--- title: Amazon Linux 2027 public preview: kernel 7.1, x86-64-v3,... description: AWS has opened public preview of Amazon Linux 2027 (AL2027), the successor to Amazon Linux 2023, targeting cloud-native workloads including web apps,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-linux-2027-public-preview-kernel-7-1-x86-64-v3-lto-and-selinux-enforcing-by-default-yljkxdtne twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Amazon Linux 2027 public preview: kernel 7.1, x86-64-v3, LTO, and SELinux enforcing by default | daily.dev og:description: AWS has opened public preview of Amazon Linux 2027 (AL2027), the successor to Amazon Linux 2023, targeting cloud-native workloads including web apps,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-linux-2027-public-preview-kernel-7-1-x86-64-v3-lto-and-selinux-enforcing-by-default-yljkxdtne og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/YLJkXdTnE.png og:image:alt: Amazon Linux 2027 public preview: kernel 7.1, x86-64-v3, LTO, and SELinux enforcing by default og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Amazon Linux 2027 public preview: kernel 7.1, x86-64-v3, LTO, and SELinux enforcing by default **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 2 min read · 2 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary AWS has opened public preview of Amazon Linux 2027 (AL2027), the successor to Amazon Linux 2023, targeting cloud-native workloads including web apps, databases, containers, and AI/ML. It ships Linux kernel 7.1 with SELinux enforcing by default, AWS-LC for cryptography, GCC 16.1 and LLVM/Clang 22 as default compilers, and packages built with -O2, LTO, and auto-vectorization. x86-64 packages now target the x86-64-v3 baseline, requiring AVX/AVX2 support, meaning older hardware without AVX2 won't run default packages. Graviton instances get Transparent Hugepages enabled by default. Package management moves from DNF to DNF5, and AWS Neuron drivers are included out of the box. Packages are sourced from Fedora 44 and 45. Preview AMIs are available across all commercial AWS regions in x86-64 and ARM variants, with container images on ECR Public Gallery, ahead of general availability. ## Content AWS has opened a public preview of Amazon Linux 2027 (AL2027), the successor to Amazon Linux 2023, targeting cloud-native workloads including web apps, databases, containerized microservices, and AI/ML. ## What's new AL2027 runs on the Linux 7.1 kernel with SELinux enforcing mode enabled by default. On the compiler side, GCC 16.1 is the default, alongside LLVM/Clang 22, with updated Rust and Go toolchains. Packages are compiled with `-O2`, link-time optimization (LTO), and auto-vectorization. Package management switches from DNF to DNF5, and the distro draws partly from Fedora 44 and 45 packages. For cryptography, AL2027 uses AWS-LC for hardware-accelerated operations, and AI/ML workloads get AWS Neuron accelerator drivers included out of the box. ## Architecture-specific changes x86-64 packages now target the x86-64-v3 microarchitecture baseline, which assumes AVX and AVX2 support. This is a meaningful shift - it drops compatibility with older hardware in exchange for better use of modern CPU features. On Graviton (AArch64) instances, Transparent Hugepages are enabled by default for malloc heap arenas, which should reduce TLB pressure on memory-intensive workloads. ## Early benchmark results Phoronix ran benchmarks on a single AMD EPYC 5th Gen "Turin" m8a.4xlarge EC2 instance (16 vCPUs, 64GB DDR5-6400, 400GB local storage) comparing AL2027 against Amazon Linux 2023. The results show noticeable out-of-the-box performance gains, though the testing was limited in scope. The combination of LTO, x86-64-v3 targeting, and GCC 16.1 appears to be doing real work here, not just marketing. ## Availability Preview AMIs are available in all commercial AWS regions in both x86-64 and ARM variants. Container images are on Amazon ECR Public Gallery. Feedback can be submitted through the AL2027 GitHub repository ahead of general availability. AL2027 was among several AWS announcements this week, alongside new Graviton5-powered EC2 R9g/R9gd instances, Lambda SnapStart support for container image functions, and Redshift support for Apache Iceberg v3 tables. ## Questions this post answers ### What CPU microarchitecture baseline does Amazon Linux 2027 require for x86-64? Amazon Linux 2027 targets the x86-64-v3 microarchitecture baseline for x86-64 packages, which assumes AVX and AVX2 support. This drops compatibility with older hardware lacking those instruction sets in exchange