- There will be no CentOS Linux 9.
- The CentOS Linux 6 distribution’s updates will terminate on November 30, 2020.
- Until June 30, 2024, CentOS Linux 7 will be supported by Red Hat.
- The CentOS Linux 8 will be maintained until December 31, 2021.
- The CentOS Stream 8 distribution will continue to get updates throughout the RHEL support term.
- In the second quarter of 2021, CentOS Stream 9 will be released.
So, these statements declare that there will be no CentOS 9. After this announcement, you should question that what will happen to the CentOS project? Well, CentOS 8 will only receive updates till 2021. Red Hat will transfer all of its resources from CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream.
What is CentOS Stream?
A Linux development platform that allows Red Hat developers to collaborate with the open-source community members is CentOS Stream. Red Hat develops the RHEL source code in CentOS Stream. Therefore, it is considered as a part of the open-source development model. This model’s implementation makes CentOS Stream a preview of the future releases of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
CentOS Stream and CentOS:
CentOS was recognized as a production-ready, enterprise-stable operating system cloned from Red Hat Enterprise Linux till 2021. It was different from RHEL in a few ways, but effectively it offered “RHEL without any subscription.”
CentOS Stream is the “new CentOS” that will follow in the footsteps of Fedora, which serves as an RHEL upstream source. This statement declares that new features will be brought into CentOS Stream; this development will fix the bugs. After that, further updates will eventually make their way down to RHEL. Because of the tested distribution: CentOS Stream, RHEL is in its zone of supreme stability.
CentOS Stream: A Replacement?
We cannot say that CentOS Stream is a replacement for CentOS Linux. CentOS Linux was a renewal version of RHEL. On the other hand, CentOS Stream is an RHEL development version. This version features modifications and enhancements of RHEL. As a result, CentOS Stream is better suited to people who wish to see if their servers are future-proof and CentOS Linux users if the build is stable enough for their needs. It has its position cause CentOS Stream is the unavoidable and a natural next step towards the advanced innovation of enterprise Linux. It also has a compressed loop of feedback between RHEL developers. As Red Hat creates future versions of RHEL, feedback loop compression makes it easier for all the voices to be heard, whether they are individual contributors or large partners.
Red Hat also welcomes all developers and partners to participate in CentOS Stream and create their branches, enabling this innovation hub to test solutions to their unique problems. It is accepted that CentOS Stream is the enterprise Linux of the future. It will help the community have a remarkable impact on the RHEL releases direction. Red Hat internal projects will be passed to CentOS Stream, allowing them to share tactics and best operational practices with the larger community as this work progresses.
The “Future” of CentOS Linux:
In September 2021, RHEL disclosed an upstream development platform that permitted ecosystem developers, CentOS community members, Red Hat partners, and other groups to look out for the upcoming change and play their part in product shape. Since it was declared, a lot of excitement is seen from contributors and partners of the project innovation of continuous Stream. As a result, the Red Hat team announced that it’s time to transfer all of our resources from CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream.
Red Hat accepted that devoting all of the resources to CentOS Stream is the most effective strategy to accelerate Linux innovation by bringing the larger ecosystem community closer to the side of RHEL development. CentOS Stream is presently sandwiched between the production reliability of RHEL and Fedora’s operating system innovation. Therefore, on December 31, 2021, Red Hat will exclusively invest in CentOS Stream to make it the major innovation hub for the RHEL ecosystem. Their support for CentOS Linux 7 will last until the maintenance updates of the distribution will end in 2024.
Red Hat team and different CentOS users are working with the CentOS Project Governing Board to create programs that cater to users’ specific needs. The developer’s team expects to provide a low or no-fee program for several use cases in the first half of 2021, including the alternatives for communities and open source projects. In addition, the teams will expand the RHEL subscription use cases to fulfill the requirements of system administrators.
CentOS has made RHEL and its supporting communities better. With CentOS Stream, the developer’s team wants to keep pushing for quicker and more collaborative Linux innovation. Red Hat also plans to provide the support, tools, and knowledge required to help all RHEL use cases migrate to the innovation hub.
CentOS Stream will also focus on a major shift in CentOS Special Interest Group collaboration (SIGs). This assures that SIGs are working on and testing against the future version of RHEL. Instead of building and testing two releases, SIGs will have a single precise aim. It provides the CentOS contributor community a significant deal in RHEL’s future. It also clears up any ambiguity about what “CentOS” signifies in the Linux ecosystem.
Conclusion:
Red Hat announced that there would be no CentOS 9, and the team will transfer all its resources from CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream. CentOS Stream provides a sneak peek at the major and minor releases of Red Hat. In this post, we have thoroughly discussed the “Future” of CentOS Linux.
