The AlmaLinux OS Foundation has announced the formation of the AlmaLinux Engineering Steering Committee (ALESCo) to bolster community engagement and technical governance. This new body aims to guide the technical direction of the AlmaLinux CentOS-clone Linux distribution, ensuring its robustness and long-term stability.

This move came only weeks after AlmaLinux released a new version, AlmaLinux 9.4. This latest release features compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9.4 and support for legacy hardware, which Red Hat will no longer support.

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Why this move? Cody Robertson, CTO at Hawk Host, a web hosting reseller, said, “This committee provides a structured platform to streamline the engineering capabilities of everyone involved in the AlmaLinux project. By fostering an environment where transparency is paramount, we’re not only engaging engineers but also welcoming non-engineers on equal footing to be a core part of AlmaLinux’s explosive growth.”

Dubbed the “air traffic control” for engineering matters, ALESCo will oversee and guide technical decisions in collaboration with various Special Interest Groups (SIGs). The committee was proposed by infrastructure team members Jonathan Wright, AlmaLiunx’s infrastructure lead, and Robertson. It will be responsible for:

• Technical oversight of the operating system
• Transparency in engineering decisions
• Keeping a focus on long-term stability
• Release management
• Supporting SIGs

What that means for DevOps is that AlmaLinux should—should—be both better and a bit more flexible to its user community than Red Hat has been. AlmaLinux has already shown that it’s willing to step away from RHEL to improve security and provide support for older hardware. Hopefully, this move will help them to add other improvements.

The AlmaLinux OS Foundation board appointed the initial members of ALESCo. It will subsequently internally appoint a chair and new members every six months. This approach aims to foster diverse leadership. In this context, diverse means AlmaLinux wants to listen to its customers and other contributors, such as tech writers and developers. AlmaLinux also wants to keep its Linux community cred by preventing any single point of prolonged control. To ensure decision-making transparency. All ALESCo meetings will be public, with member affiliations disclosed.

Benny Vasquez, the AlmaLinux OS Foundation chair, underlined the commitment to transparency and community involvement, stating, “The creation of ALESCo reinforces our dedication to transparency while opening the door for broader technical input from our community. We are excited about the increased engagement this will bring and appreciate the contributions from Wright, Robertson, and other key proposal contributors like Farrell, Alex Iribarren of CERN, and Daniel Pearson of KnownHost.”

With ALESCo in place, AlmaLinux is poised to enhance its collaborative efforts, ensuring a robust and reliable operating system that meets the needs of its growing community.