The release of AlmaLinux created quite a buzz in the Linux community back in February of 2021. The distro is a forever-free alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
The open-source project is maintained by AlmaLinux OS Foundation – a non-profit with over 400 members – and the community attached to the project. The non-profit also has 25+ corporate sponsors and 100+ mirror sponsors.
The distro’s development team is committed to supplying users with a stable production-grade platform for free. In this article, we’ll introduce AlmaLinux’s features and advantages before walking you through the installation steps.
What is AlmaLinux?
CentOS was discontinued at the end of 2020, and a couple of months later, the first beta of AlmaLinux was released. It is a stable and reliable distro built as a replacement for CentOS.
AlmaLinux became popular soon after its release since it is compatible with a wide array of hardware and software. Moreover, the distro offers long-term support, making it the obvious choice for Linux users looking for an alternative to CentOS.
AlmaLinux Features
This distro comes packed with several features that make it an ideal choice for many Linux users:
- Stability: AlmaLinux is one of the most stable distros, making it a popular choice for servers that need to be accessible 24/7.
- Compatibility: The distro works smoothly on most hardware and functions smoothly with existing Linux applications.
- Security: AlmaLinux has tools such as firewalld and SELinux to safeguard users against cyber threats. The distro also boasts cryptographic support, helping prevent unauthorized access.
- Performance: With its low overhead and highly efficient resource management, AlmaLinux will support heavy workloads without slowing down or crashing.
- Long-term Support: Since the current version of the distro will receive updates and community support for up to 10 years, AlmaLinux users do not have to move to another OS anytime soon.
Usecases of AlmaLinux
Though AlmaLinux is a CentOS alternative and an enterprise-grade distro, its application isn’t limited to business-critical servers and databases.
In fact, AlmaLinux is an excellent distro for personal use on laptops and computers as it is stable and secure.
More and more educational institutions use the distro to teach students about open-source software and Red Hat Linux. AlmaLinux is quite suitable for government agencies that need a reliable OS for their machines and networks.
How to Install AlmaLinux
You need a USB drive with at least 8 GB of storage to install this Linux distro. Additionally, your machine must have at least 10 GB of hard disk space and 1.5 GB of RAM.
If your machine supports the distro, you can download the newest version of it on the official website. Next, you must download a tool such as Etcher or Rufus and use the ISO file to create a bootable USB.
You can then use the bootable to install the OS on your machine. You must follow the instructions that appear and pick the installation options appropriate to your machine.
How to Use AlmaLinux to Manage Servers
The long-term support, security features, and stability of AlmaLinux make it the ideal OS for server management.
To use the distro for server management, it’s a good idea to install server-specific packages using the terminal. The packages available for this distro include email servers, web servers, database servers, etc.
It’s worth noting that the distro comes with a built-in firewall. However, you will need to use the terminal to set it up and secure your machine.
AlmaLinux makes monitoring your machine straightforward. It comes with tools allowing you to check network traffic, memory usage, CPU usage, and disk usage, among other metrics. You can also use the monitoring tools to troubleshoot errors and issues on your machine.
Scheduling updates, backups, and other tasks is easy on AlmaLinux using shell scripts and cron jobs. Besides you can also run several virtual machines on a single machine. This way, you can make the most of your hardware and optimize server costs.
Can Developers Use AlmaLinux?
Yes, AlmaLinux is an excellent choice for developers as several development tools are available on it. Using the package manager, you can easily install libraries, debuggers, and compilers on your machine.
What’s more, the distro supports containerization tools. So, you can run apps in isolation using tools like Docker without much hassle. Using such tools makes applications portable, streamlining the development workflow.
Since AlmaLinux supports the most common version control systems, you can easily install Git and use it to manage your source code. Of course, tools like Git also make it easy to collaborate with other developers.
One of the best things about the distro is its pre-configured development environments for languages such as Java, Ruby, and Python.
So, if you’re a developer, you don’t need to spend much time setting up a code editor after installing AlmaLinux.
Conclusion
Offering a wide array of features and benefits, AlmaLinux is an excellent choice for business owners, teachers, enthusiasts, and even government agencies. The large and active community will provide you with any support you need.
But, most impressively, businesses and organizations that require professional maintenance and priority support will receive the help they need.
All that’s left for you to do is visit this distro’s official website and follow the installation steps outlined in this article. You’ll soon have the secure and reliable AlmaLinux up and running on your machine!
