Amazon Linux 2023 kernel-6.1 Supported by GC

Amazon Linux 2023 is the next generation of Amazon Linux, built from the ground up for the cloud. This secure, stable, and high-performance Linux distribution is designed and maintained by AWS to provide an optimal environment for your applications running on Amazon EC2 and across AWS services. With its modern kernel 6.1 and updated user space, it delivers the latest innovations in performance, security, and tooling.

As a successor to Amazon Linux 2, AL2023 offers a fresh application repository, a predictable biennial release cycle with long-term support, and a significantly smaller footprint. Its deep integration with AWS is a core feature, ensuring seamless and reliable operation with services like AWS Systems Manager, Amazon CloudWatch, AWS CloudFormation, and AWS CodeDeploy. This tight integration simplifies management, monitoring, and automation of your infrastructure.

Key Features and Benefits

Modern Foundation: Features the long-term stable Linux kernel 6.1, providing improved support for the latest hardware, enhanced security features like kernel stack randomization, and better performance for modern workloads, including those using containers and microservices. Security Hardened by Default: Includes pre-configured security settings that follow AWS and industry best practices. It receives frequent, automated security updates delivered directly from AWS, minimizing your maintenance window and helping to keep your environment secure. It supports Secure Boot for verified launch integrity. Predictable and Long-Term Support: Launches with a predictable release cycle and comes with five years of long-term support, giving you a stable platform for development and production. This allows for better long-term planning and upgrade management compared to rolling release distributions. Optimized for AWS: Provides the fastest launch times on EC2 and is tuned specifically for optimal performance on AWS infrastructure. It includes the latest AWS drivers, libraries, and tools, such as the updated AWS CLI, for seamless interaction with AWS services. It offers native support for popular container tools. Lightweight and Fast: The minimal image is lightweight, leading to faster boot times, lower resource overhead, and a reduced attack surface. This efficiency translates directly to cost savings on compute resources.

Primary Use Cases

Modern Containerized Applications: An ideal host for Docker containers, Kubernetes pods (via EKS Anywhere), and microservices architectures. Its modern kernel and minimal design provide an efficient, secure, and consistent base image for building and running containers. Cloud-Native Web and Application Servers: Perfect for running web servers (like Apache or Nginx), application servers, and API backends. Its deep integration with AWS services simplifies scaling, load balancing, and monitoring. Development and CI/CD Environments: Provides developers with a consistent, secure, and AWS-native environment that mirrors production. This is excellent for building, testing, and staging applications within CI/CD pipelines using AWS CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, and other developer tools.

Getting started with Amazon Linux 2023 is simple. Launch an EC2 instance directly from the console or automate deployments with infrastructure-as-code tools like AWS CloudFormation or Terraform. There are no licensing fees or additional costs for the software itself you only pay for the AWS resources you use.