EuroLinux 8.7

EuroLinux 8.7 released

We released version 8.7 of the EuroLinux operating system. It is compatible with the latest upstream version. This release focuses on updating containerization solutions and enhancing system security. Among other things, NSS database support for RSA keys below 1023-bit has been removed and the SCAP Security Guide rules have been updated. Popular compiler stacks for C/C++, Go and Rust languages have also been updated.

On November 15, 2022, we released version 8.7 of the EuroLinux operating system. It is compatible with the latest upstream version. This release focuses on updating containerization solutions and enhancing system security. Among other things, NSS database support for RSA keys below 1023-bit has been removed and the SCAP Security Guide rules have been updated. Popular compiler stacks for C/C++, Go and Rust languages have also been updated.

At the beginning of the article we will describe the technical advantages and new capabilities of the EuroLinux ecosystem. Then we will present the links to the release notes documents along with the jumpstart documentation.

Advantages and technological differentiators of EuroLinux

Open Core

We have modernized our software sharing model. From version 8.3, EuroLinux is available both as a paid subscription and for free in the Open Core model. The advantage of such a solution is to deliver as much value as possible to users and communities. It is a modern, transparent and responsible business model.

From version 8.3, every user of EuroLinux and EuroLinux containers receives a full system with updates released at the same time for both, paid and free users.

The paid version of the system additionally provides:

  • direct manufacturer support
  • access to enriched errata files
  • access to additional intermediate packages (if the support service requires so)
  • impact on product development.

Universal Migration Scripts

We have released universal migration scripts. They are available at https://github.com/EuroLinux/eurolinux-migration-scripts. What’s important is that these scripts update all packages of the distribution you are migrating from. No packages from the previous vendor remain after migration. This is the implementation of one of the popular requests made by our customers. In addition, the scripts have options that allow you to customize their operation to individual requirements. The migration process is described here. There’s a video guide present there as well.

HA and RS Repositories

EuroLinux 8.7 includes High Availability and Resilient Storage repositories as a standard. They significantly increase the system’s capabilities and allow for easier migration, especially from very expensive cluster solutions from other vendors.

Open x86_64 buildroot with HA and RS repositories

We have added HA and RS repositories to our open buildroots. These are available for the x86_64 architecture, as they are not present on other architectures.

Open x86_64 buildroot

To this day, none of the distributions derived from Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® sources (both RHEL itself and those that try to call themselves community-developed systems) have made their buildroot open. This means that those not in the project cannot fully enjoy the privilege of building their own software on a given system. All of these systems provide repositories devoid of many packages. In particular the development packages, which contain (among other things) the headers necessary to develop your own software for Enterprise Linux platforms. EuroLinux is the only one Enterprise operating system vendor that has decided to make full build trees available to the community. These contain all packages produced from source packages contained in the repositories.

NOTE: Packages and repositories that give access to full build trees are not officially supported. For example in the case of perl packages, they are broken by design because it is impossible to simultaneously make all build artifacts available and support 100% modularity.

Below is a sample .repo file that contains addresses to BaseOS-all, AppStream-all, PowerTools-all, ha-all and rs-all for x86_64 architecture. These repositories should be used for building packages – do not use them as your main system repositories.

[baseos-all]
name = EuroLinux BaseOS ALL REPO (NOT SUPPORTED)
baseurl=https://fbi.cdn.euro-linux.com/dist/eurolinux/server/8/x86_64/BaseOS/all
enabled=0
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-eurolinux8
[appstream-all]
name = EuroLinux AppStream ALL REPO (NOT SUPPORTED)
baseurl=https://fbi.cdn.euro-linux.com/dist/eurolinux/server/8/x86_64/AppStream/all
enabled=0
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-eurolinux8
[powertools-all]
name = EuroLinux PowerTools ALL REPO (NOT SUPPORTED)
baseurl=https://fbi.cdn.euro-linux.com/dist/eurolinux/server/8/x86_64/PowerTools/all
enabled=0
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-eurolinux8
[ha-all]
name=EuroLinux 8 HighAvailability All
baseurl=https://fbi.cdn.euro-linux.com/dist/eurolinux/server/8/$basearch/HighAvailability/all/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=file:///usr/share/distribution-gpg-keys/eurolinux/RPM-GPG-KEY-eurolinux8
[rs-all]
name=EuroLinux 8 ResilientStorage All
baseurl=https://fbi.cdn.euro-linux.com/dist/eurolinux/server/8/$basearch/ResilientStorage/all/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=file:///usr/share/distribution-gpg-keys/eurolinux/RPM-GPG-KEY-eurolinux8

