CentOS Stream

Last updated
CentOS Stream
Centos-logo-2022.svg
CentOS Stream 9 Workstation showing GNOME Shell 40.png
CentOS Stream 9 in the Workstation configuration, showing its desktop environment, GNOME 40.
Developer The CentOS Project
(affiliated with Red Hat)
OS family Linux (Unix-like)
Working stateCurrent
Source model Open source
Initial release24 September 2019;4 years ago (2019-09-24) [1]
Latest release 9 / December 3, 2021;2 years ago (2021-12-03). [2]
Repository https://gitlab.com/redhat/centos-stream/
Marketing target Servers, desktop computers, workstations, supercomputers
Update method Release Candidate
Package manager dnf (command line); PackageKit (graphical); .rpm (binaries format)
Platforms x86-64, ARM64, ppc64le and IBM Z
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux kernel)
Default
user interface
Bash, GNOME Shell
License GNU GPL and other licenses
Preceded by CentOS
Official website centos.org

CentOS Stream is a Linux distribution that exists as a midstream between the upstream development in Fedora Linux and the downstream development for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. [3] CentOS Stream is being used by Meta Platforms [4] [5] and X (formerly Twitter). [6]

Contents

History

The initial release, CentOS Stream 8, was released on 24 September 2019, at the same time as CentOS 8. [3] As CentOS 8 became unsupported, The CentOS Project provided a simple means of converting from CentOS Linux 8 to CentOS Stream 8. [7] In 13 January 2021, CentOS board approved the creation of Hyperscale SIG proposed by Meta Platforms, Twitter, and Verizon engineers, [6] [8] which focus on enabling CentOS Stream deployment on large-scale infrastructures and facilitating collaboration on packages and tooling.

CentOS Stream 9 was released on 3 December 2021, [2] with support of IBM Z architecture.

In 2024, Red Hat announced that CentOS 7 and CentOS Stream 8 will be discontinued in favor to focus to Red Hat Enterprise Linux development. [ citation needed ]

Release history

Releases of CentOS Stream
VersionRelease dateEnd-Of-LifeKernelArchitectures
Older version, yet still maintained: 82019-09-242024-05-314.18.0x86-64, ARM64, ppc64le
Current stable version:92021-12-032027 (estimated) [9] 5.14.0x86-64, ARM64, ppc64le, s390x
Legend:
Old version
Older version, still maintained
Latest version
Latest preview version
Future release

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Hat Linux</span> Linux distribution

Red Hat Linux was a widely used commercial open-source Linux distribution created by Red Hat until its discontinuation in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Hat</span> Computing services company

Red Hat, Inc. is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises and is a subsidiary of IBM. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, with other offices worldwide.

yum (software) Free and open-source command-line package management utility

The Yellowdog Updater Modified (YUM) is a free and open-source command-line package-management utility for computers running the Linux operating system using the RPM Package Manager. Though YUM has a command-line interface, several other tools provide graphical user interfaces to YUM functionality.

up2date, also known as the Red Hat Update Agent, is a tool used by older versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS and Fedora Core that downloads and installs new software and upgrades the operating system. It functions as a front-end to the RPM Package Manager and adds advanced features such as automatic dependency resolution. The file /etc/sysconfig/rhn/sources specifies where up2date will search for packages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Hat Enterprise Linux</span> Linux distribution developed by Red Hat

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial open-source Linux distribution developed by Red Hat for the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86-64, Power ISA, ARM64, and IBM Z and a desktop version for x86-64. Fedora Linux and CentOS Stream serve as its upstream sources. All of Red Hat's official support and training, together with the Red Hat Certification Program, focuses on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CentOS</span> Linux distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux

CentOS is a discontinued Linux distribution that provided a free and open-source community-supported computing platform, functionally compatible with its upstream source, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). In January 2014, CentOS announced the official joining with Red Hat while staying independent from RHEL, under a new CentOS governing board.

