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“Farewell to RHEL: AlmaLinux shifts focus to ABI compatibility”
AlmaLinux has officially announced its decision to forego its initial goal of achieving 1:1 compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Instead, the company will now shift its focus to obtaining application binary interface (ABI) compatibility.
This shift comes in light of rival company Oracle’s similar announcement, which also criticized IBM and Red Hat’s decision to restrict access to RHEL source code. However, the move towards ABI compatibility may result in a loss of binary compatibility.
Despite this change, AlmaLinux assures customers that the transition will have “very little change” in their use of the operating system. The company also states that Red Hat-compatible applications will continue to run smoothly and receive regular security updates.
However, with the abandonment of binary compatibility, it remains uncertain whether all applications will function as promised. Additionally, AlmaLinux warns that users may encounter bugs not present in Red Hat’s software, but the company’s independence from Red Hat’s release cycle means that they can promptly address and fix any glitches that may arise.
For those unfamiliar with ABI compatibility, it refers to the ability of an application to function with the underlying operating environment. This means that as long as an application is ABI-compatible, it should continue to work on AlmaLinux. However, any applications that are not or utilize features outside of the ABI may not work correctly.
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that ABI compatibility is currently only a goal for AlmaLinux. The company states that their aim is to ensure that applications designed for RHEL can run seamlessly on their own distribution.
So what does this mean for customers? Ever since Red Hat announced their restrictions on RHEL sources, the fate of RHEL clones like AlmaLinux has been uncertain. With AlmaLinux’s decision to shift towards ABI compatibility, it’s apparent that those seeking full RHEL binary compatibility will need to obtain a Red Hat subscription.
While alternatives such as Rocky Linux still exist, they plan to use UBI container images and pay-per-use cloud instances to maintain 1:1 compatibility. However, experts predict that Red Hat will eventually find a way to close this loophole exploited by Rocky Linux.
Despite AlmaLinux’s clarification, the community’s reaction to Red Hat’s decision continues to be mixed. While some users are relieved that AlmaLinux has come to a decision, there is also empathy for their predicament. Some still view the abandonment of 1:1 compatibility as a significant setback, stating that their reason for choosing AlmaLinux was to mirror RHEL’s features and updates.
One user perfectly sums up the community’s feelings, calling AlmaLinux’s decision “a well thought out response” to Red Hat’s changes. With all the buzz surrounding Red Hat’s moves, it’s clear that the controversy is far from over.
