Discussion on FLOSS Weekly Episode 839: Pursuing Double Compensation
In the latest episode of the FLOSS Weekly Podcast, hosts Jonathan and Benny Vasquez delved into the reasons why AlmaLinux is an ideal choice for running Linux on slightly older hardware. The conversation, available for viewing on the podcast's YouTube channel, highlighted AlmaLinux's unique support for legacy CPUs and its commitment to keeping options open for users on non-x86 architectures.
One of the key advantages of AlmaLinux 10 is its compatibility with the x86-64-v2 instruction set, which supports CPUs dating back to around 2008. This is a significant benefit for organizations running production environments on aging or custom hardware that cannot easily be replaced, as it ensures both security and ease of maintenance for workloads that are tightly coupled to specific hardware. In contrast, newer Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) versions and Rocky Linux have dropped support for x86-64-v2, limiting their compatibility to more recent Intel and AMD processors.
Another point of discussion was the growing interest in alternative architectures such as RISC-V. Like some other Linux distributions, AlmaLinux has shown a keen interest in supporting RISC-V, a trend that is especially relevant as RISC-V is gaining traction in embedded systems, research, and specialized hardware. AlmaLinux's compatibility with Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) ensures users on older hardware can access a wide range of maintained, community-supported software.
The FLOSS Weekly Podcast, which can be found on Spotify, provides an in-depth discussion on open-source technologies and related topics. The transcript for this week's episode is available for reading, and the show's schedule can be found on the website. Readers are encouraged to suggest guests for the show or contact them to be interviewed.
For more information about AlmaLinux, readers can visit the AlmaLinux blog. The blog recently announced EPEL v2 coverage for AlmaLinux 10 stable and the upcoming 2025-04-24 election announcement. The theme music for the FLOSS Weekly Podcast is "Newer Wave" by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. The show recording is available for direct download in DRM-free MP3 format.
[1] AlmaLinux blog: EPEL v2 coverage for AlmaLinux 10 stable [2] AlmaLinux blog: 2025-04-24 election announcement [3] AlmaLinux blog: AlmaLinux 10 offers x86-64-v2 support for older hardware [4] AlmaLinux blog: AlmaLinux's interest in RISC-V [5] AlmaLinux blog: Improved security and maintenance for production environments on aging hardware with AlmaLinux 10
*Benny Vasquez's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennyvasquez/*
Linux's compatibility with older hardware is demonstrated through AlmaLinux, which supports the x86-64-v2 instruction set, catering to CPUs as old as those from 2008. As newer Linux distributions like RHEL and Rocky Linux have dropped this support, AlmaLinux stands out in maintaining options for users with non-x86 architectures and aging hardware. Additionally, AlmaLinux shows interest in the growing RISC-V architecture, which is gaining traction in embedded systems, research, and specialized hardware.
