Rocky Linux facts for kids
Rocky Linux is a special type of computer program, called a Linux distribution. Think of it like an operating system, similar to Windows or macOS, but it's free and open-source. Rocky Linux was created to be a replacement for another popular Linux system called CentOS.
The idea for Rocky Linux came about because a company named Red Hat made a big change to CentOS. They decided to stop providing full updates for CentOS 8 much sooner than people expected. This surprised many users and businesses who relied on CentOS.
Gregory Kurtzer, who was one of the original creators of the CentOS project, announced the plan for Rocky Linux. Many people in the computer community are now working together to build and improve it.
What is Rocky Linux?
Rocky Linux is a free operating system that works like the brain of a computer. It's built to be very stable and reliable, especially for big computer servers that run websites or handle lots of data. It's designed to be exactly like Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), which is a very powerful and widely used system for businesses. This means programs that work on RHEL will also work perfectly on Rocky Linux.
Why was Rocky Linux created?
Rocky Linux was created because of a big change that happened with CentOS. CentOS used to be a free version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Many companies and people used CentOS because it was stable and didn't cost anything.
In 2014, Red Hat bought CentOS. Then, on December 8, 2020, Red Hat announced a new plan for CentOS. Instead of being a stable, free version of RHEL, CentOS would become "CentOS Stream." This new version would be more like a testing ground for future RHEL updates, rather than a finished product.
The big change for CentOS 8
The biggest surprise was that the support for CentOS 8 was going to end much earlier than planned. Originally, CentOS 8 was supposed to get updates until 2029. But with the new plan, full updates and support for CentOS 8 stopped on December 31, 2021. This left many users needing a new, stable system quickly.
Because of this sudden change, Gregory Kurtzer and the community decided to create Rocky Linux. Their goal was to make a new system that would be a true, stable replacement for the old CentOS. They wanted to ensure that people and businesses still had a free, reliable operating system that worked just like Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
It's important to know that the older version, CentOS 7, was not affected by this change. It will continue to receive updates until June 30, 2024.
See also
- In Spanish: Rocky Linux para niños
