Amazon Linux 2
In 2017 December Amazon introduce “Amazon Linux 2 ” AMI , a new version of amazon Linux. Its a not a small change when compare with Previous version of Amazon Linux . Now what is the big deal on it ? The major feature it can be installed on on-premise virtual server also,not only on EC2 and its free.
Its good to have , may be it can give tough competition to centos .
Amazon Linux 2 features :
On-premises Use
Amazon Linux 2 is available as a virtual machine image for on-premises use, enabling application developers and Independent Software Venders (ISVs) to easily develop, test, and certify their applications from their local development environment. Supports
VMware, Oracle VM VirtualBox, and Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization.
Systemd support
Amazon Linux 2 includes the widely adopted systemd init system which is used to bootstrap the user space as well as manage system processes
Docker Support
Amazon Linux available for Docker container image
Long Term Support
Amazon provides enterprise support for OS . Now one of the term still not so clear . “Long term 5 years support ” It will take some time to understand in reality.Amazon Linux 2 will come with long-term support that includes security updates and bug fixes for 5 years. AWS will maintain user-space Application Binary Interface (ABI) and Application Programming Interface (API) compatibility for the full lifetime of 5 years
Tuned LTS kernel
Amazon Linux 2 includes newer version of compiler and build toolchain and LTS Kernel tuned for enhanced performance on Amazon EC2
AWS Integration
Amazon Linux 2 includes packages and configurations that provide tight integration with many Amazon Web Services (AWS) services. Amazon Linux 2 comes with many AWS tools (e.g. AWS CLI) and cloud-init. These tools are designed to simplify the scripting of common administration tasks from within an instance and enable remote configuration of instances.
Extras Repository for software Packages
Amazon Linux 2 provides the Amazon Linux Extras repository – a fully maintained and supported repository of additional software packages (referred to as topics). These packages include software applications such as web and desktop development environments (e.g. Python, Go, Rust, R) and open source databases (e.g. MariaDB, PostgreSQL)
Security Updates
Security updates are provided via the Amazon Linux 2 yum repositories as well as via updated Amazon Machine Images (AMIs), VM and container images. Security alerts are published in the Amazon Linux AMI Security Center.
last but not least “Amazon Linux2 free to use”
Standard Amazon EC2 and AWS charges apply for running Amazon EC2 instances and other services