Rocky Linux 10.0 Is Out: A Full-Fledged Alternative to RHEL and CentOS with RISC-V Support

The Rocky Linux team has officially released Rocky Linux 10.0, a stable distribution that is a binary-compatible alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10. The system is aimed at organizations and users looking for a replacement for RHEL and CentOS, offering a completely open and Red Hat-independent product.

New Architecture and RISC-V Support

Rocky Linux 10.0 is only available as 64-bit builds: all 32-bit packages have been removed, and 32-bit applications can only be run in containers. ISO images are available for x86_64-v3, aarch64, ppc64le, s390x, and riscv64 architectures. Official support for RISC-V has been implemented for the first time, tested on StarFive VisionFive 2 and SiFive HiFive Premier P550 boards, as well as in the QEMU emulator.

Live builds with GNOME and KDE environments are also available for the x86_64 architecture.

Independence from Red Hat and OpenELA

Rocky Linux 10.0 has become even more independent from Red Hat's infrastructure. RHEL proprietary components such as redhat-, insights-client, and subscription-manager-migration have been completely removed from the distribution. The source packages now come from the OpenELA repository, supported jointly by Oracle and SUSE. This decision is related to the termination of open access to RHEL source packages and legal restrictions on their redistribution.

New Repositories and Functionality

Rocky Linux is developing a number of its own specialized repositories:

• plus — includes, for example, the Valkey 8.0.3 database (a fork of Redis);
• NFV — a set of packages for network function virtualization;
• CRB — tools for developers (Code Ready Builder);
• RT — packages for real-time systems;
• HighAvailability and ResilientStorage — for creating fault-tolerant solutions;
• SAP and SAPHANA — designed for SAP and SAP HANA systems.

Support Until 2035 and Development Under the Auspices of RESF

Rocky Linux 10.0 has received long-term support — updates and security will be provided until 2035. The project is being developed under the management of the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF) — a non-profit public benefit corporation focused on creating and supporting free enterprise solutions.