CloudLinux has not only committed $1 million annually for the development of a drop-in, 1:1 binary compatible, CentOS alternative, they've made it clear it would be available sometime in the next few months.

Of this, Igor Seletskiy, CEO and founder of CloudLinux, said, "For CloudLinux it was an obvious move: the Linux community was in need, and the CloudLinux OS is a CentOS clone with significant pedigree." Seletskiey continued, "AlmaLinux is built with CloudLinux expertise but will be owned and governed by the community. We intend to deliver this forever-free Linux distribution this quarter.”

CloudLinux has enjoyed over 10 years experience hardening CentOS specifically for  datacenter usage, so they have the know-how and the resources to make this happen.

For those who already have CentOS servers deployed, CloudLinux will make it possible to convert those existing servers to AlmaLinux without down time—using a single command that doesn't require a reboot.

CloudLinux has dedicated all the necessary resources to AlmaLinux (originally called Project Lenix) to ensure impartiality and a not-for-profit community initiative. 

As to why CloudLinux is making this effort, Seletskiy said, "...we at CloudLinux benefit from the dedicated and often selfless efforts of the Linux community. This community is the soul of Linux. In the spirit of the Linux community, we decided to name our new distribution AlmaLinux."

The name "alma" is generally translated to mean "feeds one's soul" or "lifts the spirit."

To find out more about AlmaLinux, check out the official CloudLinux blog.