Although the most recent events have significantly altered a landscape that had barely moved for many years, Oracle Linux 9 is the newest version of the operating system used by the tech giant and one of the oldest and most widely used derivatives of Red Hat Linux Enterprise (RHEL). As such, it is not surprising that the other does not follow Oracle Linux 9.
Since the distribution, as a whole, no longer exists, CentOS 9 did not come following the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 as normal. However, AlmaLinux 9 did, having been positioned practically from the start as the new star derivative of RHEL, even if Rocky Linux has not yet appeared.
Oracle Linux 9, on the other hand, is already present and hasn't been late for a scheduled event in 15 years. And it has always done so rather dependably: similar to a binary level clone of RHEL, with guaranteed compatibility with its packages, but with its own seasonings, namely the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, which is its most defining characteristic.
Aside from its unique kernel, the distribution's other noteworthy qualities for the release of Oracle Linux 9 include its complete freedom and lack of installation restrictions: You only pay Oracle if you want assistance. Otherwise, you are free to use the system anyway you see fit.
It would be inaccurate to sum up Oracle Linux 9's announcements as "everything RHEL 9 offered plus the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel." Contrary to variants like AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux, which are far more similar to the original flavor, Oracle makes changes to the system in a number of places without compromising compatibility.
For instance, Oracle Linux 9 Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, UEK R7, is based on Linux 5.15 LTS rather than Linux 5.14, which RHEL9 introduced. It also has improved file system support, including Btrfs, which is still accessible from the same installation for those who want to use it, and better integration with VirtualBox, specifically by adding support for VirtualBox shared folders.
Users who frequently use Oracle Linux 9 will find it available for download in DVD and boot image formats for the x86_64 (x86_64) and ARM (aarch64) architectures.
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