Technical variations of Linux distributions include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. Organizational differences may be motivated by historical reasons. Other criteria include security, including how quickly security upgrades are available; ease of package management; and number of packages available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Hat Enterprise Linux derivatives</span>

Red Hat Enterprise Linux derivatives are Linux distributions that are based on the source code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

CPython is the reference implementation of the Python programming language. Written in C and Python, CPython is the default and most widely used implementation of the Python language.

openSUSE Community-supported Linux distribution

openSUSE is a free and open-source Linux distribution developed by the openSUSE project. It is offered in two main variations: Tumbleweed, an upstream rolling release distribution, and Leap, a stable release distribution which is sourced from SUSE Linux Enterprise.

virt-manager Virtualisation software

virt-manager is a desktop virtual machine monitor primarily developed by Red Hat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kernel-based Virtual Machine</span> Virtualization module in the Linux kernel

Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) is a free and open-source virtualization module in the Linux kernel that allows the kernel to function as a hypervisor. It was merged into the mainline Linux kernel in version 2.6.20, which was released on February 5, 2007. KVM requires a processor with hardware virtualization extensions, such as Intel VT or AMD-V. KVM has also been ported to other operating systems such as FreeBSD and illumos in the form of loadable kernel modules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fedora Linux</span> Linux distribution by Fedora Project

Fedora Linux is a Linux distribution developed by the Fedora Project. It was originally developed in 2003 as a continuation of the Red Hat Linux project. It contains software distributed under various free and open-source licenses and aims to be on the leading edge of open-source technologies. It is now the upstream source for CentOS Stream and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Spacewalk is open-source systems management software for system provisioning, patching and configuration licensed under the GNU GPLv2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RPM Package Manager</span> Package management system

RPM Package Manager (RPM) is a free and open-source package management system. The name RPM refers to the .rpm file format and the package manager program itself. RPM was intended primarily for Linux distributions; the file format is the baseline package format of the Linux Standard Base.

dracut (software) Software to automate the Linux boot process

Dracut is a set of tools that provide enhanced functionality for automating the Linux boot process. The tool named dracut is used to create a Linux boot image (initramfs) by copying tools and files from an installed system and combining it with the Dracut framework, which is usually found in /usr/lib/dracut/modules.d.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DNF (software)</span> RPM package manager

DNF or Dandified YUM is the next-generation version of the Yellowdog Updater, Modified (yum), a package manager for .rpm-based Linux distributions. DNF was introduced in Fedora 18 in 2013; it has been the default package manager since Fedora 22 in 2015, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, and OpenMandriva, and is also an alternative package manager for Mageia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Linux</span> Operating system by Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation

Rocky Linux is a Linux distribution developed by Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation, which is a privately owned benefit corporation that describes itself as a "self-imposed not-for-profit". It is intended to be a downstream, complete binary-compatible release using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating system source code. The project's aim is to provide a community-supported, production-grade enterprise operating system. Rocky Linux, along with RHEL and SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), has become popular for enterprise operating system use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AlmaLinux</span> Linux distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux

AlmaLinux is a free and open source Linux distribution, developed by the AlmaLinux OS Foundation, a 501(c) organization, to provide a community-supported, production-grade enterprise operating system that is binary-compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). The name of the distribution comes from the word "alma", meaning "soul" in Spanish and other Latin languages. It was chosen to be a homage to the Linux community.

References

  1. "Transforming the development experience within CentOS". www.redhat.com. 2019-09-24. Archived from the original on 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  2. 1 2 "Introducing CentOS Stream 9". blog.centos.org.
  3. 1 2 "Manuals/ReleaseNotes/CentOSStream". wiki.centos.org. 2019-09-24. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  4. "CentOS Stream: Building an innovative future for enterprise Linux". www.redhat.com. 2020-12-08. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  5. "Building Community with CentOS Stream". USENIX . 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  6. 1 2 Larabel, Mike (2021-01-12). "Facebook, Twitter Proposing CentOS Hyperscale SIG With Newer Packages + Other Changes". Phoronix . Archived from the original on 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  7. "Convert to CentOS Stream 8". centos.org.
  8. "SpecialInterestGroup/Hyperscale". wiki.centos.org.
  9. "CentOS Stream 9". centos.org.