Good news, Enterprise Linux users! AlmaLinux stable version has been officially released!! Cloud Linux team has released AlmaLinux beta version a month ago. The stable release was planned for the end of the Q1 2021. The AlamaLinux OS team is dedicated and punctual. As promised, the first stable version of AlmaLinux is out yesterday. Go ahead and test it. If everything is OK, deploy it on your production servers.
Table of Contents
What is AlmaLinux?
AlmaLinux is a binary fork of RedHat Linux Enterprise Linux (RHEL) which is created as an alternative to CentOS. The current AlmaLinux version is based on RHEL 8.3. Almalinux is aimed to fill the gap left by the demise of CentOS stable Linux. Even though, it is initially built by CloudLinux team, the ongoing development efforts will be governed by the community.
AlmaLinux is completely free and the open source enterprise-level Linux distribution. The source code freely available in the AlmaLinux GitHub repository. There is also a bug tracker created to allow the registered users to file bugs. For those wondering, Alma means soul in Spanish and other Latin languages.
Download AlmaLinux
Go the AlmaLinux download page given below and download your preferred edition.
There are three AlmaLinux installation ISO images available:
- Boot iso - a single network installation CD image that downloads packages over the Internet.
- Minimal iso - a minimal self-containing DVD image that makes possible offline installation.
- DVD iso - a full installation DVD image that contains mostly all AlmaLinux packages.
It is also available as torrent file. If you want to download all three ISO images in one shot, torrent is the right choice.
Verify Checksum
Go to the location where you download the ISO file:
$ cd Downloads/AlmaLinux-8.3/Download AlmaLinux public key:
$ wget https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/RPM-GPG-KEY-AlmaLinuxImport the downloaded key:
$ gpg --import RPM-GPG-KEY-AlmaLinux You will see an output like below:
gpg: key 488FCF7C3ABB34F8: public key "AlmaLinux <packager@almalinux.org>" imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg: imported: 1Next, download the checksums list:
$ wget https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/8.3-beta/isos/x86_64/CHECKSUMVerify the checksums list:
$ gpg --verify CHECKSUMSample output:
gpg: Signature made Friday 26 March 2021 06:36:20 PM IST
gpg: using RSA key 51D6647EC21AD6EA
gpg: Good signature from "AlmaLinux <packager@almalinux.org>" [unknown]
gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
gpg: There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
Primary key fingerprint: 5E9B 8F56 17B5 066C E920 57C3 488F CF7C 3ABB 34F8
Subkey fingerprint: E53C F5EF 91CE B0AD 1812 ECB8 51D6 647E C21A D6EAIf you see Good signature in the output, it is valid.
Next, calculate the downloaded ISO SHA256 checksum using the following command:
$ sha256sum AlmaLinux-8.3-x86_64-minimal.isoSample output:
4f857524a140c95d47d0b39b5e050ce28344bda0475320da53c08aa8ba120c68 AlmaLinux-8.3-x86_64-minimal.isoFinally, compare it with expected checksum list using command:
$ cat CHECKSUM | grep -E 'SHA256.*AlmaLinux-8.3-x86_64-minimal.iso'You will see that both checksum values are same:
SHA256 (AlmaLinux-8.3-x86_64-minimal.iso) = 4f857524a140c95d47d0b39b5e050ce28344bda0475320da53c08aa8ba120c68
If the checksum values are same, it means that the downloaded ISO file is safe and has come from trusted source. You can then start installing the AlmaLinux OS on your machine.
Install AlmaLinux 8.4
The following step by step guide explains how to download latest AlmaLinux 8.4 version, and how to install AlmaLinux 8 with screenshots.
Migrate To AlmaLinux From CentOS 8
If you already have CentOS 8.3 and don't want to install AlmaLinux from scratch, simply migrate to AlmaLinux 8.3 using AlmaLinux migration script as described in the following link.
Have you already deployed AlmaLinux in production? Great! Share your experience via the comment section below.
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