# last updated: 2024-04-15

# AlmaLinux 9.4 Beta Release Notes

These are the release notes for AlmaLinux OS 9.4 Beta for all supported architectures:

  • x86_64
  • aarch64
  • ppc64le
  • s390x

Codename: Seafoam Ocelot.

Distributed kernel version: 5.14.0-427.el9

# Beta Release

WARNING

This is a BETA release and should not be used for production installations. The provided upgrade instructions should not be used on production machines unless you have backups and a recovery option. 😉

# Providing Feedback and Getting Help

Please report any issues you may encounter during tests on the AlmaLinux Bug Tracker (opens new window). Additionally, if you feel like providing feedback, talking about anything or asking any questions you might want to check out The AlmaLinux Community Chat (opens new window), The AlmaLinux Forums (opens new window) and The AlmaLinux Community on Reddit (opens new window).

# Changelog

  • Updated module streams:

    • Python 3.12
    • Ruby 3.3
    • PHP 8.2
    • nginx 1.24
    • MariaDB 10.11
    • PostgreSQL 16
  • Updated components:

    • Git to version 2.43.0
    • Git LFS to version 3.4.1
  • Security updates:

    • The SELinux userspace release 3.6 introduces deny rules for further customizing SELinux policies.
    • The Keylime server components, the verifier and registrar, are available as containers.
    • The Rsyslog log processing system introduces customizable TLS/SSL encryption settings and additional options that relate to capability dropping.
    • The OpenSSL TLS toolkit adds a drop-in directory for provider-specific configuration files.
    • The Linux kernel cryptographic API (libkcapi) 1.4.0 introduces new tools and options. Notably, with the new -T option, you can specify target file names in hash-sum calculations.
    • The stunnel TLS/SSL tunneling service 5.71 changes the behavior of OpenSSL 1.1 and later versions in FIPS mode. Besides this change, version 5.71 provides many new features such as support for modern PostgreSQL clients.
  • The following device drivers were modified to re-add PCI IDs for hardware that was previously disabled in our upstream:

    • aacraid - Dell PERC2, 2/Si, 3/Si, 3/Di, Adaptec Advanced Raid Products, HP NetRAID-4M, IBM ServeRAID & ICP SCSI
    • be2iscsi - Emulex OneConnectOpen-iSCSI for BladeEngine 2 and 3 adapters
    • hpsa - HP Smart Array Controller
    • lpfc - Emulex LightPulse Fibre Channel SCSI
    • megaraid_sas - Broadcom MegaRAID SAS
    • mpt3sas - LSI MPT Fusion SAS 3.0
    • mptsas - Fusion MPT SAS Host
    • qla2xxx - QLogic Fibre Channel HBA
    • qla4xxx - QLogic iSCSI HBA

For a complete list of hardware support for which was added in this release, see the Extended hardware support section.

# Upgrade Instructions

Please do not use these update instructions on production machines unless you don't mind if something breaks 😉

Upgrade the almalinux-release packages to the 9.4-0.2.el9 version from the beta repositories:

$ dnf install -y https://repo.almalinux.org/vault/almalinux-{release,repos,gpg-keys}-latest-9-beta.x86_64.rpm
$ dnf clean all

the new package contains updated repository URLs so that you can just run:

$ dnf upgrade -y

to update the rest of the packages.

# Installation instructions

There are three installation ISO images available:

AlmaLinux-9.4-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso - a single network installation CD image that downloads packages over the Internet.

AlmaLinux-9.4-beta-1-x86_64-minimal.iso - a minimal self-containing DVD image that makes possible offline installation.

AlmaLinux-9.4-beta-1-x86_64-dvd.iso - a full installation DVD image that contains mostly all AlmaLinux packages.

Download a suitable ISO image from the 9.4-beta/isos/$arch/ directory, for example:

$ wget https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/9.4-beta/isos/x86_64/AlmaLinux-9.4-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso

Download and import the AlmaLinux public key:

$ wget https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/RPM-GPG-KEY-AlmaLinux-9
$ gpg --import RPM-GPG-KEY-AlmaLinux

Download and verify a checksums list:

$ wget https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/9.4-beta/isos/x86_64/CHECKSUM

# we are looking for “Good signature”
$ gpg --verify CHECKSUM
gpg: Signature made Wed 10 Apr 2024 04:21:57 PM EDT
gpg:                using RSA key BF18AC2876178908D6E71267D36CB86CB86B3716
gpg: Good signature from "AlmaLinux OS 9 <packager@almalinux.org>" [unknown]
gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
gpg:          There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
Primary key fingerprint: BF18 AC28 7617 8908 D6E7  1267 D36C B86C B86B 3716

