EPEL Packages for x86-64-v2

Extra Packages for Linux (EPEL), a community-driven Fedora project, provides additional software packages for Enterprise Linux. Historically, AlmaLinux users get these packages directly from EPEL host Fedora. However, EPEL builds on RHEL’s current version, which means x86-64-v2 use cases are no longer supported.

Because users who need the additional x86-64-v2 build also require EPEL support, AlmaLinux decided to build EPEL packages to support x86-64-v2 and host these packages instead of Fedora. To provide this support, AlmaLinux monitors the EPEL repository for the latest stable packages and then rebuilds these packages from Fedora’s source RPMs using the AlmaLinux Build system. These rebuilt packages, signed with a dedicated GPG key and tagged with the .alma_altarch suffix, are located in a dedicated AlmaLinux repo [4].

32-Bit Packages

Many legacy applications and containerized workloads still run on i686, a 32-bit computer processor architecture belonging to the Intel x86 family,  including software that only ships as i686, CI pipelines that require a specific 32-bit glibc, and seemingly normal looking containers that require a 32-bit environment.

RHEL 10 completely removed 32-bit application support and multilib libraries after deprecating support in earlier releases. Companies that rely on these 32-bit binaries need a maintained package set. One such company, Arista Networks, an AlmaLinux OS Foundation Gold Sponsor, had previously migrated their Extensible Operating System (EOS) from CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux OS 9. Because their tooling relies on the availability of i686 packages alongside x86_64, they needed i686 support in AlmaLinux OS 10.

In response to community members like Arista, AlmaLinux OS 10.2 has added package repos and official container images for 32-bit x86 (but not a 32-bit kernel or installer). True to how the AlmaLinux community works, these i686 packages are built and maintained by engineers from Arista Networks and Meta, another Foundation Gold Sponsor, as part of the AltArch SIG, which maintains support for alternative architectures like x86_32, RISC-V, and the Raspberry Pi.

Native NVIDIA Support

NVIDIA GPUs, ubiquitous in modern computing, have been a pain point for Linux users. Getting the closed-source NVIDIA drivers has required extra steps and manual installation.

When NVIDIA released an open source version of their graphics driver, AlmaLinux integrated the drivers, along with the associated CUDA components, into the AlmaLinux repository starting with AlmaLinus OS 9 and 10. AlmaLinux also signs the open source drivers, allowing secure boot with the NVIDIA drivers they ship. Unlike RHEL users, AlmaLinux users now have native support, allowing them to skip manual installation. AlmaLinux users can now enjoy a fully integrated NVIDIA experience.