Rocky Linux is a Fedora/RHEL-family Linux distribution based on RHEL. 100% bug-for-bug compatible community enterprise operating system founded by CentOS creator Gregory Kurtzer.
Strengths: Drop-in replacement for CentOS and RHEL without license costs; Backed by the non-profit Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation; 10-year support lifecycle matching RHEL releases. Trade-offs: Packages intentionally prioritize slow stability over new features.