Rocky Linux is a distribution intended to be a complete downstream binary compatible release using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system source code.
The Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF) has announced the general availability (GA) of Rocky Linux 8.7, just five days after RHEL 8.7 was released. So Let’s see what’s new.
Rocky Linux 8.7. Highlights
Network Manager
The Network Manager has been updated to upstream version 1.40, which includes some significant improvements and bug fixes over the previous version.
For example, the device state files have new sections, “dhcp4” and “dhcp6,” which contain the DHCP options of the current lease. Furthermore, if a device’s MAC address changes, the Network Manager restarts the connection’s DHCP client.
On top of that, the Network Manager now shortens a long DHCP server hostname to the first dot or 64 characters, carrier detection has been improved, and Wi-Fi hotspots now use a stable random channel number unless you select a specific channel.
Identity Management
Memory caching for SID requests is now supported by System Security Services Daemon (SSSD). This improves performance when copying large files, for example, to or from a Samba server.
In addition, Identity Management (IdM) allows you to set up an AD Trust with Windows Server 2022. In other words, Rocky Linux 8.7 can now establish a cross-forest trust between IdM domains and Active Directory forests that use Domain Controllers running Windows Server 2022.
Compilers & Development Tools
Developers using Rocky Linux 8.7 have reason to rejoice, as many dev tools have received updates. GCC 12, LLVM 14.0.6, Rust 1.62, and Go 1.18 are among the new compiler toolset versions.
Mercurial 6.2 is now available as a module stream in Rocky Linux 8.7. This version includes several bug fixes, enhancements, and performance increases. However, it is essential to be noted that Mercurial 6.2 supports Python 3.6 or later and no longer supports Python 2.
On top of that, several other dev tools have also received a version upgrade, notably Ruby 3.1, Maven 3.8, and node.js 18.
You can refer to the official announcement for more detailed information about whatโs new on Rocky Linux 8.7 release.
Download & Upgrade
You can download the ISO image from the projectโs website. It is available for multiple ISO varieties for x86_64 and ARM64 (aarch64).
Of course, if you are already using Rocky Linux 8.6 and want to upgrade to the latest stable 8.7 version, there’s no need for a fresh install. Type in terminal:
sudo dnf -y upgradeHowever, for those looking for an easy way to migrate to Rocky Linux 9, I recommend going through our guide “How to Upgrade from Rocky Linux 8 to Rocky Linux 9.”
