Skip to content

Getting Started

Getting Started with RLC-H

As mentioned in RLC-H Overview, Rocky Linux from CIQ - Hardened (RLC-H) is a security-hardened version of Rocky Linux designed for environments with increased security requirements. This guide will help you get started with RLC-H.

How to deploy RLC-H

RLC-H can be deployed through several methods:

  • Standard installation from ISO.
  • Cloud marketplace deployments (Available on Azure, other providers coming soon).
  • Virtual machine image deployment (qcow2).
  • Automated deployment through provisioning tools (Ansible, Kickstart, etc.).

The CIQ Portal

RLC-H installation media and VM images can be downloaded from CIQ Portal.

Note

If you need access to CIQ Portal, please contact csm-help@ciq.com.

  1. Navigate to CIQ Portal and log in using the provided credentials.
  2. Select My Products from the left-hand navigation.
  3. On the My Products Page, select Rocky Linux 9 from CIQ - Hardened.
  4. Then, select Rocky Linux 9 from CIQ - Hardened (files).

  5. From here you can click the three dots, ..., on the right side of the ISOs and checksum files of your choice to select the Actions: Download or Copy Download Link.

    • If Download is selected the download would start after you pick the Download location.
    • If Copy Download Link is selected a link to the file will be added to the clipboard.

    Note

    The download link has the format:
    https://<org-name-and-token>@depot.ciq.com/download/rlc-h-9/rlc-h-9-images/RLC_9_Hardened-<release-date>.<filetype>

    • The link will add the org name and token in the url for basic auth.
    • release-date refers to the date on the image filename you want to download.
    • filetype refers to the type of file that can be downloaded: iso, qcow2, sha256sum, etc.

Using the Command Line Interface (CLI)

Once you've identified and located the RLC-H artifact that you want, download the file using curl or wget by selecting the Action: Copy Download Link and running the following commands:

  1. For example to use the curl utility to download the RLC-H image, run the curl command with the -O option and followed by the link you copied from the portal as follows.

    curl -O https://<org-name-and-token>@depot.ciq.com/download/rlc-h-9/rlc-h-9-images/RLC_9_Hardened-<release-date>.iso

  2. Similarly, download the file needed to verify the checksum of RLC-H related files downloaded from Depot. For example to use curl to download the corresponding SHA256 checksum file:

    curl -O https://<org-name-and-token>@depot.ciq.com/download/rlc-h-9/rlc-h-9-images/RLC_9_Hardened-<release-date>.iso.sha256sum

  3. Verify the downloaded files:

    sha256sum -c RLC_9_Hardened-<release-date>.iso.sha256sum

    Expected Output:

    RLC_9_Hardened-<release-date>.iso: OK

Creating Bootable Media

Creating bootable media from downloaded ISOs onto USB devices on Linux systems allows you to install operating systems, run live environments, or access recovery tools.

The process involves using a tool like dd to write the ISO image directly onto the USB device, ensuring the device is recognized as a bootable medium.

Remember to back up any important data on the USB device before proceeding, as the process will erase its contents.

  1. Make sure the ISO file has been downloaded to your local system.

  2. To avoid data loss, you'll need to correctly identify the target USB drive that you want to overwrite. On a Linux based system you can use the lsblk utility:

    lsblk

    Important

    Ensure you correctly identify your USB drive (e.g., /dev/sdx) as the next command will overwrite the device entirely.

  3. Write the ISO to the USB drive:

    sudo dd if=/path/to/rlc-h.iso of=/dev/sdx bs=4M status=progress && sync

  4. Safely eject USB drive:

    sudo eject /dev/sdx

Windows Users

Rufus is a free and open-source tool for Windows that can be used to create bootable USB flash drives or DVDs from ISO files. It is a straightforward and user-friendly tool that can be used to create bootable media for a variety of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.

To use Rufus to create a bootable USB flash drive:

  1. Download Rufus from the official website.
  2. Insert a USB flash drive into your computer.
  3. Open Rufus and select the USB flash drive from the "Device" drop-down menu.
  4. Select the ISO file that you want to use to create the bootable media.
  5. Click the "Start" button to begin the process of creating the bootable media.

Once Rufus has finished creating the bootable media, you can use it to install the operating system of your choice on your computer.

Next Steps

Once you have decide your prefered way of deployment you can proceed with the following guides:

  • Installation Guides – Hardware requirements, supported installation methods (ISO, KVM/QEMU), and post-installation setup.
  • Admin Guides – Configuration, hardening features, and ongoing system management.
  • Cloud Deployment – Instructions for deploying RLC-H across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud environments.
  • User Guides – Step-by-step how-to articles for using RLC-H features and completing common tasks.
  • Release Notes – Version history, new features, fixes, and compliance updates for each release.

Support

For technical support and additional documentation, please refer to: