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Unraid 8 Drops Slackware for Fedora Base, Adds Native Docker Compose
Unraid 8 is set for a major overhaul: a Fedora base will replace Slackware. The new release will also inherit an integrated backup tool and native support for Docker Compose. Here's what we know.
Fedora and uCore replace the legacy base
The most important change planned for Unraid 8 is not visible in the web interface. Since its debut in 2005, Unraid has used Slackware as the base for its operating system. From now on, Unraid 8 will use a Fedora base, relying on uCore, an image maintained by the Universal Blue project. What is interesting about uCore is that it is an OCI image derived from Fedora CoreOS, with a read-only root filesystem and atomic updates. In other words, it is an immutable system base.
Unraid made this choice for security reasons as well. Vulnerabilities are being discovered faster and faster, both in packages and in the Linux kernel, and the vendor believes that a Fedora base makes it possible to receive fixes more quickly. There is also a real separation between the base system and the Unraid software layer by using this approach.
That said, immutability is not new to Unraid, even if the move to Fedora uCore might suggest otherwise. Tom Mortensen, the creator of Unraid, had already implemented it in Slackware.
"Unraid has always been what we call an immutable OS. No matter how you modify your server, if you log into it, type the wrong command, delete all the files in your root, you can simply reboot and get back to the original version [...] and that's a big reason why we chose Fedora [uCore].", he explains.
A logical choice for continuity in Unraid, but one that involves stacking several layers: Fedora -> Fedora CoreOS -> uCore -> Unraid 8.
Built-in backup, native Docker Compose, and plugin permissions
Beyond this major shift, Unraid version 8 is expected to bring major features, including:
- An integrated backup solution, capable of targeting the cloud, an S3 bucket, or another Unraid server, with snapshots and full restores.
- Native Docker Compose, integrated into the Community Apps template system, so Docker Compose templates can coexist with existing applications without changing views.
- A permissions system for plugins, making it possible to see before installation what a plugin can access.
- A unified interface across the OS, account, purchasing, license key management, and the new Community Apps site, available at ca.unraid.net.
- Expanded hardware support, making it possible to support more machines right out of the box.
- Security updates available more quickly.
Native support for Docker Compose is truly great news! And even though the Unraid team has changed platform, advanced features will still be supported (VLAN, bridging, etc.).
Unraid has been gaining momentum for several years, with a user base that has grown more than 5x since 2019, and the system is used in more than 150 countries. The remaining question is when Unraid 8 will be available, and the timeline is admittedly unclear. There will first be a closed beta phase, then an open beta (sign up here), before the new version is eventually released as a stable build.
All that remains is to wait... But if you already use Unraid, one question remains: will the move from a Slackware base to a Fedora base come with an in-place migration path, or will a reinstallation be required? That has not been specified.
