The Google Cloud optimized (-optimized-gcp) and accelerated (optimized-gcp-nvidia-*) versions of the Rocky Linux images now include the

## Change The Google Cloud optimized (`-optimized-gcp`) and accelerated (`optimized-gcp-nvidia-*`) versions of the Rocky Linux images now include the[CIQ SIG/Cloud Next repository](https://docs.ciq.com/rlc/ciq-sig-cloud-next/). This repository provides a cloud-optimized kernel. Additionally, the accelerated images now also include the [CIQ SIG/Cloud Next Nonfree repository](https://gitlab.com/ctrl-iq-public/sig-cloud-next/next-nonfree), which provides access to proprietary GPU drivers for the cloud-optimized kernel. This update is applied to images created on or after September 12, 2025. For more information about Rocky Linux OS images, see [Rocky Linux](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/os-details#rocky%5Flinux) on the operating system details page.