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Rocky Linux 8.8 for the x86-64 and aarch64 architectures was officially released on 20 May 2023. This release uses the 4.18.0-477.10.1 kernel; below, we summarise the most important changes and potential issues.
Key changes
- The Container Universal Base Image rockylinux/rockylinux:8-ubi has been changed to make it more similar to RHEL UBI images:
- Replaced packages: libcurl -> curl-minimal, libcurl-minimal
- Packages added: gdb-gdbserver, gzip
- Removed packages: binutils, brotli, dmidecode
- Network configuration clean-up added
- Microsoft Azure images now appear in the shared galleries. This provides a direct way to access Rocky Linux images without having to pay for them via the marketplace.
- LVM cloud image versions now remove the /etc/lvm/devices/system.devices file to resolve issues relating to PVs, VGs and LVs during image installation, as these are hard-coded to a specific device.
Noteworthy new features and changes
- Intel Arc GPU support has been added.
- Git has been updated to version 2.39.1, enabling support for signing commits with SSH keys.
- The settings for the kernel’s FIPS mode have been adjusted to comply with the FIPS 140-3 federal information processing standard (FIPS).
- The Podman Quadlet feature is now available.
Software versions in Rocky Linux 8.8
| Area | Versions |
|---|---|
| Updated and new application streams | Python 3.11, nginx 1.22, PostgreSQL 15, Tomcat 9, Swig 4.1 |
| Version control | Git 2.39.1, Git LFS 3.2.0 |
| Compilers and toolkits | GCC Toolset 12, LLVM Toolset 15.0.7, Rust Toolset 1.66, Go Toolset 1.19.4 |
| Troubleshooting and performance monitoring | Valgrind 3.19, SystemTap 4.8, elfutils 0.188, PCP 5.3.7, Grafana 7.5.15 |
In terms of security, libreswan has been updated to version 4.9, OpenSCAP to version 1.3.7, fapolicyd can now filter based on the RPM database, the OpenSSL driver for rsyslog now handles certificate chains, and systemd-socket-proxyd runs in its own SELinux domain. Alongside the containers, the rockylinux/rockylinux:8-ubi-init (in a systemd container) and 8-ubi-micro versions have been released, whilst Podman now supports sigstore signatures and a custom DNS server.
A more comprehensive list of new features and changes can be found in the Rocky Linux 8.8 release notes.
ISO verification
Once you have downloaded the 8.8 installation ISOs (Rocky-8.8-x86_64-boot.iso, -minimal.iso, -dvd1.iso/-dvd.iso), it is worth checking them. In the folder where you saved the ISOs:
curl -O https://dl.rockylinux.org/vault/rocky/8.8/isos/x86_64/CHECKSUM
sha256sum -c CHECKSUM --ignore-missing
The command compares the ISO files in the folder with the CHECKSUM file and returns an ‘OK’ result next to the downloaded image file. The packages are signed by the Rocky Linux 8 GPG key (RPM-GPG-KEY-Rocky-8, fingerprint: 7051 C470 A929 F454 CEBE 37B7 15AF 5DAC 6D74 5A60), which dnf automatically verifies after installation.
Update and migration
An existing Rocky Linux 8 system can be updated using the usual command:
sudo dnf -y upgrade
Rocky Linux only ever supports the latest point release of each major release, so the command now updates to the latest release in the 8 series. You can migrate from other Enterprise Linux 8 distributions (AlmaLinux, CentOS, Oracle Linux, RHEL) using the migrate2rocky script.
Rocky Linux does not officially support in-place upgrades between major versions; it recommends a fresh installation for the 9 series. However, the community-developed ELevate tool can be used to perform an 8 → 9 upgrade; the steps are described in our guide ‘Upgrading AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux from 8 to 9 using ELevate’.
How long is it supported for?
Active support for Rocky Linux 8 (“Green Obsidian”) lasted until 31 May 2024, and its lifecycle ends on 31 May 2029. Only the latest point release receives updates. Further releases in the 8 series:
- Rocky Linux 8.6 (May 2022)
- Rocky Linux 8.7 (November 2022)
- Rocky Linux 8.9 (November 2023)
- Rocky Linux 8.10 (May 2024, the final minor release in the series)
Rocky Linux is also an available operating system option on our KVM VPS servers, and when installed on an entire machine, you can run it on our dedicated servers.