2023-10-23 08:30:00
Recent restrictions on the redistribution of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) source code have had a strong impact on clones of this operating system. While some, such as CIQ (Rocky Linux), Oracle and SUSE, have rallied around OpenELA to address this challenge, AlmaLinux has taken a more independent route to maintain compatibility with RHEL’s Application Binary Interface (ABI).
Benny Vasquez, president of the AlmaLinux OS Foundation, has shared the steps they are taking at the All Things Open Convention to achieve this compatibility without resorting to Red Hat source code. Unlike other players, AlmaLinux maintains a friendly position towards IBM and Red Hat, and its approach is oriented towards sustainability and ABI-level compatibility with RHEL.
The path to achieving this compatibility involves the use of the CentOS Stream source code, which remains freely redistributable and is the basis of RHEL. This means that AlmaLinux relies heavily on CentOS Stream, and Vasquez notes that most packages remain identical to RHEL, with only a small percentage requiring manual patching.
One of the biggest challenges for AlmaLinux is kernel patches, as they cannot use Red Hat updates directly due to licensing restrictions. To address this problem, they turn to patches from other sources or wait for Oracle to release them, allowing them to deploy them faster than the system they forked from.
Maintaining compatibility is a priority for AlmaLinux, and any significant differences with RHEL are considered a bug that must be fixed. Additionally, AlmaLinux offers a software repository called Synergy, which provides packages not available on RHEL or EPEL, the Fedora-linked Special Interest Group (SIG).
Despite its friendly approach towards IBM and Red Hat, AlmaLinux could be in a strong position if the clones continue to demonstrate quality and compatibility with RHEL, which could influence the future moves of these tech giants.
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