If you're choosing a RHEL-compatible Linux distribution for your VPS, understanding the CentOS situation and the two main successors is essential context.
What Happened to CentOS?
CentOS Linux was historically a free, community-maintained rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), fully binary-compatible with RHEL. In December 2020, Red Hat announced that CentOS Linux 8 would reach end-of-life far earlier than originally planned, shifting focus instead to CentOS Stream — a rolling-release distribution positioned upstream of RHEL rather than a downstream rebuild.
Why This Mattered
CentOS Stream, being upstream of RHEL, receives changes before they're stabilized in RHEL — a fundamentally different stability model than the traditional CentOS Linux many production servers relied on. This left a gap for organizations wanting a stable, free, RHEL-compatible option, which two projects independently filled.
AlmaLinux
Created by CloudLinux (a company with an existing track record in enterprise Linux), AlmaLinux is a community-governed, 1:1 binary-compatible rebuild of RHEL, positioned as a direct CentOS Linux successor.
Rocky Linux
Founded by Gregory Kurtzer, one of the original creators of CentOS, Rocky Linux is similarly a downstream, binary-compatible rebuild of RHEL, explicitly named as a spiritual successor to the original CentOS project.
AlmaLinux vs Rocky Linux: Practical Differences
| Factor | AlmaLinux | Rocky Linux |
|---|---|---|
| Governance | Community-governed nonprofit foundation | Community-governed, backed by the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation |
| RHEL compatibility | 1:1 binary compatible | 1:1 binary compatible |
| Package availability | Same core RHEL-derived repositories | Same core RHEL-derived repositories |
| Support/updates | Regular security updates matching RHEL's cadence | Regular security updates matching RHEL's cadence |
For most practical purposes, the two distributions are functionally very similar — the choice often comes down to community preference or specific organizational relationships rather than significant technical differences.
Should You Choose AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux Over Ubuntu/Debian?
See AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux vs Ubuntu/Debian: Which Should You Choose? for a full comparison — the short answer is that RHEL-family distributions are often preferred for enterprise environments standardized on RHEL, or applications specifically certified/tested against RHEL.
What This Knowledge Base Covers
The guides in this category apply equally to both AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux, since they share the same package manager (dnf), the same core system tools, and the same overall administration approach — differences between the two distributions are minimal for standard VPS hosting purposes.
Migrating from CentOS
Both AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux provide official migration scripts to convert an existing CentOS Linux 8 installation in-place, avoiding a full reinstall — check each project's official documentation for the current migration tool and instructions matching your specific CentOS version.
FAQ
Is CentOS Stream still usable for production?
It can be, but its rolling-release, upstream-of-RHEL model has different stability characteristics than traditional CentOS Linux; many production workloads have moved to AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, or RHEL itself instead.
Can I switch between AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux later?
Given their close compatibility, migration between them is generally more straightforward than migrating from a fundamentally different distribution family, though it still requires care and testing.
Continue Reading
- How to Get Started with AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux on a VPS
- AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux vs Ubuntu/Debian: Which Should You Choose?
- How to Use dnf: The Package Manager for AlmaLinux & Rocky Linux
Browse more articles in AlmaLinux & Rocky Linux.
