Anolis OS is an enterprise Linux distribution born out of Alibaba Cloud's need for a stable, production-ready operating system after the CentOS project announced its shift away from CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream. Developed under the OpenAnolis community, it has rapidly grown into one of the most prominent RHEL-compatible distributions in the Asia-Pacific region, with a growing global presence.
Origins and Community
OpenAnolis was established by Alibaba Cloud in 2020 as an open-source community to develop and maintain Anolis OS. The project quickly attracted contributions from major Chinese technology companies including Tencent, Baidu, China Telecom, and others. The community-driven approach ensures that Anolis OS receives both upstream contributions and enterprise-grade enhancements suited to modern cloud environments.
RHEL Compatibility
Anolis OS 8 is binary compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, making it a compelling drop-in replacement for organizations that relied on CentOS. Applications compiled for RHEL 8 run without modification on Anolis OS 8, and the RPM-based package ecosystem is fully compatible. Administrators familiar with RHEL or CentOS will find the transition effortless, as tools, configurations, and workflows remain identical.
Cloud-Native Optimizations
One of Anolis OS's most distinguishing features is its deep integration with cloud and container technologies. The distribution ships with an enhanced kernel — the ANCK (Anolis Cloud Kernel) — that incorporates upstream Linux improvements alongside Alibaba Cloud-specific optimizations for latency, throughput, and resource isolation. These optimizations are particularly valuable in virtualized environments and Kubernetes deployments where performance overhead must be minimized.
Kernel and Packages
Anolis OS offers two kernel variants: the community upstream kernel and the ANCK, which includes additional features such as enhanced cgroups support, improved memory management, and hardware optimizations for modern server platforms. The package repositories include a broad selection of enterprise software, development tools, and containerization stacks. Regular security updates and backported patches ensure that the system remains hardened against vulnerabilities.
Desktop and Server Editions
While Anolis OS is primarily a server-focused distribution, it does offer desktop editions with GNOME as the default graphical environment. However, the vast majority of deployments are headless server installations or containerized workloads. The minimal installation footprint makes it well-suited for cloud instances, bare-metal servers, and edge computing scenarios where resource efficiency is critical.
Long-Term Support
Anolis OS follows a long-term support model aligned with RHEL's lifecycle. Anolis OS 8 is supported until 2031, providing enterprises with a stable, predictable platform for mission-critical applications. Security updates, bug fixes, and certified driver support are delivered consistently throughout the support period, giving organizations the confidence to deploy Anolis OS in regulated industries and compliance-sensitive environments.
Anolis OS 23
Alongside the RHEL 8-compatible branch, the project also maintains Anolis OS 23, which tracks a more modern upstream base and is intended for users who want access to newer software stacks while still benefiting from Alibaba Cloud's enterprise hardening. Anolis OS 23 provides a path forward for organizations looking to adopt newer toolchains without abandoning enterprise stability principles.
Verdict
Anolis OS is an excellent choice for organizations that need a free, enterprise-grade Linux distribution with strong RHEL compatibility, cloud-native kernel optimizations, and long-term support. While it is less known outside of China than alternatives like AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux, its technical quality is on par with — and in some cloud scenarios surpasses — those alternatives. For teams already invested in Alibaba Cloud infrastructure or seeking an Asian-community-backed enterprise Linux, Anolis OS is a top-tier recommendation.