AlmaLinux OS - Forever-Free Enterprise-Grade Operating System
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AlmaLinux OS - Forever-Free Enterprise-Grade Operating System
In case you missed it, Red Hat announced they will no longer be providing the means for downstream clones to continue to be 1:1 binary copies of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Very quickly, both Jack and I shared some initial thoughts, but we intentionally took our time deciding the next right step for AlmaLinux OS. After much discussion, the AlmaLinux OS Foundation board today has decided to drop the aim to be 1:1 with RHEL. AlmaLinux OS will instead aim to be Application Binary Interface (ABI) compatible*.
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AlmaLinux to diverge (slightly) from RHEL [LWN.net]
AlmaLinux has announced that the distribution will no longer be a strict clone of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but will maintain ABI compatibility.
Update:
More in FOSS Force.
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AlmaLinux Announces Its Solution to RHEL Source Code Conundrum
On Thursday, the AlmaLinux Foundation made public its plans to continue to develop and maintain its RHEL clone without access to Red Hat’s source code.
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FOSS Week In Review: Istio Graduates, Oracle Bitch-Slaps Red Hat & Elon Musk’s AI Dream
Guess what, everybody? We’re back.
Linuxiac:
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AlmaLinux Decided to Drop 1:1 Compatibility with RHEL
AlmaLinux emerged as a prominent alternative for users seeking a stable, community-driven operating system after CentOS shifted its focus to CentOS Stream, a rolling-release distribution.
The distro quickly gained recognition as a suitable, enterprise-ready replacement for CentOS, offering a stable and secure environment that mirrored RHEL.
Dissociated Press:
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AlmaLinux makes its choice: The friendly fork
The AlmaLinux project, after taking some time to think it over, has decided to pursue RHEL compatibility but is no longer aiming to be 1:1 “bug-for-bug” compatible with RHEL. Be sure to read their announcement from Chair of the Board, benny Vasquez. Board minutes are also available.
A number of folks are asking why you’d choose AlmaLinux over CentOS Stream, if they’ve dropped the goal of 1:1 binary copying.
For one thing, this gives AlmaLinux leeway to evolve beyond RHEL and be its own distribution. According to the post this opens the door to “a ton of exciting developments and partnerships” that will be announced in the future.
IBM responds:
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Open To All
Growing a community and making it easier for folks to contribute is a critical element of success. We are excited by the interest in working with the CentOS project.
Since Spring 2023, the CentOS Board and members of the community have been working on a set of guidelines to help define what success means for CentOS and its deliverables. Building community and contribution has been a part of the guidelines from day one.
Older, on GPL:
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I was wrong
Basically, the GPLv2 says there can be "no restrictions" placed on any use of the source code provided to any user of the software with its license.
Red Hat's EULA says that Red Hat reserves the right to terminate your business relationship (the Red Hat Subscription) if you redistribute the source code.
This doesn't restrict your right to share the source code that has been previously provided, since you are still free to do so.
Slashdot discussion:
ITWire:
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RHEL clone AlmaLinux says it will now aim for ABI compatibility
The chairman of the board at AlmaLinux, one of the distributions that sprang up after Red Hat discontinued CentOS, has admitted that it would not be possible to continue providing a 1:1 binary copy of RHEL.
Benny Vasquez said in a blog post that after the change announced by Red Hat on 21 June, that the next correct step for AlmaLinux was instead to aim for application binary interface compatible.
The Register:
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AlmaLinux project climbs down from being a one-to-one RHEL clone
The AlmaLinux distribution's goal is shifting from being one-to-one, bug-for-bug compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) to being application binary interface (ABI) compatible. But this represents a larger shift in the enterprise Linux market.
Management has published its third statement of direction following Red Hat's withdrawal of publicly accessible source code for its RHEL distribution. In a post entitled "The Future of AlmaLinux is Bright", project lead Benny Vasquez says that from now on, AlmaLinux will aim to be compatible with RHEL at the ABI level, rather than an exact clone as it originally set out to be.
Some Red Hat spin:
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Red Hat's Decision Prompts Outrage and Sympathy, Called 'Necessary' and 'Embarrassing' [Ed: This neglects to point out that SiliconANGLE takes bribes from Red Hat to spam and to lie]
Linux Magazine:
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AlmaLinux Will No Longer Aim for 1:1 RHEL Compatibility
Now that third parties no longer have unfettered access to the RHEL source code, distributions like Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and Oracle Linux have had to rethink how they build their operating systems.
For the longest time, the main appeal of these operating systems was that they were 1:1 compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. With that no longer a simple and cost-effective option, those distributions have had to make drastic changes.
The company behind AlmaLinux says they will no longer focus on being 1:1 compatible with RHEL but, instead, will maintain ABI compatibility. What this means is that AlmaLinux will be Application Binary Interface compatible with RHEL. In other words, AlmaLinux will be able to link pre-built libraries with compiled binaries.