Amazon Linux 2 Reviews & Product Details

What I like most about Amazon Linux 2 is that it’s stable, lightweight, and works really well with AWS services. It’s easy to set up and maintain, and we haven’t had to spend much time dealing with OS-related issues. The integration with AWS makes it a convenient choice for running our applications and managing servers in the cloud. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One thing I dislike about Amazon Linux 2 is that some packages and software versions can be older than what you might find on other Linux distributions. At times, this means we need to manually update or find an alternative package. It would also be nice if upgrading to newer versions was a bit more straightforward. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about Amazon Linux 2 is its stability and seamless integration with AWS services. In my DevOps work, I’ve used it for provisioning EC2 instances, configuring Docker and Kubernetes environments, and automating deployments. It’s lightweight, secure, and optimized for AWS, making it a reliable choice for building and managing cloud infrastructure. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One limitation I’ve experienced with Amazon Linux 2 is that some packages and development tools can be older than those available on other Linux distributions. This sometimes requires adding extra repositories or performing manual updates when setting up newer DevOps tools. However, the trade-off is a stable and reliable operating system for production workloads. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

If I’m being honest, as an admin responsible for managing multiple environments, the best part about Amazon Linux 2 is that it’s lightweight and AWS-ready. It’s free of bloatware and the extra programs you often see in other standard distributions. Since we’re dealing with multiple instances and auto scaling groups, boot time really matters. Amazon Linux 2 boots up super fast and gives us a head start to make the necessary changes. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There isn’t much to dislike about Amazon Linux 2, but there are a few points worth mentioning. First is the End of Life, which is happening at the end of this month. Because of that, our team has to take on a large-scale migration from Amazon Linux 2 to Amazon Linux 2023. This isn’t a simple upgrade, since Amazon Linux 2023 uses the dnf package manager, so we basically have to sit down and re-test our automation scripts and applications from scratch.

Second, our day-to-day struggle is with packages. Since Amazon Linux 2 ships with RHEL 7–version packages, the default repos are quite outdated. When we need a newer python3, node.js, or similar libraries, we have to rely on the amazon-linux-extras repo to get more recent tools, which can sometimes create dependency clashes. It takes time, and it can be tough to manage. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like Amazon Linux 2 because it is secure, lightweight, and optimized for AWS. It receives regular security updates, offers long-term support, and integrates well with AWS services. This makes it a reliable operating system for running production workloads on EC2 Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The main drawback is that Amazon Linux 2 is optimized for AWS, so it's less flexible for multi-cloud environments. Also, some packages are not the latest versions because the focus is on stability and long-term support. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Provides the exact stability like centos and rhel and works extremely well for AWS optimized use cases also comes with free of cost so one does not have to pay for the os to use Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As it is first gen AWS backed os now most of the packages and dependencies are outdated . Also the compatibility with other os like rhel and centos at binary levels are different . Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I use Amazon Linux 2 as the operating system on EC2 in AWS and I like that it is stable and lightweight. The stability gives us peace of mind because we don't have to restart servers or see strange errors. Since it is lightweight, small EC2 instances work well for simple apps without needing to pay more. Amazon Linux 2 is optimized for AWS, so it is easy to configure and there is no need to deal with licenses. Also, security updates arrive quickly and without breaking anything, and AWS repositories are very fast, which means I don't have to wait long to install or update something. Additionally, since it is made by AWS, it already has the agents pre-installed for use with CloudWatch or Systems Manager, which makes monitoring and management easier. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometimes the packages come older than in other distros, you have to resort to extra yum repos or compile manually. And it doesn't run outside of AWS, so if you want to replicate the environment locally, it's somewhat tedious. It also doesn't have as much community documentation as Ubuntu or RHEL. The versions of Python or Node sometimes come old and we have to install with nvm or pyenv. Also, Postgres comes in a version that is no longer used as much. That forces you to add extra steps to the setup, it's not serious but it's noise. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The seamless integration with the AWS ecosystem is its biggest strength. For a developer, having the AWS CLI and other essential tools pre-installed saves significant setup time. It is incredibly lightweight and high-performing, making it an excellent choice for hosting community projects like TechAstra on EC2 instances without unnecessary resource overhead. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The package repository can feel restrictive compared to Ubuntu. Some newer versions of libraries and compilers required for advanced competitive programming or modern tech stacks aren't always available in the default yum repositories. You often have to rely on Amazon Linux Extras or compile from source, which adds friction to the development workflow Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about Amazon Linux 2 is how tightly it integrates with the AWS ecosystem. It comes preconfigured with the AWS CLI and cloud-init, so spinning up EC2 instances and wiring them into other services is fast and predictable. The long-term support commitment gives me confidence to run it in production, and the tuned kernel and minimal default footprint deliver solid performance and security out of the box. Package management through the Extras repository makes it easy to pin specific versions of software like Nginx or PostgreSQL without breaking the base system. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

My main frustration is that the older package versions in the default repositories can lag behind upstream, so getting newer releases of certain tools sometimes means adding third-party repos or building from source. Being effectively tied to AWS also means it's not a great fit if you need to run the same OS on-premises or on another cloud, which hurts portability. Documentation for some of the more niche Extras topics can be thin, and now that Amazon Linux 2 is heading toward end-of-life, the push to migrate to Amazon Linux 2023 adds some planning overhead for existing fleets. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Amazon Linux 2 is easy to work with, stable, and well optimized for AWS environments. I like that it feels lightweight while still being reliable for production use. Its smooth integration with AWS services makes deployment and management much more convenient, especially for cloud-based applications. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One drawback of Amazon Linux 2 is that some packages can feel a bit outdated compared to other Linux distributions. That stability is great for production environments, but it can also be limiting if you want the latest tools and software versions without having to do extra manual setup. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like most about Amazon Linux 2 is its stability and seamless integration with Amazon Web Services. It’s reliable, lightweight, and well-optimized for cloud environments, making it great for production use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One downside of Amazon Linux 2 is that it can feel a bit limited outside the Amazon Web Services ecosystem. Package versions are often older due to its stability focus, and the software repositories aren’t as extensive as some other distributions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.