 |
|
|---|---|
 CentOS 5.3 running GNOME |
|
| Company / developer | The CentOS Project |
| OS family | Unix-like |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Free and open source software |
| Initial release | December 1, 2003 |
| Latest stable release | 5.4 (2009-10-21) [+/−] |
| Package manager | rpm |
| Kernel type | Monolithic Linux kernel |
| Userland | GNU |
| License | Mainly the GNU General Public License/ & various others. |
| Website | www.centos.org |
CentOS is a community-supported, free and open source operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution.[1] CentOS stands for Community ENTerprise Operating System.
Contents |
Structure
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is available only through a paid subscription service that provides access to software updates and varying levels of technical support. The product is largely composed of software packages distributed under open source licenses, and the source code for those packages is made public by Red Hat.
CentOS developers use Red Hat's source code to create a final product very similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Red Hat's branding and logos are changed because Red Hat does not allow them to be redistributed.[2]
CentOS is available free of charge. Technical support is primarily provided by the community via official mailing lists, web forums, and chat rooms. The project is not affiliated with Red Hat and thus receives no financial or logistical support from the company; instead, the CentOS Project relies on donations from users and organizational sponsors.
Versioning scheme
CentOS version numbers have two parts, a major version and a minor version. The major and minor version numbers respectively correspond to the major version and update set of Red Hat Enterprise Linux from which the source packages used to build CentOS are taken. For example, CentOS 4.4 is built from the source packages from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 update 4.[3]
Since mid-2006, starting with version 4.4 (formerly known as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 update 4), Red Hat has adopted a versioning convention identical to that of CentOS, e.g., Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5.[4]
Release history
The architecture information is taken from the CentOS Overview page.
| CentOS Release | Architectures | RHEL base | CentOS release date | RHEL release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | i386 | 2.1 | 2004-05-14[5] | 2002-05-17[6] |
| 3.1 | i386, x86_64, ia64, s390, s390x | 3 | 2004-03-19[7] | 2003-10-23[6] |
| 3.4 - Server | i386, x86_64, ia64, s390, s390x | 3.4 | 2005-01-23 | - |
| 3.7 | i386, x86_64, ia64, s390, s390x | 3.7 | 2006-04-11[8] | - |
| 3.8 | i386, x86_64 | 3.8 | 2006-08-25[9] | 2006-07-20 |
| 3.9 | i386, x86_64, ia64, s390, s390x | 3.9 | 2007-07-26[10] | 2007-06-15 |
| 4 | i386, x86_64, various | 4 | 2005-03-09[11] | 2005-02-14[12] |
| 4.6 | i386, x86_64, ia64, alpha, s390, s390x, ppc (beta), sparc (beta) | 4.6 | 2007-12-16[13] | 2007-11-16[14] |
| 4.7 | i386, x86_64 | 4.7 | 2008-09-13[15] | 2008-07-24[16] |
| 4.7 - Server | i386, x86_64 | 4.7 | 2008-10-17[17] | |
| 4.8 | i386, x86_64 | 4.8 | 2009-08-21[18] | 2009-05-18 |
| 5 | i386, x86_64 | 5 | 2007-04-12[19] | 2007-03-14[20] |
| 5.1 | i386, x86_64 | 5.1 | 2007-12-02[21] | 2007-11-07[22] |
| 5.1 - LiveCD | i386 | 5.1 | 2008-02-18[23] | - |
| 5.2 | i386, x86_64 | 5.2 | 2008-06-24[24] | 2008-05-21[25] |
| 5.2 - LiveCD | i386 | 5.2 | 2008-07-17[26] | - |
| 5.3 | i386, x86_64 | 5.3 | 2009-03-31[27] | 2009-01-20[28] |
| 5.3 - LiveCD | i386 | 5.3 | 2009-05-27[29] | - |
| 5.4 | i386, x86_64 | 5.4 | 2009-10-21[30] | 2009-09-02[31] |
Architectures
CentOS supports the x86 architectures:[32][33]
The following architectures were supported by CentOS up to version 4:
- IA-64 (Intel Itanium architecture, 64-bit) (beta support since CentOS 3)
- PowerPC/32 (Apple Macintosh and PowerMac running the G3 or G4 PowerPC processor) (beta support since CentOS 3)
- IBM Mainframe (eServer zSeries and S/390) (not CentOS 5)
The following two architectures were supported or partially supported in CentOS but are not supported upstream:[32]
Bootable media version
A Live CD version of CentOS is available at mirror.centos.org.
A Live USB of CentOS can be created manually or with UNetbootin.
