WHAT IS ROCKY LINUX AND WHY USE IT
Rocky Linux is a must-see for anyone in the DevOps community looking for a reliable Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) clone. This latest release offers improved security features, significant updates to its cloud imaging capabilities, and updated tools for developers.
DevOps professionals will find this a useful addition to their Linux distribution toolkit, whether you're working with on-premises or cloud containers.
INTRODUCTION TO ROCKY LINUX OPERATING SYSTEM
Rocky was first launched in 2021 by Gregory Kurtzer, who is one of the founders of CentOS, and is a project initiated by Red Hat. The OS is being pushed forward actively by the community and is ready for enterprise-grade use, boasting frequent updates and impressive stability. The latest version is 9.0. The duration of the life cycle for each release is 10 years at no cost.
As a rebuild from RHEL, users enjoy all of Red Hat’s lifecycle, and there is an indication that the latest version will have active support until 2032. Rocky's stable source code also makes it ideal for use as a server OS. Rocky has nearly forty-nine mirrors available, with HTTP/S and RSYNC links established in a CDN network.
OVERVIEW OF ROCKY LINUX: A RELIABLE LINUX DISTRIBUTION
Similar to CentOS, the downstream distribution of Rocky is also widely popular as a workstation and virtual private server. To summarize, RESF builds the operating system and provides ten years of support with updates. This particular Linux distro is frequently used for business servers or workstations due to its readiness.
The term ‘BSD’ stands for Berkeley Software Distribution and it means all elements in the Rocky Linux project are licensed under the 3 Clause BSD. This applies to the roles of operating system reuse, redistribution and modification.
Several Packages or Software are available under different licenses within the Rocky Linux distribution. This means that when using the operating system, the user will also be subject to the regulations of each one.
UNDERSTANDING ROCKY LINUX
Rocky Linux was developed in response to changes in the direction of CentOS and is an excellent alternative to CentOS for servers. It is an open-source, community-driven, enterprise-grade operating system. It was founded by Gregory Kurtzer, one of the original creators of CentOS after Red Hat announced that CentOS would be shifting its focus to a rolling release model (CentOS Stream). Rocky Linux aims to provide a stable, production-ready platform that is binary compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux RHEL.
THE BIRTH OF ROCKY LINUX
CentOS was released almost two decades ago in the early 2000s, to be an alternative to RHEL. It featured a stable point release system and was designed to be binary compatible. Then, in 2014, the distro finally came under new governance when Red Hat acquired CentOS in exchange for financial backing.
A few years went by, and Red Hat saw how CentOS was reducing the number of subscriptions to RHEL. Thus, in 2021, the company made the decision to retire the OS and replace it with CentOS Stream.
These events prompted Kurtzer to step in and build an alternative to Red Hat's new CentOS Stream, as CentOS was no longer the popular free alternative to RHEL. This is how Rocky was born.
ROCKY LINUX AS A CENTOS ALTERNATIVE FOR SERVERS
Because of its stability and long-term support, CentOS 7, based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), has been a trusted choice for many organizations. However, users need to find a reliable alternative to maintain security and performance due to its end-of-life status. Rocky Linux server provider is a community-focused, open-source, Linux distribution designed as a direct replacement of CentOS.
COMPARING ROCKY LINUX AND CENTOS FOR STABILITY AND SUPPORT
Rocky's main drawback is that it is still in its infancy. However, as the community grows and the project matures, this will become less of an issue than CentOS.
Due to its focus on stability, Rocky Linux has a slower update cycle than CentOS Stream. This can be a drawback for developers who prefer to receive updates frequently. However, for users who prefer a stable system with few unexpected updates, this can be an upside.
KEY FEATURES OF ROCKY LINUX FOR ENTERPRISE USE
ROBUST STABILITY IN ROCKY
Rocky Linux has emerged as a top contender among community-driven Linux distributions as the demand for stable, reliable, and secure enterprise-grade operating systems continues to grow. Widely adopted in the enterprise, cloud, hyperscale, and high-performance computing (HPC) environments, Rocky is now the fastest-growing enterprise Linux distribution.
VERSATILE COMPATIBILITY WITH ROCKY LINUX
There is a relatively seamless transition from Rocky OS to RHEL. The similarity between the two systems means that the commands, software management, and system configuration are familiar, so your team does not have to learn a new system from scratch.
OPEN SOURCE BENEFITS OF ROCKY LINUX
Despite Rocky being an enterprise distribution, there are notable features that support the use of personal computers as well. Some of these are as follows:
1. XFS. The XFS is the type of file system that can easily accommodate big data without negatively impacting on its efficiency. This makes Rocky Linux ideal for large scale servers and storage units that businesses would require, as opposed to CentOS.
2. OpenSSL. That would enable establishing a safe channel through which data can be transferred from another device to the Rocky Linux system. It maintains a 2048-bit RSA encryption key for the crypto-policies to enhance the security systems.
3. OpenSSH. It is a connectivity feature that allows a user to authenticate securely to a Rocky Linux server via the SSH protocol instead of CentOS.
Of course, Rocky is suitable if you wish to have a powerful, stable, and highly optimized enterprise distribution for Linux VPS hosting. It is also used for desktops, workstations, and cloud services.
COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT FOR ROCKY LINUX USERS
Rocky Linux provides a different set of base repositories for each major releaseб, in contrast to CentOS. There are also community-approved repositories that can be installed from the additional repositories. Rocky supports three types of repositories that are included by default or can be installed manually:
1. Basics. The standard repositories come preinstalled in Rocky Linux.
2. Supplementary repositories contain additional packages that improve your system's functionality. Some of these packages are prerequisites for installing the community-approved repositories.
3. Community approved. Repositories from other vendors that contain unofficial packages. Available for other enterprise Linux distributions.
By default, most of the base repositories come with Rocky Linux 8 and 9.
THE FUTURE OF ROCKY LINUX
PROSPECTS AND DEVELOPMENTS
Because Rocky Linux has the key features needed for cloud computing, hyperscale computing, enterprise computing, and performance computing, it has become a viable option for large enterprises. Because CentOS and Rocky Linux are similar in design, users will find it easy to switch between them. Even for non-CentOS users, Rocky Linux is a good option for trying RHEL.
The main goals for the near future are to address speed issues and gradually develop a new Rocky community.
CONCLUSION
Rocky Linux is a downstream distribution based on the source code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). It is binary compatible with RHEL and intended to replace its predecessor, CentOS.
This enterprise-grade Linux distribution is ideal for both corporate and home use. It is commonly used for servers, including Linux dedicated server, workstations, and cloud services.