How To Install Podman on AlmaLinux 9

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Podman on AlmaLinux 9. Containers have revolutionized the world of software development and deployment. They offer a lightweight and efficient way to package and run applications in various environments. Podman, a popular container management tool, provides a seamless experience for users who want to create, manage, and run containers on their systems.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of Podman on AlmaLinux 9. You can follow the same instructions for CentOS and Rocky Linux or RHEL-based.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: AlmaLinux 9.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• An active internet connection. You’ll need an internet connection to download the necessary packages and dependencies for Podman.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Podman on AlmaLinux 9

Step 1. Before diving into the installation process, ensure your AlmaLinux 9 system is up-to-date. Run the following commands in your terminal:

sudo dnf clean all
sudo dnf update

Step 2. Installing Podman on AlmaLinux 9.

Now that we’ve laid the foundation, let’s proceed with the installation of Podman. The default package manager, dnf, allows you to install Podman effortlessly:

sudo dnf install podman

This command will fetch the Podman package and its dependencies, and install them on your system.

To ensure Podman is successfully installed, verify its version:

podman --version

You should see the Podman version displayed.

Step 3. Basic Podman Commands.

With Podman successfully installed, it’s time to explore its capabilities. We’ll begin with some basic commands to get you started.

Running Your First Container

To run a simple container using Podman, use the podman run command. Here’s a basic example running an Nginx web server:

podman run -d -p 80:80 nginx

• -d detaches the container.
• -p 80:80 maps port 80 from the host to port 80 inside the container.
• nginx specifies the image to run.

You can access the Nginx web server by opening a web browser and navigating to your server’s IP address.

Managing Containers with Podman

Podman offers a multitude of commands for managing containers:

• podman ps – List running containers.
• podman images – List locally available container images.
• podman stop [container] – Stop a running container.
• podman start [container] – Start a stopped container.
• podman rm [container] – Remove a container.
• podman rmi [image] – Remove a container image.

These are just a few examples of the extensive range of commands available with Podman.

Step 4. Advanced Configuration.

For more advanced users, configuring Podman to suit your specific requirements is essential. This section delves into the heart of Podman’s configuration and optimization.

• Understanding Podman Configuration Files

Podman uses a configuration file that allows you to fine-tune various aspects of its behavior. The main configuration file is located at /etc/containers/containers.conf. You can modify this file to configure Podman according to your needs.

• Network Setup for Podman

Podman offers networking options that enable you to customize container networking. By default, containers can communicate with each other and the host system. You can also create custom networks for isolation. Use the podman network commands to manage container networks.

• Storage Configuration

Storage is a crucial aspect of container management. By default, Podman stores container data in /var/lib/containers/storage. However, you can change this location and configure storage options using Podman’s storage options.

Step 5. Podman Compose

Podman Compose is an invaluable tool for managing multi-container applications. It allows you to define and run multi-container applications using a YAML file. To get started with Podman Compose:

Installing Podman Compose

Podman Compose is not included with Podman by default. To install it, use the following command:

sudo dnf install podman-compose

Running Multi-Container Applications

Create a docker-compose.yml file with the definitions of your containers and their relationships. Here’s a simple example of a web application with a database:

version: '3'
services:
web:
image: nginx:latest
ports:
- "80:80"
database:
image: postgres:latest
environment:
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: examplepassword

Use Podman Compose to run the defined services:

podman-compose up -d

Podman Compose will start both the web and database containers in the background.

Managing Podman Compose Projects

Podman Compose makes it easy to manage complex applications with multiple containers. You can start, stop, and manage these projects seamlessly. For example:

• To stop the containers defined in your docker-compose.yml file, use:

podman-compose stop

• To remove the containers and associated resources, use:

podman-compose down

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Podman. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing Podman on your AlmaLinux 9 system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Podman website.