Rocky Linux 9.6 brings image-build upgrades, WSL support, and major package updates

Rocky Linux 9.6 is now available, maintaining its commitment to bug-for-bug compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux for enterprise users. Building on this core principle, the 9.6 release streamlines image creation by leveraging the KIWI image-building tool, ensuring a more consistent and maintainable workflow across releases.

Rocky Linux 9.6 introduces a Windows Subsystem for Linux-compatible image type. Users can now download and run Rocky Linux container archives directly on Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines, expanding deployment options for those developing or testing in hybrid environments.

For those integrating with the public cloud, utilities for Oracle Cloud images have been updated to their most recent versions, delivering currently supported configurations. The release also presents a substantial array of updated packages, including PHP 8.3 and 8.4, nginx 1.26, MySQL 8.4, Valgrind 3.24.0, SystemTap 5.2, elfutils 0.192, libabigail 2.6, Performance Co-pilot 6.3.2, Grafana 10.2.6, LLVM 19.17, Rust 1.84.1, and Go 1.23. Before updating, users should note known issues with ZFS and SELinux support.