I am considering using Rocky Linux as the operating system for my servers and desktop computers, and I would like to hear your thoughts on this. Have you used Rocky Linux before? If so, what was your experience like? Do you think it is a good choice for both servers and desktops? Please share your opinions and any relevant information you have.
Some relevant information I found on the topic includes:
Pros of using Rocky Linux:
Rocky Linux is an open-source enterprise operating system designed to be 100% bug-for-bug compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
It is based on RHEL’s source code and maintains binary compatibility with RHEL, making it a good alternative for CentOS and RHEL.
Rocky Linux is focused on enterprises and integrates hyper-scale, cloud, and high-performance computing.
It is a stable operating system that functions reliably and doesn’t need to be upgraded every 6 months.
Cons of using Rocky Linux:
Rocky Linux is mainly meant for servers and only in a limited way for desktop use.
Although it should work, it may not be the best choice for desktop use.
Some users have reported instability issues with Fedora, which has led them to consider using Rocky Linux as a more stable alternative.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences on using Rocky Linux as an operating system for servers and desktops.
I’m not sure it’s a good idea to use Rocky Linux as a desktop distribution, especially considering recent events, but of course everyone sees that differently. Regarding use-case as a server distribution it should be fine, even if RL may go the way like AlmaLinux did it in the future.
Personally, I use Fedora KDE Spin at work and I can’t complain. Fedora works solidly for me and it is more up-to-date than RHEL (or RL) is for a desktop distribution.
Just had once trouble upgrading my Fedora and had to reinstall the basesystem at some point due to a power outage.
I think I started with Fedora 17 and the same system is now on Fedora 38.
I’ve evaluated Kubuntu prior Fedora and it was a painful experience…
Plural – multiple machines. That implies more than one user. Admin and users.
For admin the long life cycle is very nice. In ideal case you set up a server and it runs for a whole decade (with trivial updates). Less to tinker about.
For user such “stability” is also nice; you don’t have to learn new/different things constantly and can focus on work. However, by the end of distro’s life most of it has been “old” for a quite while; everybody else seems to have shiny new toys by then.
Despite third-party repos (like EPEL), the selection of toys is also “narrow” – for example, RHEL supports only one DE (GNOME). For admin that is an extra hurdle – how to install/maintain applications that are not available via package repos?
Then again, if the extras are equally unavailable on short-lived distros, then admin has to reinstall them more frequently on those short-lived distros.
I am just a home user (retired programmer, so I like building “tech empires”).
Been using RL as my main house server for some time now, and am very happy with it. While I rarely have need to use the desktop, I would find it perfectly adequate for a daily driver. But then again, I am rather agnostic towards desktop environments and can quickly adjust to a new one.
I pretty much agree 100% with ms217, rocky/alma/oracle/rhel/euro for server, and fedora 38 KDE spin currently for desktop.
they are both configured pretty much exactly the same, allowing for fedora being an evolutionary step up from rocky.
Fedora is just such a breeze to setup, works OK with nvidia drivers, but not perfect, but thats nvidias fault, works like a charm with later gen opensource AMDGPU drivers and also works fine with older gen radeonsi drivers and also of course intel drivers.
I find managing differing base distributions becomes confusing so i only use debian based distributions where the app im deploying on it has been tested, and maintained on debian only and therefore will be awkward to maintain on a rhel distribution.
otherwise i wont use a debian/ubuntu for desktop.
regards peter
I’ve found Rocky really good for all my computing needs. In particular, since it is bug-for-bug compatible with RHEL, RedHat seem to appreciate bug reports and suggestions for fixes / improvements, and are mostly very responsive and helpful (despite the recent controversy). Moreover availability of source, and ability to rebuild packages easily, means that when I want to modify something for my own particular needs it’s easy to do so. So definitely recommended.