run for server today?

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  {
    "distro": "RHEL 10",
    "support_window": 10,
    "notes": "Released May 2025, supported to May 2035"
  },
  {
    "distro": "AlmaLinux 10",
    "support_window": 10,
    "notes": "Released May 2025, supported to May 2035"
  },
  {
    "distro": "Rocky Linux 10",
    "support_window": 10,
    "notes": "Released June 2025, supported to May 2035"
  },
  {
    "distro": "CentOS Stream 10",
    "support_window": 5,
    "notes": "Released December 2024, supported to May 2030"
  }
]

The version 10 releases show where the story reach. RHEL 10 land on May 20, 2025, AlmaLinux 10 "Purple Lion" on May 27, 2025, and Rocky Linux 10 "Red Quartz" on June 11, 2025. Each one publish 10 year support window. CentOS Stream 10 publish 5 years, and this na the honest sign say e be development branch, no be frozen target.

The projects don start differ for ways wey fit cause problem for you. RHEL 10 raise the hardware baseline to x86-64-v3, na microarchitecture level wey need newer CPU instructions like AVX2. Rocky Linux 10 follow that baseline and drop x86-64-v2. AlmaLinux 10 ship x86-64-v3 by default and publish separate x86-64-v2 build for older processors. For cheap VPS wey dey run on older host CPU, that one decision go determine whether the system fit install. If you dey compare that trade-off for particular machine, the two rebuilds compared for a VPS put the compatibility promises and CPU baselines side by side. The differences continue after installation, and installing Docker Engine on Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux na usually the first one people go meet, because podman already hold the docker command and SELinux relabel bind mounts for ways wey Ubuntu guide no mention.

Four practical ways to understand the timeline:

• If you need the vendor relationship, buy RHEL. The subscription na the product, and e carry the certifications and support line wey no rebuild fit offer.
• If na wetin CentOS Linux give you you want, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux both provide am, free and with ten-year window. If you dey come from Debian or Ubuntu machine, the main daily change na package manager, so keep the dnf equivalent of each apt command close for the first week.
• If you write software wey must run on RHEL, or you want make your patches reach am, CentOS Stream na the correct target, and the shorter window na the price.
• If none of these apply, Debian side of the world answer the same lifecycle question in its own way, and the choice between Ubuntu LTS and interim releases na the version of this decision wey you go meet there.

The main lesson under the timeline concern governance, no be code. CentOS Linux na good software, and e still end early, because the company wey product copy fund am. When you choose distribution for machine wey you expect to run for decade, check who dey pay for am and who own the trademark. AlmaLinux keep its trademark for foundation. Rocky keep its own for RESF, with CIQ as the commercial sponsor. Both projects publish these answers, and this na more than CentOS user fit check for 2019.

This one affect you directly if you rent servers. For an unmanaged VPS you apply the updates yourself, so early end of life become migration wey you need plan and time wey you need spend. The routine part of that work no need you sit for keyboard, and setting dnf-automatic to install security updates on a timer free you to focus on migrations wey really need attention. Installing patch no be the same as running am, so check which of those updates want a reboot and which one only need service restart before you call machine patched. If the operating system question still open for wider level, the comparison between Linux and Windows Server come before all this.

FAQ

CentOS don die?

CentOS Linux don discontinue. CentOS Linux 8 end on December 31, 2021 and CentOS Linux 7 end on June 30, 2024, so dem no dey receive security updates again. CentOS Project itself still dey and e dey produce CentOS Stream, wey be different product: na public development branch wey dey feed Red Hat Enterprise Linux. If server still dey run CentOS Linux, e no get patches, and common migration targets na AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux.

Wetin be difference between CentOS Stream and CentOS Linux?

Na direction. CentOS Linux dey downstream: Red Hat go release RHEL minor release, then CentOS rebuild am afterwards. CentOS Stream dey upstream: na there dem dey assemble the next RHEL minor release, so e content dey arrive before RHEL instead of after. Stream dey receive updates continuously instead of freezing, and CentOS Stream 10 get support window of about five years compared with RHEL ten years.

I suppose choose Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux?

Both free, both dey track RHEL closely, and both publish ten-year window, so for most servers either one go work. The practical differences come from their 2023 decisions. Rocky dey aim to match RHEL release for release, by rebuilding from sources wey e obtain through UBI container images and public cloud instances. AlmaLinux dey aim for ABI compatibility, wey allow am patch earlier and keep hardware support wey RHEL don drop. AlmaLinux 10 publish x86-64-v2 build for older CPUs, while Rocky Linux 10 require x86-64-v3, so for older hardware that one detail fit decide the choice.

Red Hat break GPL for 2023?

No court don talk say so, and GPL obligation dey apply to the people wey receive the binaries. Red Hat still dey provide matching sources to e customers. The argument na about wetin happen next: dem fit refuse to renew subscription, and the rebuild projects understand am as pressure make dem no use the redistribution right wey the licence give dem. Na why Rocky move to source routes wey no carry subscription agreement, and why dem form OpenELA to publish sources openly.

Why Red Hat end CentOS Linux sef?

The reason wey dem state for the December 8, 2020 announcement be say the future of the project na CentOS Stream, and say rebuild wey only copy RHEL no give the community any way to influence am. Many users also see commercial reason inside am, because CentOS Linux be free version of product wey Red Hat dey sell, and organisations wey fit afford subscription dey run am for production. Red Hat own posts dey address the development model instead of that interpretation.