Upgrading and maintaining your operating system is crucial to optimal performance and security. AlmaLinux, a widely used open-source Linux distribution, recently released version 9.5 with new features and security enhancements that will benefit any admin or organization running
In this article, I'll explain what's new in AlmaLinux 9.5 and the improvements and features you'll benefit from by upgrading. No matter your skill set or background, I'll guide you through acquiring AlmaLinux 9.5. From backing up data to installing plugins and verifying a successful upgrade, we cover every detail to ensure your system reaps all its advantages and robustness.
Introduction to AlmaLinux
AlmaLinux is an open-source and community-driven Linux distribution, often seen as an alternative to CentOS since the latter transitioned to CentOS Stream. AlmaLinux OS Foundation has become a vibrant community committed to creating an enterprise-grade operating system compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) that is free, stable, and easy to use —the way CentOS was before switching over.
AlmaLinux stands out among Linux options as an operating system suitable for developers, administrators, and enterprise environments due to its stability, reliability, and broad architecture support. Over the years, it has established an impressive user base due to its commitment to staying compatible with RHEL, providing seamless migration paths, regular security updates, and new features.
AlmaLinux 9.5 "Teal Serval" Released
AlmaLinux OS Foundation officially unveiled AlmaLinux 9.5 (Teal Serval) on November 18th, 2024. This stable release includes updates, security upgrades, new packages, and improved features that further establish AlmaLinux as a prominent enterprise Linux distribution. AlmaLinux 9.5 supports multiple hardware architectures, including Intel/AMD (x86_64), ARM64 (aarch64), IBM PowerPC (ppc64le), and IBM Z (s390x) with installation ISOs readily available for download on official mirrors as well as torrent options to assist.
AlmaLinux 9.5 offers more than just traditional installation ISOs. It offers Cloud, Container, and Live Images that meet different deployment needs. These include container images featuring Universal Base Images (UBIs), LXC/LXD containers, and live media tailored for desktop environments like GNOME, GNOME-mini, KDE, XFCE, and MATE. Also, cloud images for popular cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, OpenNebula, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and generic cloud-init images are readily available. Vagrant Boxes are available for multiple virtualization platforms such as Libvirt, VirtualBox, Hyper-V, VMware (both x86_64 and AArch64), Parallels (AArch64), as well as Raspberry Pi and Windows Subsystem for Linux (both x86_64 and AArch64). With such options, AlmaLinux 9.5 can quickly and efficiently meet user requirements across various environments.
AlmaLinux 9.5 Brings Key Features and Improvements
AlmaLinux 9.5 introduces key updates and improvements to boost system performance and improve development tooling and security. This release emphasizes performance enhancements through upgraded system performance monitoring tools, such as visualization tools and data collection frameworks, which collectively optimize system efficiency and responsiveness. Furthermore, administrators and developers will gain deeper insights into system behavior for more effective overall performance management.
AlmaLinux 9.5 provides developers with powerful development tooling to accommodate modern application development. This release features updated module streams that better accommodate web apps and other contemporary workloads. Additionally, newer compiler versions provide access to features, optimizations, and improvements for code generation. Such robust development tooling makes AlmaLinux an excellent platform for building high-performance applications.
AlmaLinux 9.5 remains committed to keeping your data protected with updates designed to strengthen system protection. These improvements include strengthened cryptographic standards that increase data protection, enhanced SELinux policies that tighten access controls to minimize unauthorized access, and strengthened crypto-policies with enhanced encryption mechanisms against emerging threats - making AlmaLinux 9.5 an exemplary choice for enterprise environments that prioritize compliance and data protection.
How To Download or Upgrade to AlmaLinux 9.5 on Your Systems
To acquire or upgrade to AlmaLinux 9.5, users should begin by accessing one of the official AlmaLinux mirrors and downloading from there. These mirrors offer access to ISO files for various architectures and torrent links, ensuring a faster and more reliable download experience.
If you upgrade from an earlier version of AlmaLinux and wish to transition smoothly to version 9.5, this process can be accomplished easily by taking several steps. First and foremost, it is vitally important that any critical data and configurations be backed up before beginning. Doing this could safeguard against data loss should any issues arise during the upgrade. After ensuring your data is safe, update all current packages to their latest versions by running sudo dnf update -y. Next, install the dnf-plugin-system-upgrade with sudo dnf install dnf-plugin-system-upgrade, as this plugin is necessary for upgrading. After installing the plugin, download AlmaLinux 9.5 packages using sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=9.5 to complete your upgrade process. Once the download has been completed, initiate the upgrade process by running sudo dnf system-upgrade reboot to upgrade. Once rebooted, the upgrade process will commence. Depending on the complexity and number of upgraded packages, this may take time. To verify that the upgrade went as smoothly as planned, administrators can check whether their system runs AlmaLinux 9.5 by running cat /etc/os-release and verifying its output reads VERSION="9.5 (Teal Serval). By taking these steps, administrators can upgrade seamlessly to AlmaLinux 9.5 so their systems can take full advantage of all its improvements and security enhancements.
Our Final Thoughts on the AlmaLinux 9.5 Release
AlmaLinux 9.5 "Teal Serval" represents an essential step forward for the AlmaLinux community, offering critical updates, performance upgrades, and security enhancements that benefit users new to AlmaLinux and upgrading from earlier versions. AlmaLinux provides a stable, reliable, secure platform that meets enterprise needs—be they architecture-specific support or engaging the community directly—providing users and administrators with the tools they require for IT infrastructure management purposes.
Have you tested out Teal Serval? What is your impression of this release? Connect with us @lnxsec and let us know!
