Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 container-optimized edition is built on the Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 standard image and is highly optimized for container workloads. It features the ANCK 6.6 kernel and enables cgroup v2 by default for finer-grained resource management. This image is ideal for deploying all types of containerized applications.
Features
The Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 container-optimized edition image offers all the features of the standard image, with the following enhancements:
cgroup v2 enabled by default: It provides a more unified API and finer-grained resource management. This aligns with the Kubernetes community roadmap and fully supports enhanced features such as MemoryQoS and Pressure Stall Information (PSI).
To ensure a smooth migration, Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 integrates systemd 255, which introduces new features while maintaining backward compatibility with cgroup v1. You can also switch between versions manually. However, Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 may be the last mainstream distribution to support cgroup v1. We recommend that you adapt your applications for compatibility as soon as possible.
The interfaces for cgroup v2 and cgroup v1 differ. If your application needs to access the cgroup filesystem directly, verify compatibility to prevent startup failures or issues with reading resource data. For more information, see Cgroup Version Description.
Upgraded kernel and toolchain: The image features the ANCK 6.6 kernel, which is based on the upstream community version and integrates multiple new features. It also includes the updated glibc 2.38 and GCC 12.3.0. These updates provide a stronger performance foundation and a more modern runtime environment for your applications.
Based on these features, Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 delivers significant performance improvements. In multi-core scenarios, it offers approximately a 20% performance increase compared to Alibaba Cloud Linux 3. In multi-database scenarios, it provides an average performance boost of about 3%.
This performance data comes from a comparison test between Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 and Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 running concurrently with UnixBench 5.1.3 on the same 192 vCPU/384 GiB node. Actual results may vary depending on your specific environment.
In addition, the Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 container-optimized edition image provides the following unique advantages:
Fast startup: The pre-integrated container runtime and toolchain reduce Kubernetes node initialization time by approximately 50%, improving auto scaling efficiency.
Secure and trusted: Alibaba Cloud rigorously tests and tunes all pre-integrated software and the toolchain, to deliver higher standards of stability, security, and reliability.
Ready to use: The image provides system-level kernel parameter optimizations for key metrics such as network throughput, storage I/O, and memory management. These settings incorporate best practices validated in large-scale production environments.
Usage
When you create a custom instance, select the Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 container-optimized edition public image.
Billing
The Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 container-optimized edition image is free to use. However, when you use this image to create an ECS instance, you are charged for resources such as vCPUs, memory, storage, public bandwidth, and snapshots. For more information, see Billing Overview.