What do we like about CentOS?
Although CentOS refers more to the CentOS community or project, we will temporarily specify it as the CentOS Linux system we are familiar with.
If you are familiar with Red Hat Linux, you will be familiar with CentOS. As a replica of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS is deeply loved by the market for its open source, free, and stable features. CentOS is developed, maintained and released by Red Hat and has the same characteristics as Red Hat Enterprise Linux. As the world's leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, Red Hat is truly born in, grew up in, and achieved in open source. Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides 100% open source code. CentOS is an open source, free, stable, and enterprise-level Linux system. Red Hat has always continued to invest in and maintain CentOS.
However, the development of the times has put forward higher requirements for open source innovation, and CentOS, which is downstream of RHEL, can no longer meet it. In December 2020, Red Hat announced that it would shift its investment focus in the CentOS community from CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream. Although the development philosophy has changed significantly, for users, you can simply understand CentOS Stream as the continuation of the CentOS Linux project.
Do we need to worry about the sustainability of the CentOS project?
If you're not worried about the future of Red Hat, you don't have to worry about the future of the CentOS project.
The CentOS community has been developing healthily. The widely used open source CentOS server operating system in the world is the open source project of the CentOS community - CentOS Linux. The CentOS community has decided to evolve the CentOS Linux open source project into the CentOS Stream project. This is not a shutdown, but It is a normal development iteration of an open source project. The CentOS community also provides a convenient migration path from CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream. After migration, users can still continue to receive upgrades and patches from the CentOS community. CentOS Stream is a continuous delivery version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux - RHEL, which means that the upgrades and patches received by users are patches that have passed RHEL's product-level quality assurance, rather than untested patches. It can be said that the launch of CentOS Stream shortens the feedback cycle between Red Hat engineers, partners, customers and the community, while demonstrating innovation in RHEL more transparently.
What is the difference between CentOS Linux and CentOS Stream?
Both are open source Linux distributions, CentOS versions, and are part of the overall enterprise Linux ecosystem. CentOS Stream is the open source development platform for the upcoming release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. CentOS Stream is the predecessor of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which is derived from source code released by Red Hat. Each past release of CentOS Linux has mirrored a major Red Hat Enterprise Linux release and used the RPM package manager system and maintained similar functionality, compatibility, and bug fixes.
Before a new version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released, Red Hat will continue to release source code on CentOS Stream, which will become a minor version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. CentOS Stream makes Red Hat Enterprise Linux development source code publicly available, giving community members a place to contribute and test code with Red Hat Enterprise Linux engineers. Its community members, as well as Red Hat partners and ecosystem developers, are able to download, tweak, submit patches, and suggest changes that can be included in the next minor release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
CentOS Linux is a downstream project of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and is typically used for development and deployment without a contribution model. Updates to CentOS Linux will cease between 2021 and 2024.
Product replacement schedule
The CentOS project will stop updating and releasing CentOS Linux® from 2021 to 2024. This means that current CentOS Linux users will need to choose a migration path. Updates for CentOS Linux 8 have ended in December 2021, while updates for CentOS Linux 7 will end on June 30, 2024.
However, the CentOS community is not going away. Community contributors and CentOS users will continue to collaborate around the open source Linux distribution as part of the CentOS Stream project, which continues to be an important part of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux development process.
CentOS Stream will continue to be the open source development platform and primary development pipeline for minor releases of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
- CentOS Stream 8 is part of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 development process and will continue to be updated throughout the support phase of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 lifecycle.
- CentOS Stream 9 was launched in 2021 as part of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 development process, with a similar update cycle.
CentOS Linux source code will continue to be publicly available through git.centos.org, but maintenance of CentOS Linux 8 will end in December 2021. Since Red Hat and CentOS will no longer provide related support, organizations and communities that provide operating systems similar to CentOS Linux (such as Rocky Linux, Amazon Linux 2, Docker, and AlmaLinux) will need to provide support directly to users. Rocky Linux, founded by CentOS co-founder Gregory Kurtzer, will also continue to create distributions similar to CentOS Linux. The CentOS Management Board has decided to end the use of CentOS Linux according to the following timetable:
- CentOS Linux 7 continues to be updated following the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 support lifecycle until June 2024.
- CentOS Linux 8 has stopped updating on December 31, 2021.
- There will be no more CentOS Linux 9.