CIQ is now offering Rocky Linux especially purposed for large-scale AI deployments.
It looks as if Rocky Linux is getting ready to join the AI revolution.
Today, the high performance computing company CIQ launched a tech preview of Rocky Linux from CIQ for AI as the latest addition to the Rocky Linux from CIQ line of fully supported Enterprise Linux distributions based on Rocky Linux.
CIQ, whose main business is high performance computing, is also the company behind Rocky Linux, which is one of several Red Hat Enterprise Linux clones that grew out of the 2020 demise of CentOS as a downstream RHEL replacement. Last October, CIQ launched Rocky Linux from CIQ, which is basically Rocky Linux with a paid layer that adds compliance, indemnification, and supply chain validation guarantees.
In March, it added to that with Rocky Linux From CIQ – Hardened, another nonfree version of the distro, this one security hardened with stronger password policies, memory corruption detection, kernel integrity checking, SSH restrictions, and the like.
Considering the quickening pace of the “Rocky from CIQ” releases, we can only assume that this line of Linux distros is proving to be a success for CIQ.
As for this new line, Gregory Kurtzer, the founder and CEO of CIQ said in a statement, “Linux has always served as the critical surface area between software and hardware advancements. With the rate of innovation in AI technologies, it is critical that the operating system helps to maintain compatibility.”
Kurtzer knows about Linux. Back in the day, he was one of the founders of CentOS, which eventually ended-up being under Red Hat’s control.
“The operating system must also play a more active role in how we optimize these heavy workloads and how quickly we can take advantage of new advancements,” he added. “RLC-AI enhances the Linux kernel and the user space to help organizations of all sizes adopt AI, improve utilization of important compute resources, and maintain competitive advantage.”
In addition, because it’s Rocky Linux under the hood, RLC-AI brings into play the no-surprises stability of what these days is called Enterprise Linux, now that there are multiple companies and not just Red Hat offering RHEL compatibility.
What Makes Rocky Linux From CIQ – AI Different?
Bringing large-scale AI deployments into play changes the ball game for enterprise IT departments, especially since the AI landscape is currently in a state of constant flux. This often results in pressure to scale deployments, optimize costs, address growing security concerns, and adapt to a relentless pace of innovation, even while adding new hardware into the mix.
RLC-AI helps tackle these challenges by building on Rocky Linux as a foundation, and then applying an optimized kernel and user space enhancements that improve performance while maintaining compatibility, stability and security.
According to CIQ, this brings changes in three key areas that are crucial for large-scale AI workloads:
- Kernel and User Space Enhancements
The RLC-AI kernel starts with the stable kernel.org long term (LT) release and enhances it specifically for AI applications while maintaining compatibility. Key features include AI-optimized build configurations, support for Confidential Computing, and support for NVIDIA, Mellanox, AMD and other hardware acceleration components. - Key Deployment Efficiencies
RLC-AI includes both proprietary and out-of-tree modules alongside standard drivers, eliminating post-installation setup and ensuring users can get the most out of new hardware. For organizations deploying thousands of instances daily, this saves significant operational costs and time by removing per-instance driver installation overhead, preventing compatibility issues, and avoiding the need for custom images. - Performance Optimizations
The RLC-AI kernel includes AI-specific performance optimizations inspired by high-performance computing but tailored for AI/ML workloads. It integrates seamlessly with TensorFlow and PyTorch, providing most common runtime libraries and tuning components by default.
“Ultimately, RLC-AI delivers significant cost reduction through lower infrastructure expenses and the elimination of custom Linux distribution maintenance,” CIQ says. “It accelerates deployment and innovation with immediate access to optimized environments and new hardware capabilities, while enhancing performance and reliability through lower latency and consistent AI workload execution. This translates to improved user experience and greater end-user satisfaction.”
RLC-AI is available as part of a tech preview program from CIQ. Organizations interested in learning more and signing up for the tech preview should follow this link. Also, CIQ will be holding a free tech session on May 22 at 11:00 a.m. PDT.
Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux
