CentOS Overview
CentOS Overview
CentOS is a free Linux distribution designed to be highly compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It is known as an abbreviation of Community Enterprise Operating System.
CentOS is rebuilt from Red Hat Enterprise Linux without licenses and trademarks that restrict free redistribution. It is free, supports architecture similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and has been widely used as a stable server OS by individuals and companies.
Relationship Between CentOS Stream, Fedora, RHEL, and CentOS
CentOS was provided by rebuilding Red Hat Enterprise Linux source code, but Red Hat did not support CentOS directly. The CentOS Project announced that CentOS 8 support would end at the end of 2021.
Features of CentOS
- Free to use with no license cost.
- Provides functions similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
- Suitable for many server OS use cases.
- Has high stability, quality, and security for long-term operation.
- Supports many hardware environments.
- Has a long support period.
- Can also be used as a desktop OS by installing office suites, GPU drivers, multimedia tools, and other packages.
License
CentOS uses the GPL license. The official name is GNU General Public License, which allows copying, distribution, source disclosure, and source modification under its terms.
Operating Environment and Features
CentOS supports several architectures and provides server-oriented features such as RPM package management, SELinux, NFS, Apache httpd, Samba, database packages, programming languages, and desktop environments. Supported versions and hardware limits differ depending on CentOS 6, 7, and 8.