AlmaLinux 8 was created as a stable and secure alternative to CentOS following Red Hat's announcement to change the CentOS licensing and support model. The AlmaLinux 8 project was announced in January 2021 by the CloudLinux community and placed under the leadership of Gregory Kurtzer, the creator of the CentOS project.
AlmaLinux 8 is a free and open source operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8, is compatible with RHEL, and uses the same packages and features. The first version of AlmaLinux 8 was released on March 30, 2021 and offers long-term support (LTS) of 10 years.
Since then, AlmaLinux 8 has continued to evolve and improve its functionality, including new versions of software packages and improvements to the kernel and server applications. AlmaLinux 8 is compatible with Docker and Kubernetes and provides multiple system management tools, including DNF package manager, Cockpit server management, Systemd service management and more. AlmaLinux 8 is designed for users who are looking for a stable, safe and reliable operating system for their servers.