AlmaLinux is an open-source, community-driven project that intends to fill the gap left by the demise of the CentOS stable release. It is a 1:1 binary compatible fork of RHEL 8 and it is built by the creators of the established CloudLinux OS. If you missed the news, the first stable version of AlmaLinux OS was released on March 30th, 2021.
AlmaLinux has worked with the AWS Marketplace team to produce images of AlmaLinux OS and make this easier for AWS users to find, and to trust, these images. There is no additional charge, beyond the charges for the underlying AWS resources, to use these images.
What are Amazon Machine Images
The AWS Marketplace is where software producers may list their works for users of the AWS environment to access. An Amazon Machine Image (AMI) is a master image for the creation of virtual servers (known as EC2 instances) in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment.
Therefore, the machine images are like templates that are configured with an operating system and other software, which determine the userโs operating environment. You must specify an AMI when you launch an instance.
AlmaLinux OS 8 AMI’s highlights
Above all, AlmaLinux OS AMI’s include cloud-init support. The default cloud user is set up to be ‘ec2-user’. After the machine is running, you will be able to log in as this user and run privileged commands with sudo. Packages and modules are available through the BaseOS, AppStream and PowerTools repositories.
All AlmaLinux OS images are built with SELinux set to enforcing mode.
AlmaLinux OS support options
Starting from this month, CloudLinux Inc start providing multiple support options for the AlmaLinux OS, including regular patches and updates for the Linux kernel and core packages, patch delivery service-level agreements (SLAs), and 24/7 incident support.
In addition to essential AlmaLinux support services, CloudLinux is also planning to introduce a premium support tier for enterprises that require enhanced services, as well as Product NodeOS Support for AlmaLinux OS, explicitly tailored to the needs of vendors and OEMs that are planning to use AlmaLinux as a node OS underlying their commercial products and services.