for better use of modern CPU features, a shift from Amazon Linux 2023's broader baseline. _Teams planning EC2 upgrades can track architecture baseline shifts like this one on daily.dev._ ### Is SELinux enabled by default in Amazon Linux 2027? Yes, Amazon Linux 2027 enables SELinux in enforcing mode by default, unlike prior Amazon Linux releases. It also runs the Linux 7.1 kernel, uses GCC 16.1 and LLVM/Clang 22 as default compilers, and builds packages with -O2, link-time optimization, and auto-vectorization. _Ops teams weighing security defaults across distros can follow changes like this via daily.dev._ ### How does Amazon Linux 2027 perform compared to Amazon Linux 2023? Early Phoronix benchmarks on a single AMD EPYC 5th Gen Turin m8a.4xlarge EC2 instance (16 vCPUs, 64GB DDR5-6400) showed noticeable out-of-the-box performance gains for AL2027 over Amazon Linux 2023, attributed to LTO, x86-64-v3 targeting, and GCC 16.1, though the testing scope was limited. _Engineers benchmarking OS upgrades before migration can follow early results like these on daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@trevorsuna** · 0 upvotes > SELinux enforcing by default is a welcome security baseline, while x86-64-v3 is the compatibility change most likely to surprise mixed fleets. Before adopting the preview, teams should inventory older CPUs and third-party packages, then test DNF5 and policy behavior against their real AMI build pipeline. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Amazon Linux 2027 Enters Public Preview with SELinux Enforcing by Default](https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-linux-2027-enters-public-preview-with-selinux-enforcing-by-default-5t1uxdshi) · InfoQ · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Linux 7.1, Linux 7.2 Performance On The Intel Xeon 600 Series Review](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-7-1-linux-7-2-performance-on-the-intel-xeon-600-series-review-f2h63vkh8) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Linux Kernel 7.1 is a Feature Release That Could Be Useful For You](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-kernel-7-1-is-a-feature-release-that-could-be-useful-for-you-77klzz9de) · It's Foss · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#aws](https://daily.dev/tags/aws), [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-linux-2027-public-preview-kernel-7-1-x86-64-v3-lto-and-selinux-enforcing-by-default-yljkxdtne) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Amazon Linux 2027 public preview: kernel 7.1, x86-64-v3, LTO, and SELinux enforcing by default","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-linux-2027-public-preview-kernel-7-1-x86-64-v3-lto-and-selinux-enforcing-by-default-yljkxdtne","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-linux-2027-public-preview-kernel-7-1-x86-64-v3-lto-and-selinux-enforcing-by-default-yljkxdtne"},"datePublished":"2026-09-04T00:34:24.761Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T19:33:48.400Z","description":"AWS has opened public preview of Amazon Linux 2027 (AL2027), the successor to Amazon Linux 2023, targeting cloud-native workloads including web apps,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/14583fabe4cfa00b837e6b7ba3fe7d94?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/14583fabe4cfa00b837e6b7ba3fe7d94?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Collections","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Collections","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--fk_6ycEi--/f_auto,q_auto/v1780996001/logos/collections?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/collections"},"commentCount":1,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-linux-2027-public-preview-kernel-7-1-x86-64-v3-lto-and-selinux-enforcing-by-default-yljkxdtne","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}],"keywords":"aws,linux","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Collections","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/collections"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Amazon Linux 2027 public preview: kernel 7.1, x86-64-v3, LTO, and SELinux enforcing by default"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-linux-2027-public-preview-kernel-7-1-x86-64-v3-lto-and-selinux-enforcing-by-default-yljkxdtne","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"SELinux enforcing by default is a welcome security baseline, while x86-64-v3 is the compatibility change most likely to surprise mixed fleets. 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