AlmaLinux 9.6 Beta released: Here’s what Linux users need to know
AlmaLinux 9.6 Beta has officially been released (download here), giving Linux fans and enterprise users an early peek at what’s coming next from this Red Hat-compatible distribution.
The new beta is codenamed “Sage Margay” and is available right now for x86_64, aarch64, ppc64le, and s390x systems. Keep in mind, this is a pre-release build, so don’t go installing it on anything mission-critical unless you’re ready for things to break.
Under the hood, this release runs a 5.14-based kernel and includes several fresh compiler toolsets. Developers will find updated versions of LLVM, Rust, and Go, plus newer streams of popular server tools like MySQL 8.4, nginx 1.26, Maven 3.9, and PHP 8.3.
If you’re into performance tuning or system debugging, you’ll appreciate having updated builds of Valgrind, SystemTap, and rsyslog, along with newer versions of elfutils and PCP.
On the security side, there are newer SELinux policy updates and SSSD tweaks. For users who rely on virtualization or containers, the latest builds of podman (5.4.0), buildah (1.39.0), QEMU-KVM (9.1.0), and libvirt (10.10.0) are all bundled in. AlmaLinux is also adding packages like snpguest and snphost, pointing to better support for secure virtualized environments.
Unlike RHEL, AlmaLinux doesn’t bundle in subscription tools or Red Hat branding. Instead, the community-led distro includes its own artwork and release packages, swapping out anything with a redhat prefix. You won’t find tools like insights-client or subscription-manager here, and that’s by design. What you will get are Alma-branded backgrounds, logos, and landing pages that help the project stand on its own.
For those ready to test things out, three install images are available: a small network installer, a minimal offline build, and a full-blown DVD ISO with everything included. Manual steps are required to upgrade from an earlier version, including adding the beta repo packages and verifying signatures with the AlmaLinux GPG key. Users are encouraged to verify downloads using checksums to avoid corrupted media.
One of the more practical upgrades in 9.6 Beta is support for a wider range of hardware. This release brings new drivers for a long list of enterprise-class RAID controllers, Fibre Channel cards, and networking devices from companies like LSI, Emulex, QLogic, and Adaptec.
If you’re managing older or obscure gear, AlmaLinux may now work better out of the box than other RHEL clones.
All in all, AlmaLinux 9.6 Beta is shaping up to be another solid release from the community that stepped in when CentOS changed course. Just don’t forget, folks -- it’s still beta. Bugs can be reported here.