The developers of the AlmaLinux operating system have announced the general availability for AlmaLinux 9. This release came one week after the release of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (RHEL 9); the Linux distribution on which AlmaLinux 9 is based. It delivers similar features to RHEL 9, however, is a free operating system.
Many improvements for the Web Console
AlmaLinux 9, which is a CentOS alternative, runs Linux kernel 5.14.0-70.13.1.el9_0 under the hood. It delivers some enhancements around cloud and container development as well as improvements for extra security. AlmaLinux 9 restricts the use of SHA-1 for signatures in the default crypto policy. The developers warn there might be some issues with this change while accessing the older systems via SSH, so they provide a solution to enable SHA-1 when needed. You can use the following command to activate SHA-1:
update-crypto-policies --set DEFAULT:SHA1The new release signs the packages and repositories with the new RPM-GPG-KEY-AlmaLinux-9 GPG key while adding SAP and SAP HANA repositories to the system. It also brings some enhancements to Web Console (cockpit); delivering more performance metrics as well as the capability of identifying bottlenecks. Web Console now also can apply live kernel patch and build images via a single build node. Additionally, AlmaLinux 9 enables Smart Card Authentication through Web Console and introduces new security profiles.
The SELinux performance has been greatly improved and SSSD delivers additional logging details. AlmaLinux 9 comes with new wallpapers as well. The remaining package changes can be seen below:
- Perl 5.32
- PHP 8.0
- Git 2.31
- Apache HTTP Server 2.4.51
- Varnish Cache 6.6
- Squid 5.2
- MySQL 8.0
- Redis 6.2
- GCC 11.2.1
- glibc 2.34
- binutils 2.35.2
- Go Toolset 1.17.7
- PCP 5.3.5
- Grafana 7.5.11
- GDB 10.2
- Valgrind 3.18.1
- SystemTap 4.6
- Dyninst 11.0.0
- elfutils 0.186
- Maven 3.6
- Ant 1.10
Upgrade AlmaLinux 9.0 Beta to AlmaLinux 9
To upgrade a system from AlmaLinux 9.0 Beta to AlmaLinux 9, you can use the following command, twice:
dnf upgrade -yDownload AlmaLinux 9
You can also download the ISO images for x86_64, ARM64, ppc664le, and s390x systems and choose from Boot, Minimal and DVD versions by following the link below:
| Architecture | Download Link |
|---|---|
| x86_64 | AlmaLinux 9.0 x86_64 |
| aarch64 | AlmaLinux 9.0 aarch64 |
| ppc64le | AlmaLinux 9.0 ppc64le |
| s390x | AlmaLinux 9.0 s390x |
FAQ
What are the latest AlmaLinux versions?
The latest version in AlmaLinux 8 series is 8.7 "Stone Smilodon" which was released on 10 November 2022, and in 9 series is 9.1 "Lime Lynx" released on 16 November 2022.
How long will AlmaLinux be supported?
AlmaLinux 8.X versions will be supported until 2029 and AlmaLinux 9.X versions will be supported until 2032.
Is AlmaLinux free?
Yes, AlmaLinux is a completely free and open-source Linux distribution.
Is AlmaLinux lightweight?
Yes, AlmaLinux is a lightweight and strong enterprise-focused Linux distribution.
Who owns AlmaLinux?
AlmaLinux is a community-driven Linux operating system. The AlmaLinux OS Foundation is a non-profit organization created for the benefit of the AlmaLinux OS community.
Is AlmaLinux same as RHEL?
Yes, AlmaLinux is an RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) fork and is 1:1 binary compatible with it.
Is AlmaLinux same as CentOS?
Yes, AlmaLinux is one of the best CentOS alternatives and is 1:1 binary compatible with its pre-Stream version.
Is AlmaLinux good for servers?
AlmaLinux is an enterprise-focused Linux distribution that delivers a variety of tools for use on servers.
Does AlmaLinux have a desktop environment?
Yes, AlmaLinux has a desktop environment. It comes with GNOME by default. You can install any other desktop environments according to your needs.
Can AlmaLinux be installed on a virtual machine?
Yes, AlmaLinux can be installed on a virtual machine. A virtual machine (VM) allows you to run an operating system within another operating system. This means that you can install AlmaLinux on a virtual machine and run it on top of your current operating system, without the need to replace it or partition your hard drive. To install AlmaLinux on VMWare, you can refer to our article: How to create VM and install a Linux distro on VMWare Workstation