Tao Linux
Tao Linux was another prominent distribution derived from Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Its primary developer announced in June 2006 that Tao would be retired and rolled into CentOS development. Migration via 'yum update' was available to Tao users, providing a relatively painless migration path to the CentOS release. This helped prevent Tao users from becoming "orphaned" by their OS.[34]
References
- ^ "Purpose of CentOS". CentOS Project. http://www.centos.org/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=3. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "Red Hat License Agreements". Red Hat. http://www.redhat.com/licenses/rhel_rha_eula.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ "What is the versioning/release scheme of CentOS and how does it compare to the upstream vendor?". CentOS Project. http://www.centos.org/modules/smartfaq/faq.php?faqid=34. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "Red Hat Enterprise Linux > AS/ES/WS Basics". Red Hat. http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/FAQ_80_10667.shtm. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ John Newbigin (2004-05-14). "CentOS-2 Final finally released". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos/2004-May/000153.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ a b Red Hat. "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Errata Support Policy". http://www.redhat.com/security/updates/errata/. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Lance (2004-03-19). "CentOS 3.1 has now been released". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos/2004-March/000015.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ CentOS Team (2006-04-11). "CentOS 3.7 for all Architectures is released". http://www.centos.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=129. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ CentOS Team (2006-08-25). "CentOS 3.8 for i386 and x86_64 is released". http://www.centos.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=140. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ CentOS Team (2007-07-26). "CentOS 3.9 is released for i386 and x86_64". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2007-July/014084.html. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ DistroWatch.com (2005-03-09). "Distribution Release: CentOS 4". http://distrowatch.com/2439.
- ^ DistroWatch.com (2005-02-14). "Distribution Release: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4". http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=02364.
- ^ DistroWatch.com (2007-12-16). "Distribution Release: CentOS 4.6". http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=04657. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ DistroWatch.com (2007-11-16). "Distribution Release: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.6". http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=04592. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ Johnny Hughes (2008-09-13). "CentOS 4.7 is released for i386 and x86_64". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2008-September/015241.html. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux team (2008-07-24). "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7 GA Announcement". http://www.redhat.com/archives/rhelv4-announce/2008-July/msg00002.html. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ^ Karanbir Singh (2008-10-17). "CentOS 4.7 Server CD - i386 Released". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2006-May/012927.html. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
- ^ Johnny Hughes (2009-08-21). "CentOS 4 i386 and x86_64 release of CentOS-4.8". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2009-August/016106.html.
- ^ Karanbir Singh (2007-04-12). "Release for CentOS-5 i386 and x86_64". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2007-April/013660.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux team (2007-03-15). "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Now Available". http://www.redhat.com/archives/rhelv5-announce/2007-March/msg00001.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Karanbir Singh (2007-12-02). "Release for CentOS-5.1 i386 and x86_64". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2007-December/014476.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux team (2007-11-07). "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 General Availability Announcement". http://www.redhat.com/archives/rhelv5-announce/2007-November/msg00000.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Patrice Guay (2008-02-18). "CentOS 5 i386 - The CentOS-5.1 i386 Live CD is released". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2008-February/014688.html. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ Karanbir Singh (2008-06-24). "Release for CentOS-5.2 i386 and x86_64". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2008-June/014999.html. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
- ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux team (2008-05-21). "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 General Availability Announcement". http://www.redhat.com/archives/rhelv5-announce/2008-May/msg00002.html. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ Patrice Guay (2008-07-17). "CentOS 5 i386 - The CentOS-5.2 i386 Live CD is released". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2008-July/015148.html. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
- ^ Karanbir Singh (2009-04-01). "Release for CentOS-5.3 i386 and x86_64". http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2009-April/015711.html. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
- ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux team (2009-01-20). "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 General Availability Announcement". http://www.redhat.com/archives/rhelv5-announce/2009-January/msg00000.html. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ "[CentOS-announce CentOS 5 i386 - The CentOS-5.3 i386 Live CD is released]". CentOS mailing list. http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2009-May/015944.html. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ Singh, Karanbir (21 Oct 2009). "[CentOS-announce] Release for CentOS-5.4 i386 and x86_64". lists.centos.org. http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2009-October/016195.html. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
- ^ Red Hat Enterprise Linux team (2009-09-02). "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 GA Announcement". http://www.redhat.com/archives/rhelv5-announce/2009-September/msg00000.html. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ a b "About CentOS". CentOS. http://www.centos.org/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=2. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ "Red Hat Enterprise Linux server details". Red Hat. http://www.redhat.com/rhel/server/details/#architectures. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ "Retirement of TaoLinux". CentOS Project. http://www.centos.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=135. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
Further reading
- Membrey, Peter (2009). The Definitive Guide to CentOS. Apress. ISBN 978-1-4302-1930-9.
- Negus, Christopher; Timothy Boronczyk (2009). CentOS Bible. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-48165-3.
External links
- Official site
- CentOS at DistroWatch
- CentOS 5 review on linux.com
- Wiki CentOS russian
- CentOS lithuanian tutorials
|
||||||||
|
|||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
