AlmaLinux Wiki

# AlmaLinux 9.1 Beta Release Notes

These are the release notes for AlmaLinux OS 9.1 Beta for x86_64, aarch64, ppc64le and s390x architectures, codename Lime Lynx.

Distributed kernel version: 5.14.0-160.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 don't mind if something breaks 😉

# 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

  • Added a new remote machine attestation tool:

    • Keylime

  • Updated packages:

    • SELinux user-space packages to version 3.4

  • Added SHA-256 support in the semodule tool

  • libsepol-utils package has new policy utilities

  • The system configuration and the clevis-luks-systemd subpackage changes enable the Clevis encryption client to unlock also LUKS-encrypted volumes that mount late in the boot process without using the systemctl enable clevis-luks-askpass.path command during the deployment process.

  • Added a new package:

    • XMLStarlet

  • Updated command-line tools:

    • opencryptoki to version 3.18.0
    • powerpc-utils to version 1.3.10
    • libvpd to version 2.2.9
    • lsvpd to version 1.7.14
    • ppc64-diag to version 2.7.8

  • Updated infrastructure services tools:

    • chrony to version 4.2
    • unbound to version 1.16.2
    • frr to version 8.2.2

  • Added new module streams:

    • PHP 8.1
    • Ruby 3.1
    • Node.js 18

  • Updated module stream:

    • Apache HTTP Server to version 2.4.53.

  • Performance tools and debuggers updates:

    • Valgrind 3.19
    • SystemTap 4.7
    • Dyninst 12.1.0
    • elfutils 0.187

  • Updated performance monitoring tools:

    • PCP 5.3.7
    • Grafana 7.5.13

  • Compiler updates:

    • GCC Toolset 12
    • LLVM Toolset 14.0.0
    • Rust Toolset 1.62
    • Go Toolset 1.18

  • Minimal ISO changes:

# Installation instructions

There are three installation ISO images available:

AlmaLinux-9.1-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso - a single network installation CD image that downloads packages over the Internet.

AlmaLinux-9.1-beta-1-x86_64-minimal.iso - a minimal self-containing DVD image that makes possible offline installation.

AlmaLinux-9.1-beta-1-x86_64-dvd.iso - a full installation DVD image that contains mostly all AlmaLinux packages.

You can select a mirror closest to your geographic area listed on the mirrors.almalinux.org (opens new window) website. A local mirror will be a lot quicker than using repo.almalinux.org directly. Then, download a suitable ISO image from the 9.1-beta/isos/$arch/ directory of your source, for example:

$ wget https://mirror.interserver.net/almalinux/9.1-beta/isos/x86_64/AlmaLinux-9.1-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/9.1-beta/isos/x86_64/CHECKSUM

# we are looking for “Good signature”
$ gpg --verify CHECKSUM
gpg: Signature made Mon 31 Oct 2022 05:48:38 PM EDT
gpg:                using RSA key D36CB86CB86B3716
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-9.1-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso
4bcdec0039c84d0e1ae86dc40029f897f2da398222f0643bf8b6b3e9870970c5  AlmaLinux-9.1-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso

# compare it with expected checksum, it should be the same
$ cat CHECKSUM | grep -E 'SHA256.*AlmaLinux-9.1-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso'
SHA256 (AlmaLinux-9.1-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso) = 4bcdec0039c84d0e1ae86dc40029f897f2da398222f0643bf8b6b3e9870970c5

If you decide to use the AlmaLinux-9.1-beta-1-x86_64-boot.iso image, you will need to provide the 9.1-beta/BaseOS/x86_64/kickstart/ repository from the selected mirror as the Installation Source if the installer will not be able to find 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.

# Upgrade Instructions

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

Upgrade the almalinux-release package to the 9.1-1.8.el9 version from the beta repositories:

$ dnf install -y https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/almalinux-release-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.

# Added packages

Here is a list of added packages in comparison with upstream distribution.

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 removed packages in comparison with the upstream distribution.
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
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

Red Hat and RHEL are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

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