Developer | The CentOS Project (affiliated with Red Hat) |
---|---|
OS family | Linux (Unix-like) |
Working state | Current |
Source model | Open source |
Initial release | 24 September 2019 [1] |
Latest release | 9 / December 3, 2021 . [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 |
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]
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 ]
Version | Release date | End-Of-Life | Kernel | Architectures |
---|---|---|---|---|
8 | 2019-09-24 | 2024-05-31 | 4.18.0 | x86-64, ARM64, ppc64le |
9 | 2021-12-03 | 2027 (estimated) [9] | 5.14.0 | x86-64, ARM64, ppc64le, s390x |
Old version Older version, still maintained Latest version |
Red Hat Linux was a widely used commercial open-source Linux distribution created by Red Hat until its discontinuation in 2004.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 is a desktop virtual machine monitor primarily developed by Red Hat.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.