Rocky Linux, a community-led open-source distribution of Enterprise Linux (EL), continues to assert its resilience and capability to thrive as a reliable and free-of-charge substitute to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), also amidst evolving conditions of access. Red Hat recently indicated that RHEL sources would no longer be obtainable from git.centos.org, but this development doesn’t seem to faze the Rocky Linux team.
Although the move by Red Hat introduces a modification in the building process of Rocky Linux, the team has swiftly taken measures to address this shift. They’ve implemented a short-term solution and are concurrently sculpting a long-term strategy. Importantly, they assure that there will be no disruption or alterations for Rocky Linux users, collaborators, or partners due to this shift.
Gregory Kurtzer, the founder of the Rocky Linux project and chair of the board of the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF), which administers the project, expressed his conviction in the open-source ideology. He asserts, “Open-source software should always be freely accessible, stable, and not confined behind a paywall or under the control of a single enterprise. While Red Hat’s decision to restrict their source distribution caused a slight inconvenience, thanks to the quick response and dynamic team, Rocky Linux users will experience no disruption. We are becoming even more stable, supported, and secure going forward.”
Open-Source Enterprise Linux
“While Red Hat’s decision to restrict their source distribution caused a slight inconvenience, Rocky Linux users will experience no disruption,” Gregory Kurtzer, the founder of the Rocky Linux project.The Rocky Linux community fosters the core open-source principle of collaboration. Contributors to Rocky Linux have responsibly functioned as a part of the EL ecosystem, regularly making upstream contributions to CentOS Stream, Fedora, and other open-source initiatives, thus enhancing the EL community’s overall strength.
Despite the changing tides, Rocky Linux says it remains committed to delivering a community-centric, accessible, and transparent EL operating system. They vow to fulfill their commitment to support the complete life-span of Rocky 8 and 9 and to continue to produce future RHEL-compatible versions for as long as feasible. This commitment ensures that organizations can maintain the adaptability, control, and freedom they depend on for their crucial infrastructure – staying true to the open-source ethos.
Founded in 2020 as a response to Red Hat’s premature end-of-life announcement of CentOS as a stable downstream RHEL distribution, Rocky Linux has quickly evolved as a top-tier distribution of community-driven open-source Enterprise Linux. The project is hosted by the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF), established with a mission to guarantee the persistence, stewardship, and innovation of enterprise-grade open-source software, while preserving its freely available status.
CentOS Alternative for Hosting Providers
Rocky Linux has quickly established itself as a significant player in the hosting providers landscape, especially for those seeking a suitable CentOS alternative. Red Hat’s decision to end its long-term support for CentOS prompted many businesses to look for alternatives, with Rocky Linux standing out as one of the more viable options.
As an open-source, community-driven distribution of Enterprise Linux, Rocky Linux provides a nearly identical, bug-for-bug compatible alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) without the accompanying enterprise-level support costs. This can be particularly beneficial to hosting providers as it enables them to continue offering a familiar and stable operating system to their customers at a lower cost, which can be a competitive advantage.
Additionally, Rocky Linux is built by an active and engaged community that has committed to maintaining the distribution over the long term. This offers more certainty to hosting providers, as they can trust that the platform will be regularly updated, patched for security, and kept in line with emerging technologies and standards.
Moreover, the founder of the Rocky Linux project, Gregory Kurtzer, has also pledged to keep Rocky Linux freely available and independent of control by a single company. This assurance would further strengthen hosting providers’ confidence in adopting Rocky Linux as their primary operating system choice.
Finally, the philosophy of transparency and collaboration embodied by the Rocky Linux community aligns well with many hosting providers’ values. The open-source nature of the project means that these providers can potentially contribute to its development and improvements, which in turn, can benefit their own services and customers.
