Rocky Linux LTS (Long-Term Support)

What is LTS and What Does it Cover?

Keep your Rocky Linux environments stable, secure, and compliant with CIQ’s LTS.

LTS extends support for up to 5 years, ensuring your systems remain up-to-date and safe.

We are the Rocky Linux Experts

CIQ was founded by Gregory Kurtzer, creator of Rocky Linux and co-founder of CentOS. We bring unmatched expertise to your Rocky Linux environment. We are active contributors to the Rocky Linux project and founding sponsor of the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF), ensuring you receive the best support and security.

Trusted by the World’s Leading Enterprises

Financial

One of the world’s largest credit card companies migrated from CentOS to Rocky Linux and chose CIQ as their partner for stabilization and security.

Technology

One of the world’s largest technology companies maintains system compliance and stability with CIQ for industrial automation, medical devices, and smart infrastructure product lines.

HPC

A high-performance cloud computing platform chose CIQ and Rocky Linux for a stable foundation

How LTS Works

5 Years of Major Version Support

Final minor version (e.g., 8.10, 9.10) occurs 5 years after the major version release.
This version receives minor/maintenance updates for an additional 5 years.

18 Months of Minor Version Support

Extended support for non-zero even-numbered releases (e.g., 8.6, 8.8, 9.2, 9.4).
Lifecycle for long-term update support is 18 months past release expiration.

Enhanced security with backports

Packages with security issues marked as Important or Critical may be eligible for backports. Generally, this applies to packages with a CVE score of 7.0 or higher. Other security-related backports and bug fixes are at CIQ’s discretion. Finalized pricing will be determined after speaking with one of our experts.

Rocky Linux: The future of stability

As part of our commitment to your success, CIQ supports Rocky Linux with updates for minor versions even after they've been declared EOL. By backporting fixes from newer releases, we ensure your transition to Rocky Linux is as smooth and secure as possible.

Benefits of LTS with CIQ

Stay compliant: Keep your vendor-approved infrastructure supported and compliant for up to 5 years
Stable configurations: Reduce config variances and keep changes to a minimum
Long-term compatibility: Keep your mission-critical hardware running without worrying about drivers
Enhanced security: Regular backports of critical security fixes keep your infrastructure secure
Cost efficiency: Optimize resource allocation and avoid frequent, costly updates
Future-proof planning: Align your tech roadmap with your business goals
Proven performance: Get high performance wherever you need it

Easy access to packages and images

CIQ’s LTS for Rocky Linux subscription offers up-to-date packages and container images. The LTS container images are OCI-compliant, and should work transparently with Docker, Podman, Apptainer, and others. They are based on the publicly available rockylinux images, with a couple of minor differences:

Default vault repositories

Each LTS image by default has repositories (BaseOS, AppStream, etc.) pointing to the corresponding Rocky Vault version.

18 Months of Minor Version Support

LTS images are always kept up to date with the latest available packages from the vault and corresponding CIQ LTS subscription.

CIQ utility included

The CIQ subscription management utility is included in each rockylinux-lts labeled image. This makes it easy to activate your subscription key within the container and apply updates or install new packages from the CIQ repositories.