Verify the downloaded ISO image checksum:

# calculate the downloaded ISO SHA256 checksum
$ sha256sum AlmaLinux-9.4-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso
d8ae806840a615d6cd02d9f2bb4b838bb01fc1e444e9d8e73512c8b0c4dcef0e  AlmaLinux-9.4-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso

# compare it with expected checksum, it should be the same
$ cat CHECKSUM | grep -E 'SHA256.*AlmaLinux-9.4-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso'
SHA256 (AlmaLinux-9.4-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso) = d8ae806840a615d6cd02d9f2bb4b838bb01fc1e444e9d8e73512c8b0c4dcef0e

If you decide to use the AlmaLinux-9.4-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso image, you may need to provide the https://repo.almalinux.org/vault/9.4-beta/BaseOS/x86_64/kickstart/ URL repository from the selected mirror as the Installation Source in the event that the installer is not able to find the closest mirror for some reason.

There are no extra Installation Sources required if you decided to go with either the minimal or DVD ISO images.

# Additional packages

Here is a list of packages that are AlmaLinux-specific, and will not be found in compatible versions of RHEL.

Package Description
almalinux-backgrounds AlmaLinux background images.
Replaces redhat-backgrounds
almalinux-indexhtml AlmaLinux default browser page
Replaces redhat-indexhtml
almalinux-logos AlmaLinux graphics for OS
Replaces redhat-logos
almalinux-logos-httpd AlmaLinux graphics for HTTPD server
Replaces redhat-logos-httpd
almalinux-logos-ipa AlmaLinux graphics for IPA server
Replaces redhat-logos-ipa
almalinux-release AlmaLinux release package, repos, and EULA
Replaces redhat-release and redhat-release-eula

# Removed packages

Here is a list of packages you will not find in AlmaLinux when comparing with the compatible version of RHEL.

AlmaLinux OS is a community distribution so all changes are subject to discussion. If you would like to do so, please join AlmaLinux Chat (opens new window) as well as filing a bug report at AlmaLinux Bug Tracker (opens new window) to discuss if you think any of the packages below should be included into the repos.

Package Description
insights-client RHEL specific package to connect to upstream vendor resources
kmod-redhat-* RHEL specific modules from Driver Update Program
kpatch* RHEL specific live patches for kernel
openssl-fips-provider RHEL specific package with FIPS certified openssl binaries
redhat-backgrounds RHEL specific background images
redhat-indexhtml RHEL specific default browser page
redhat-logos RHEL specific graphics for OS
redhat-logos-httpd RHEL specific graphics for HTTPD server
redhat-logos-ipa RHEL specific graphics for IPA server
redhat-release RHEL specific release package and repos
redhat-release-eula RHEL specific EULA
redhat-support-lib-python RHEL specific package to connect to upstream vendor resources
redhat-support-tool RHEL specific package to connect to upstream vendor resources
rhc RHEL specific package to connect to upstream vendor resources
rhc-worker-playbook RHEL specific package to connect to upstream vendor resources
rhsm-gtk RHEL specific GUI for Subscription Manager
rhsm-icons RHEL specific GUI for Subscription Manager
spice-client-win-x64 Contains binaries built by upstream vendor
spice-client-win-x86 Contains binaries built by upstream vendor
spice-qxl-wddm-dod Contains binaries built by upstream vendor
spice-vdagent-win-x64 Contains binaries built by upstream vendor
spice-vdagent-win-x86 Contains binaries built by upstream vendor
subscription-manager-cockpit RHEL specific Cockpit module for Subscription Manager
subscription-manager-initial-setup-addon RHEL specific initial setup addon for Subscription Manager
subscription-manager-plugin-container RHEL specific Subscription Manager plugin for upstream vendor containers
virt-who RHEL specific package to connect to upstream vendor resources
virtio-win Contain binaries built by upstream vendor

# Extended hardware support

The following devices support is added in this release, when compared with the RHEL 9.4 Beta:

Device PCI ID Device name Driver name
0x0E11::: *:01:04 Compaq hpsa
0x1000:0x0050 LSI SAS1064 mptsas
0x1000:0x0054 LSI SAS1068 mptsas
0x1000:0x0056 LSI SAS1064E mptsas
0x1000:0x0058 LSI SAS1068E mptsas
0x1000:0x0059 LSI SAS1068_820XELP mptsas
0x1000:0x0060 LSI MegaRAID SAS1078R megaraid_sas
0x1000:0x0062 LSI SAS1078 mptsas
0x1000:0x0064 LSI SAS2116_1 mpt3sas
0x1000:0x0065 LSI SAS2116_2 mpt3sas
0x1000:0x0070 LSI SAS2004 mpt3sas
0x1000:0x0072 LSI SAS2008 mpt3sas
0x1000:0x0074 LSI SAS2108_1 mpt3sas
0x1000:0x0076 LSI SAS2108_2 mpt3sas
0x1000:0x0077 LSI SAS2108_3 mpt3sas
0x1000:0x0078 LSI MegaRAID SAS1078 Gen2 megaraid_sas
0x1000:0x007C LSI MegaRAID SAS1078DE megaraid_sas
0x1000:0x007E LSI SSS6200 mpt3sas
0x1000:0x0411 LSI MegaRAID SAS1064R megaraid_sas
0x1000:0x0413 LSI MegaRAID SAS1068 Verde ZCR megaraid_sas
0x1011:0x0046:0x103C:0x10C2 HP NetRAID-4M aacraid
0x1011:0x0046:0x9005:0x0364 Adaptec 5400S (Mustang) aacraid
0x1011:0x0046:0x9005:0x0365 Adaptec 5400S (Mustang) aacraid
0x1011:0x0046:0x9005:0x1364 Dell PERC 2/QC aacraid
0x1028:0x0001:0x1028:0x0001 DELL PERC 2/Si (Iguana) aacraid
0x1028:0x0002:0x1028:0x0002 DELL PERC 3/Di (Opal) aacraid
0x1028:0x0002:0x1028:0x00D1 DELL PERC 3/Di (Viper) aacraid
0x1028:0x0002:0x1028:0x00D9 DELL PERC 3/Di (Lexus) aacraid
0x1028:0x0003:0x1028:0x0003 DELL PERC 3/Si (SlimFast) aacraid
0x1028:0x0004:0x1028:0x00D0 DELL PERC 3/Di (Iguana FlipChip) aacraid
0x1028:0x000A:0x1028:0x0106 DELL PERC 3/Di (Jaguar) aacraid
0x1028:0x000A:0x1028:0x011B DELL PERC 3/Di (Dagger) aacraid
0x1028:0x000A:0x1028:0x0121 DELL PERC 3/Di (Boxster) aacraid
0x1028:0x0015 Dell PERC5 megaraid_sas
0x103C::: *:01:04 HP hpsa
0x1077:0x2100 QLogic ISP2100 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x2200 QLogic ISP2200 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x2300 QLogic ISP2300 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x2312 QLogic ISP2312 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x2322 QLogic ISP2322 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x2422 QLogic ISP2422 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x2432 QLogic ISP2432 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x5422 QLogic ISP5422 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x5432 QLogic ISP5432 / QLE220 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x6312 QLogic ISP6312 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x6322 QLogic ISP6322 qla2xxx
0x1077:0x8001 QLogic ISP8001 / QLE81xx qla2xxx
0x1077:0x8021 QLogic ISP8021 / QLE82xx qla2xxx
0x1077:0x8022 QLogic ISP8022 qla4xxx
0x1077:0x8032 QLogic ISP8324 qla4xxx
0x1077:0x8042 QLogic ISP8042 qla4xxx
0x1077:0x8044 QLogic ISP8044 / QLE84xx qla2xxx
0x1077:0x8432 QLogic ISP8432 / QLE8000 qla2xxx
0x1077:0xF001 QLogic ISPF001 / QLE10000 qla2xxx
0x10DF:0x1AE5 FIREFLY lpfc
0x10DF:0xE100 PROTEUS VF lpfc
0x10DF:0xE131 BALIUS lpfc
0x10DF:0xE180 PROTEUS PF lpfc
0x10DF:0xE208 LANCER_FC_VF lpfc
0x10DF:0xE260 Emulex OneConnect OCe15102-FM/OCe15104-FM/OCm15108-F-P lpfc
0x10DF:0xE268 LANCER_FCOE_VF lpfc
0x10DF:0xF095 RFLY lpfc
0x10DF:0xF098 PFLY lpfc
0x10DF:0xF0A1 LP101 lpfc
0x10DF:0xF0A5 TFLY lpfc
0x10DF:0xF0D1 BSMB lpfc
0x10DF:0xF0F5 NEPTUNE lpfc
0x10DF:0xF0F6 NEPTUNE SCSP lpfc
0x10DF:0xF0F7 NEPTUNE DCSP lpfc
0x10DF:0xF700 SUPERFLY lpfc
0x10DF:0xF800 DRAGONFLY lpfc
0x10DF:0xF900 CENTAUR lpfc
0x10DF:0xF980 PEGASUS lpfc
0x10DF:0xFA00 THOR lpfc
0x10DF:0xFB00 VIPER lpfc
0x10DF:0xFC00 LP10000S lpfc
0x10DF:0xFC10 LP11000S lpfc
0x10DF:0xFC20 LPE11000S lpfc
0x10DF:0xFC50 PROTEUS S lpfc
0x10DF:0xFD00 HELIOS lpfc
0x10DF:0xFD11 HELIOS SCSP lpfc
0x10DF:0xFD12 HELIOS DCSP lpfc
0x19A2:0x0212 Emulex BladeEngine 2 10Gb iSCSI Initiator be2iscsi
0x19A2:0x0222 Emulex BladeEngine 3 iSCSI be2iscsi
0x19A2:0x0702 Emulex OneConnect OCe10101/OCm10101/OCe10102/OCm10102 be2iscsi
0x19A2:0x0703 Emulex OneConnect OCe10100 be2iscsi
0x19A2:0x0704 Emulex OneConnect Tigershark FCoE lpfc
0x19A2:0x0712 Emulex OneConnect Tomcat iSCSI be2iscsi
0x19A2:0x0714 Emulex OneConnect Tomcat FCoE lpfc
0x9005:0x0200:0x9005:0x0200 Themisto Jupiter Platform aacraid
0x9005:0x0283:0x9005:0x0283 Catapult aacraid
0x9005:0x0284:0x9005:0x0284 Tomcat aacraid
0x9005:0x0285 Adaptec Catch All aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x1014:0x02F2 IBM 8i (AvonPark) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x1014:0x0312 IBM 8i (AvonPark Lite) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x1028 Dell Catchall aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x1028:0x0287 Perc 320/DC aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x1028:0x0291 CERC SATA RAID 2 PCI SATA 6ch (DellCorsair) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x103C:0x3227 AAR-2610SA PCI SATA 6ch aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x17AA Legend Catchall aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x17AA:0x0286 Legend S220 (Legend Crusader) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x17AA:0x0287 Legend S230 (Legend Vulcan) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0285 Adaptec 2200S (Vulcan) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0286 Adaptec 2120S (Crusader) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0287 Adaptec 2200S (Vulcan-2m) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0288 Adaptec 3230S (Harrier) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0289 Adaptec 3240S (Tornado) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x028A ASR-2020ZCR SCSI PCI-X ZCR (Skyhawk) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x028B ASR-2025ZCR SCSI SO-DIMM PCI-X ZCR (Terminator) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x028E ASR-2020SA SATA PCI-X ZCR (Skyhawk) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x028F ASR-2025SA SATA SO-DIMM PCI-X ZCR (Terminator) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0290 AAR-2410SA PCI SATA 4ch (Jaguar II) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0292 AAR-2810SA PCI SATA 8ch (Corsair-8) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0293 AAR-21610SA PCI SATA 16ch (Corsair-16) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0294 ESD SO-DIMM PCI-X SATA ZCR (Prowler) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0296 ASR-2240S (SabreExpress) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0297 ASR-4005 aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0298 ASR-4000 (BlackBird) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x0299 ASR-4800SAS (Marauder-X) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x029A ASR-4805SAS (Marauder-E) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x02A4 ICP9085LI (Marauder-X) aacraid
0x9005:0x0285:0x9005:0x02A5 ICP5085BR (Marauder-E) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286 Adaptec Rocket Catch All aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x1014:0x9540 IBM 8k/8k-l4 (Aurora Lite) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x1014:0x9580 IBM 8k/8k-l8 (Aurora) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x028C ASR-2230S/ASR-2230SLP PCI-X (Lancer) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x028D ASR-2130S (Lancer) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x029B AAR-2820SA (Intruder) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x029C AAR-2620SA (Intruder) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x029D AAR-2420SA (Intruder) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x029E ICP9024RO (Lancer) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x029F ICP9014RO (Lancer) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x02A0 ICP9047MA (Lancer) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x02A1 ICP9087MA (Lancer) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x02A2 ASR-3800 (Hurricane44) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x02A3 ICP5445AU (Hurricane44) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x02A6 ICP9067MA (Intruder-6) aacraid
0x9005:0x0286:0x9005:0x0800 Callisto Jupiter Platform aacraid
0x9005:0x0287:0x9005:0x0800 Themisto Jupiter Platform aacraid
0x9005:0x0288 Adaptec NEMER/ARK Catch All aacraid
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