The appropriate configurations for the mock package builder have been suggested in a pull-request on GitHub.

Open i686 buildroot

Although the 32-bit architecture is slowly becoming obsolete, a huge part of software still requires a runtime stack for 32-bit applications. What’s more, due to the growing popularity of Linux it’s actually impossible to fully abandon it, because of support for full version of WineHQ and computer games. This was painfully discovered by the Canonical team, which in Ubuntu 19.10 tried to abandon support for 32-bit libraries – and consequently also support for platforms such as GOG or Steam. The dissatisfaction of the community and the outflow of users was so great that it was decided to bring back 32-bit libraries.

Note: As with the x86_64 version, packages and repositories that give access to full builds are not officially supported. In the case of perl packages, they are broken by design because it is impossible to simultaneously make all build artifacts available and support 100% modularity.

Below is a sample `.repo` file, that contains addresses to BaseOS-all, AppStream-all and ceritfy-PowerTools-all for i686 architecture. These repositories should be used for building packages – do not use them as your main system repositories.

[baseos-all]
name = EuroLinux BaseOS ALL REPO (NOT SUPPORTED)
baseurl=https://fbi.cdn.euro-linux.com/dist/eurolinux/server/8/i686/BaseOS/all
enabled=0
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-eurolinux8
[appstream-all]
name = EuroLinux AppStream ALL REPO (NOT SUPPORTED)
baseurl=https://fbi.cdn.euro-linux.com/dist/eurolinux/server/8/i686/AppStream/all
enabled=0
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-eurolinux8
[powertools-all]
name = EuroLinux PowerTools ALL REPO (NOT SUPPORTED)
baseurl=https://fbi.cdn.euro-linux.com/dist/eurolinux/server/8/i686/PowerTools/all
enabled=0
gpgcheck=1

Open Documentation and JumpStart

We recently created open documentation for EuroLinux. We wanted as much transparency as possible and the possibility to involve the community, which results in:

  • a repeatable documentation build process – any user can build and run the documentation locally
  • the possibility to submit ideas – our engineers are willing to describe topics that the community finds important and needs to be clarified
  • the possibility to submit corrections – everyone can submit their own corrections to the documentation
  • the possibility to submit your own documentation to become part of the EuroLinux documentation.

The open source documentation is available at docs.euro-linux.com and is hosted on GitHub Pages. This is a new project, so the documentation is currently being incrementally added.

Complete stack – all system versions

EuroLinux is available and supported in versions 9.x, 8.x, 7.x and 6.x. As a result, it can be used as the only system in an organization’s ecosystem.

The latest supported versions of EuroLinux are:

  • 9.0 – limited, not production support
  • 8.7 – fully supported system
  • 7.9 – fully supported system
  • 6.10 – the system is supported by EuroELS (Extended Life Support – individual subscription).

Authorized training

The software, like any tool, is of little use without people who know how to use it properly. That is why we also offer authorized training in the administration of Enterprise Linux systems at various levels of advancement:

  • Enterprise Linux System Administration I
  • Enterprise Linux System Administration II
  • Enterprise Linux Real Engineer
  • Enterprise Linux Ansible Engineer.

    Support

    In addition to delivering our own products, we also provide professional technical support. Its distinguishing feature is the simplified procedure in the first line support, allowing for quick contact with specialists (engineers and architects) of the second and third line support. In addition, we offer dedicated professional services for the client, services in the field of capacity planning, audit services, migration assistance, tuning database systems, system architect support, as well as proactive continuous care.

    Errata

    We provide our clients with repositories containing, in addition to packages, information about errata, i.e. about: security patches, increasing the capabilities of a given software package or fixing errors. These files are important when using EuroLinux in environments where software updates are mainly enforced by security patches.

    Clear, stable plans and persistence in action

    The EuroLinux project has been fully communicating its plans and their time frame since the initial release of version 8.3. Unlike many young organizations and their branches that have emerged recently, we are not dependent on external sponsors. This allows us to be autonomous and persistent in pursuing the goal that is our company’s guiding motto: True Product – Real Support – Fair Price.

    Additional modules (Add-On) included

    EuroLinux is a complete solution with standard modules that are available in other distributions for an additional fee. They extend the functionality of the system and increase its technical value. Among them are: Load Balancing, High Availability and Resilient Storage.

    Full software version compatibility

    EuroLinux is the only modular distribution on the market whose RPM packages are 1 to 1 compatible with RHEL® releases. This required the development and implementation of a build system that allows for local and repetitive compilation of packages.

    Below is an example summary for the modular nginx package:

    System Package name Package version Release
    RHEL® nginx 1.14.1 9.module+el8.0.0+4108+af250afe
    EuroLinux nginx 1.14.1 9.module+el8.0.0+4108+af250afe
    Oracle® Linux nginx 1.14.1 9.0.1.module+el8.0.0+5347+9282027e

    Golden Key

    For customers who expect technical support we offer the purchase of subscriptions. The unit price of the service not only decreases with the number of machines, but additionally from a certain level we offer Golden Key subscriptions. It enables the organization to use the software without any quantity limits.

    EuroLinux Gaia – build your own Linux

    The proprietary EuroLinux Gaia tool introduces a new ground-breaking functionality for organisations. It is the ability to independently build (compile) the operating system from source files in the customer’s own infrastructure. This is the highest possible level of system delivery and support. It guarantees the maximum level of security (trust) and allows customisation of the product. It also allows creation of your own dedicated distribution (fork).

    As part of the solution, the customer receives:

    • EuroLinux Gaia build system
    • software comparison system with test oracle
    • Battery Repositories, which are packages not included in the distribution, necessary for building it
    • internal EuroLinux Gaia documentation for building the system
    • direct support (on-site, telephone, e-mail) from a EuroLinux Release Engineer
    • Golden Key subscription.

    Updates for CentOS after 2021

    EuroLinux 8 is also a recommended alternative to CentOS 8, which ended its life in its stable form at the end of 2021 and became an experimental distribution. As CentOS is part of the Enterprise Linux family, it can use stable updates from EuroLinux. This process is completely safe, reversible and does not require reinstallation of the system. This makes it possible to extend the CentOS 8 life cycle until 06/30/2029. Therefore, companies are increasingly choosing EuroLinux support, especially for environments with large numbers of systems. We have prepared a special support offer for such organizations.

    Release notes

    Release Notes are available in open documentation: EuroLinux 8.7 Release Notes

    System installation and installation media

    The installation images are available at: https://fbi.cdn.euro-linux.com/isos/

    An installation of the system, along with information on where to download the installation media, is described in the open documentation – EuroLinux 8 Jump Start

    Where to report comments and errors?

    Customers and users can submit their comments using standard channels:

    Comments and errors can also be reported in the public GitHub repository in the tab: Issues -> New issue -> Bug Report:

    EuroLinux Distro Bug Report and RFC repository

    Where to submit ideas?

    Ideas for distribution improvements can be reported in the public repository on GitHub in the tab: Issues -> New issue -> Package/Feature Request:

    EuroLinux Distro Bug Report and RFC repository

     

    Authors

    The blog articles are written by people from the EuroLinux team. We owe 80% of the content to our developers, the rest is prepared by the sales or marketing department. We make every effort to ensure that the content is the best in terms of content and language, but we are not infallible. If you see anything that needs to be corrected or clarified, we'd love to hear from you.