How to Install Rocky Linux 9 on a Server

Rocky Linux 9 is a free, downstream rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 — same packages, same release cycle, no subscription. For most "we need RHEL compatibility without the SKU" cases, Rocky (or AlmaLinux) is the answer.

Prerequisites

• A server, VM, or hypervisor slot with ≥ 2 vCPU, 2 GiB RAM, 20 GiB disk.
• The latest Rocky-9.x-x86_64-minimal.iso from download.rockylinux.org (or dvd if you want offline GUI).
• The corresponding CHECKSUM file.
• IPMI / hypervisor console access.

Step 1: Verify the ISO

sha256sum -c CHECKSUM --ignore-missing
# OK on the minimal line is the only acceptable result.

Step 2: Boot and pick install destination

Anaconda is the installer. Pick:

• Language & keyboard: English (US) + Arabic (Saudi Arabia) layout if you need it
• Time & Date: Asia/Riyadh, NTP on
• Installation Destination: select disk, then Custom → LVM

Recommended partitioning for a 20+ GiB disk:

/boot          1 GiB ext4
/boot/efi      512 MiB EFI (UEFI only)
/              15 GiB xfs (LVM)
/var           5  GiB xfs (LVM)
/home          2  GiB xfs (LVM)
swap           2  GiB

Leave ~25 percent of the volume group unallocated.

Step 3: Networking and hostname

Click Network & Host Name:

• Set hostname to FQDN: rocky9-host.example.sa
• Switch the NIC ON
• Configure IPv4 (static IP or DHCP reservation)

Step 4: User accounts

• Root password: 32+ chars. Then check Lock root account to disable root login entirely.
• User Creation: your operator account. Tick Make this user administrator (puts them in wheel for sudo).

Step 5: Begin install + first boot

After install completes, reboot, log in as the operator, and:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y
sudo dnf install -y vim curl wget htop firewalld policycoreutils-python-utils tar
sudo systemctl enable --now firewalld

Push your SSH key from your workstation:

ssh-copy-id ops@rocky9-host.example.sa

Harden SSH (/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/99-skyline.conf if it exists, else edit main config):

PermitRootLogin no
PasswordAuthentication no
PubkeyAuthentication yes

sudo sshd -t && sudo systemctl restart sshd

Step 6: SELinux and firewalld baseline

sestatus                      # should show "enforcing"
sudo firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=ssh --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Verify

cat /etc/rocky-release
uname -r                      # 5.14.0-x.el9
sestatus
sudo ss -tulpn
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

Conclusion

Rocky 9 gives you the RHEL 9 platform — DNF, firewalld, SELinux, 10-year support window — at zero license cost. From here, every RHEL 9 / Alma 9 article you find on the internet applies verbatim.

Next steps

• Learn the DNF package manager basics.
• Configure firewalld zones for production traffic.
• When debugging an SELinux denial, see Set SELinux to permissive.