Goodbye CentOS, hello AlmaLinux!

With its eighth release, CentOS adopted an approach that was poorly received, to say the least. Here is why and how we chose to replace it with AlmaLinux.

Update of 15 May 2024: Debian is now the system we install – see our article Goodbye AlmaLinux, hello Debian!.

The problem with CentOS 8 ⚠️

CentOS decided to move away from conventional updates with stable "releases" in favour of a so-called "stream" OS with continuous updates. This is not viable for a production server.

As a result, version 8, known as "CentOS 8 Stream", failed to convince Plesk, HaiSoft or the Linux administrator community in general. The OS is therefore considered "stillborn", and a replacement has to be found for future installations.

AlmaLinux

AlmaLinux is a Linux distribution developed by CloudLinux in response to the professional community's mass exodus from CentOS. To be precise, it is a "fork" (an alternative branch) of RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux), on which CentOS itself is based. This ensures perfect binary compatibility between AlmaLinux, CentOS and RHEL, and preserves the robust, professional spirit of the distribution. One of its many advantages is that upgrading from CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8 is possible! An ideal situation.

On its blog, CloudLinux tells us that "Alma" means "soul" in Spanish and Italian, and that the distribution is developed in close collaboration with the Linux community, thus embodying the very soul of Linux. By offering a seamless transition from CentOS, with extremely fast and efficient development, AlmaLinux quickly won over the community.

So we gave Alma a chance and carried out extensive in-house testing. The OS proved very reliable and very close to the way CentOS works natively.

Our managed services offering is built in particular on in-depth knowledge of the Red Hat/CentOS ecosystem on our servers, and on a team of Red Hat-certified technicians and engineers (RHCSA – RHCE). With more than a decade of experience with CentOS, it seemed obvious to us to continue in a similar software environment.

What is more, all the conditions seem to be in place for this system's long-term success, as AlmaLinux 8 will be supported until 2029.

Later on, if Plesk supports upgrading to AlmaLinux 9, we will be able to upgrade your server.

When should you migrate to AlmaLinux 8?

On request, HaiSoft can migrate your server to a new one when necessary.
Here are the main cases in which you might want to migrate to AlmaLinux 8:

• Your server runs CentOS 7, which is no longer supported: an upgrade to AlmaLinux 8 is possible
• Your server runs CentOS 6, which is no longer supported => Debian
• Your server runs CentOS 8, which is no longer supported; a conversion to AlmaLinux 8 is possible => Debian
• You are upgrading your server to a new plan that requires a change of machine => Debian

If you have any questions, please contact HaiSoft technical support.