Rocky Linux
Overview
Rocky Linux is a community-driven, enterprise-grade Linux distribution created in 2021 by Gregory Kurtzer (co-founder of CentOS) after CentOS announced the end of CentOS Linux in favor of CentOS Stream.
Rocky Linux is a binary-compatible rebuild of RHEL — it is 1:1 compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, providing a free, open-source alternative for enterprises that need RHEL compatibility without the subscription cost.
Key Features
- RHEL binary compatibility: 1:1 rebuild of RHEL source code.
- ELN (Enterprise Linux Next) integration: Contributes to and uses the RHEL source tree.
- Long-term support: 10-year support lifecycle matching RHEL.
- Zero-cost: Free for production use, no licensing fees.
- Community-driven: Governed by the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF).
- Fast rebuilds: Near-simultaneous release with RHEL updates.
Licensing
Primarily GPL and other FOSS licenses. Built from RHEL source code redistributed under its original licenses.
Notable Facts
- Created in response to CentOS Linux’s discontinuation (Dec 2020).
- Greg Kurtzer donated the CentOS project to Red Hat and then created Rocky as a replacement.
- Rocky Linux is one of the fastest-growing enterprise Linux distributions post-CentOS.
- It is not affiliated with Red Hat but is fully compatible with RHEL.
Use Cases
- Enterprise server infrastructure
- RHEL replacement for cost-sensitive deployments
- Cloud and container platforms
- Financial and healthcare compliance workloads
- HPC and data center deployments