Google Cloud partners with CIQ to provide an enterprise-grade experience for Rocky Linux

At Google Cloud, we strive to offer a great customer experience for enterprises by building a robust and supported platform for running all Linux-based workloads.

This mission is why we were one of the first cloud providers to offer purpose-built Rocky Linux images when Rocky Linux debuted last year as a replacement option for CentOS. We were also one of the first hyperscalers to sponsor the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF) to support the open source community behind this Linux distribution. With these efforts, we’re pleased that many customers are already running Rocky Linux in Google Cloud today.

Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re taking another step in furthering the support we provide for Rocky Linux. We’re partnering with CIQ—the company started by CentOS co-founder and Rocky Linux founder Gregory Kurtzer featuring core expertise across Linux, cloud, HPC, containers and security— so we can provide customers a new and improved experience for Rocky Linux on Google Cloud. 

Starting today, customers can leverage Google’s support offerings to file support cases for Rocky Linux. Google support teams and the Rocky Linux experts at CIQ are working together to address customer issues to help ensure they get enterprise-grade support. If you already have a paid support plan with Google, you will be able to open a case for an issue related to Rocky Linux. Google teams can expediently help resolve the issues, backed by CIQ expertise, giving you an integrated experience of using Rocky Linux on Google Cloud. 

"We asked ourselves, how do we bring the best value to everyone? Through this partnership, anytime you use our Rocky Linux on Google Cloud, both Google and CIQ jointly have your back! From the cloud platform itself, all the way through the enterprise operating system, every aspect of using Google Cloud is supported by a single call to Google, and together, we are your escalation team.”—Gregory Kurtzer, CEO of CIQ and Founder/Director of Rocky Linux and the RESF

In addition to CIQ-backed support for Rocky Linux, Google is also working with CIQ to provide a streamlined product experience - with plans to include performance-tuned Rocky Linux images, out-of-the-box support for specialized Google infrastructure, tools to help support easy migration, and more. We’re doing these updates in a community-friendly way. Together with CIQ, Google is helping to create a Rocky Linux Cloud SIG that aims to provide optimized, standardized, and simplified Rocky Linux experience. 

If you’re currently looking for alternatives to CentOS as it reaches end of life, Rocky Linux on Google Cloud can have you covered both from a product and support perspective. So, take Rocky for a spin if you haven’t already, and if you have questions or suggestions on how we can help you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. To learn more, please also join us for a webinar discussion on April 6th 2022 at 11.00am PT.