CLOUD云知道
Aliyun Linux 2.1903 LTS is not CentOS, but it is CentOS-compatible and based on the same upstream source (RHEL).
Here’s a clear breakdown:
✅ What Aliyun Linux 2.1903 LTS is:
- A free, open-source, enterprise-grade Linux distribution developed and maintained by Alibaba Cloud.
- Based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.x source code, just like CentOS 7 was.
- Specifically, Aliyun Linux 2.1903 LTS corresponds closely to RHEL 7.6/7.7 (released in early 2019), and thus aligns functionally with CentOS 7.6–7.7.
- Fully binary-compatible with CentOS 7 and RHEL 7 — most RPM packages, tools (
yum,systemd,firewalld), and configurations work identically.
❌ What it is not:
- It is not a fork or rebranded version of CentOS.
- It does not use CentOS’s build infrastructure or branding.
- It is not community-maintained like CentOS — it’s Alibaba Cloud’s own distribution, optimized for Alibaba Cloud environments (e.g., faster boot, enhanced cloud-init, kernel optimizations for ECS, security hardening, and timely CVE patches).
🔍 Key facts:
- Name: Aliyun Linux 2 (codename “Shiyan”, version 2.1903 LTS)
- LTS Support: Supported until June 30, 2024 (end-of-life; users are encouraged to migrate to Aliyun Linux 3 or Alibaba Cloud’s Anolis OS).
- Package Manager:
yum(RPM-based), compatible with EPEL and many CentOS 7 repos (with caution — mixing repos is not officially supported). - Kernel: Custom-tuned kernel (e.g.,
4.19.y-al7) — includes Alibaba-specific enhancements (e.g., I/O scheduler improvements, memory management tweaks) while maintaining ABI compatibility.
💡 In practice:
If you’re running a CentOS 7 workload, you can often migrate to Aliyun Linux 2.1903 LTS with minimal changes — especially on Alibaba Cloud ECS instances (where it’s the default/recommended OS).
⚠️ Note:
- CentOS 7 reached end-of-life on 2024-06-30, same as Aliyun Linux 2.1903 LTS.
- Aliyun Linux 3 (based on RHEL 8/AlmaLinux 8) is now the recommended successor.
Let me know if you’d like migration tips or a comparison table (Aliyun Linux 2 vs CentOS 7 vs Rocky/Alma).