CentOS doesn’t get many headlines. But it’s still the server Linux of choice for many hosting companies, datacenters, and businesses with in-house Linux experts. That’s because CentOS, which is controlled by Red Hat, is a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) clone. As such, it reaps the benefits of RHEL’s business Linux development efforts without RHEL’s costs. So, now that CentOS 7 1611, which is based on RHEL 7.3, has arrived, I expect to see many happy companies moving to it.
If you’re considering jumping to CentOS, keep in mind that while its code-base is very close to RHEL, you don’t get Red Hat’s support. As the project web page explains, “CentOS Project does not provide any verification, certification, or software assurance with respect to security for CentOS Linux. … If certified/verified software that has guaranteed assurance is what you are looking for, then you likely do not want to use CentOS Linux.” In short, CentOS is for Linux professionals, not for companies that need high-level technical support.
Read more at ZDNet
