The variability of server OS, especially if speaking about open-source variants, is rather big. Among all these differences the most used are considered to be Red Hat, Debian, and CentOS. These OSs are rather old ones that are still functional and extremely popular online, but why not try something new? Well, let’s try to figure out what Alma and Rocky Linux can be better at and what you should rather check prior to their installation.
Contents
Here you get basic information about Rocky and Alma Linux and a couple of differences between these two OSs which can be used for dedicated server hosting Canada.
AlmaLinux vs Rocky Linux
AlmaLinux
Alma was released in 2021 as OS for data centers and hosting providers. Originally, it was called Project Lenix and later on, changed into Alma which is from Spanish and means “soul”. Alma was created by CloudLinux, despite this fact company is a sponsor, but not the owner of the product.
As usual with Linux products, it is free and open-source and perfectly suits CentOS’s users. Those clients that were using CentOS can use Alma without the changes in soft. We will discuss the benefits of this OS later on, but just imagine that $1M is spent yearly on the maintenance of this product. So that any user will have secure and regular updates.
Rocky Linux
Rocky Linux as well as Alma are open and free for usage. This OS is also based on RHEL code and its initial version saw the world in 2021. The aim of this product creation was to have the same purpose as Cent OS. This version quickly become popular on the market and its popularity is still high.
After the launch of Rocky Linux, RESF (or Rocky Foundation) became a partner with Google Cloud. As a result, users are getting experienced guidance from the support team.
Major Differences Between Rocky and AlmaLinux
These products looked like a consistent solution, after the choice of stopping to support CentOS. It is crucial to understand how these two OSs function in order to choose one that suits your needs better. Let’s dive into the discussion of these main differences.
Release and Updates
These OSs’ main priority is the stability of their functioning, that’s why there are lots of tests conducted before the incorporation of the new feature. Such stable functioning comes with consequences when the most recent soft and up-to-date features are immediately available only on CentOS Stream. Due to these Rocky and Alma get these updates later.
Initially during the implementation of the first versions, Rocky had a longer time delay. The team was oriented on the quality product rather than on the speed of its realization. There were more additional tests conducted and general checks.
Comparing with AlmaLinux which got all the newest updates quicker. Nevertheless, this situation changed after the release of v8.4. Now an average lag is a day or even less.
Performance Peculiarities
Frankly speaking, it is rather a challenge to find distinctive differences between Rocky and AlmaLinux, because both of them are almost identically reconstructed from RHEL. Real variability which can be noticed is in libraries and special packages’ support.
The newest release of both versions is based on kernel v5.14 which shows its security and efficiency features.
Package Managers
As for the default manager on Alma, it is dnf. It is mainly utilized to control custom-configured and official repositories for any possible updates of the soft. The dnf is a successor to yum.
Rocky, on the contrary, utilizes dnf or rpm manager. Except for the Rocky Linux rpm is also applied by ALT, BLAG, CentOS, ClearOS, MIRACLE, and others.
Security Characteristics
Alma offers the usage of CIS Benchmark, which easily allows clients to customize the security system according to their requirements. The tool that is applied is CIS-CAT and it is really helpful when you would like to get a detailed reporting system on any probable troubles. CIS works with v8.4 and higher of AlmaLinux.
Moreover, Alma has also one more tool that is called OpenSCAN. It functions for the detection of any possible vulnerabilities in the system.
As for Rocky, there was implemented a security system that is sufficiently new and it is called SELinux which was produced by NSA for the realization of MAC or Mandatory Access Control.
Usage Cases
For firms and organizations which are searching for functional and reliable distribution, AlmaLinux can be a fantastic choice for enterprise OS. It is accessible and free and will fantastically suit those companies that aren’t planning to overpay for any additional services.
Alma functions perfectly as a base for creating an app-focused, secure, and user-friendly system architect. It will work flawlessly in any system whether it is virtual, cloud-based, or physical.
