What’s OpenELA? How Three IT Giants Are Reviving Enterprise Linux After CentOS’s End

Open ELA Alliance

In June, Red Hat announced that CentOS 7 would cease updates and maintenance in June 2024, and that CentOS Stream would become the sole upstream source for RHEL‑related code. Red Hat also offered a “simple method” to migrate CentOS 7 instances to cloud‑based RHEL, while warning that moving to clone distributions such as AlmaLinux or Rocky would be “very difficult.”

The community reacted strongly, expressing frustration that a free, Red Hat‑compatible platform was disappearing. Although Rocky and AlmaLinux claim to be free RHEL clones, many users question whether they truly meet enterprise needs for security, reliability, and predictability.

Amid this uncertainty, three major IT companies—SUSE, Oracle, and CIQ—announced the formation of an industry association to develop and provide source code for Linux distributions compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This initiative is called the Open Enterprise Linux Alliance (Open ELA).

Open ELA will supply the source code required to build downstream RHEL‑compatible distributions, initially focusing on RHEL 8, RHEL 9, and possibly RHEL 7. The alliance commits to continuous, indefinite provision of the code, adhering to principles of full RHEL compatibility, rapid updates, security patches, transparency, community governance, and free, redistributable licensing.

Developers in China and elsewhere can join the project by registering on the Open ELA website. https://openela.org/join/ Summary : With the backing of SUSE, Oracle, and CIQ, the Open ELA alliance offers a hopeful solution for CentOS users, ensuring that enterprise‑grade Linux remains available and community‑driven.