eRacks Systems Tech Blog
Open Source Experts Since 1999
CentOS, Stream, 7, Rocky Linux, Alma Linux, RedHat
As many of our readers know, CentOS (Community Enterprise Operating System) was developed in response to the trademark issues surrounding RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) in the early 2000s, and provided a functionally-compatible OS to the corresponding upstream RedHat version.
Around 2014, RedHat bought CentOS, and agreed to keep it as-is, and separate from RHEL.
CentOS is Dead
As so often happens after acquisitions, in December 2020, Red Hat discontinued CentOS development, causing much upheaval in the Open Source community, and leaving the existing CentOS user base without a clear path forward.
Long Live CentOS
In response, CentOS original founder Gregory Kurtzer created the Rocky Linux project, as a successor, true to the original goals of CentOS.
In March 2021, Cloud Linux (makers of CloudLinux OS) released a new RHEL derivative called AlmaLinux.
CentOS Linux was discontinued at the end of 2021 in favor of CentOS Stream, a distribution positioned upstream of RHEL, but below Fedora.
CentOS Stream is still useful for many, despite having different goals now and a different use-case, and no longer being binary-compatible with RedHat – it’s a bit like a “Release Candidate” idea for Fedora, now.
This gets RedHat’s offerings a bit closer to the Debian release of Stable/Testing/Unstable, corresponding roughly to RHEL/CentOS/Fedora, in order.
RedHat Backtracks
In Addition, RedHat addressed all the Bruhaha by making RHEL free for up to 16 systems, as a migration path, considering that they also chopped 8 years off the previously announced and counted-on 10-year support period for Centos8.
But given their track record, many (including this writer) are skeptical that RedHat may again use this to tighten the grip of Vendor Lock-In, in some future version of doing as they did in 2020.
eRacks Systems Offerings
Be that as it may, eRacks Systems now offers all the OSes preinstalled and pre-configured to your preferences, in the dropdowns:
- Centos 7 (last supported RHEL clone, currently 7.9)
- CentOS Stream Latest (Currently 9)
- Rocky Linux Latest (Currently 9)
- Rocky Linux Previous (Currently 8)
- Alma Linux Latest (Currently 9)
- Alma Linux Previous (Currently 8)
- RedHat Enterprise Linux (Now available preinstalled at no charge, for you to set up with your account on receipt)
As always, if you want a more specific version or distro, just ask.
j
joe March 12th, 2023
Posted In: Uncategorized
Tags: CentOS, Open Source, operating system, OS, Red Hat
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS “Focal Fossa” now available!
As of late April, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS “Focal Fossa” is now available on all eRacks systems, both Desktop and Server.
It should appear in the “Operating system” dropdown when you configure your system, and is the default on many / most of our systems.
If you don’t see it, or if you this it should be the default, (or shouldn’t!), please let us know – We are always listening for feedback!
Our initial testing with it, is that it is very solid, albeit a little bigger than the 18.04 LTS release, likely due to the increased usage of the Snap packaging system, which tends to favor freedom from dependencies over disk space.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snappy_(package_manager)
j
Cuuuute little one
Handsome Fella
joe May 2nd, 2020
Posted In: Uncategorized
Linux Mint 19.3, ‘Tricia’ now available
The latest Linux Mint release, 19.3, codenamed ‘Tricia’, is now available on eRacks Desktop and Laptop systems.
Simply select the ‘Linux Mint 19 latest’ choice from the OS dropdown, and we’ll get it done for you.
If you want the slightly older 19.2 release, or any other custom installation, just let us know in the “Notes” field, and we’ll do it.
Also, FYI, Linux Mint is mostly a Desktop system, but we’ll be happy to install it on any system you choose – just let us know and we’ll do a custom quote for you. (Or, again, just put it in the “Notes” field when you place your order).
j
joe January 1st, 2020
Posted In: Linux, Mint, News, Operating Systems, ubuntu, Uncategorized
Tags: Desktop OS, Mint, OS, Tricia, ubuntu
Fedora 31 is now available
Fedora 31 is now available on all eRacks systems.
Simply select “Fedora 31” in the OS dropdown – if you don’t see it on the system you want, let us know and we’ll see if it’s available / compatible.
FWIW, The performance reviews have been underwhelming:
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=fedora-31-benchmarks&num=1
But for decades, software executives have ignored better/faster in exchange for bloated/slower, with the excuse that since the hardware is faster now, it’s OK :-/
Grr.
j
joe November 5th, 2019
Posted In: Fedora, Linux, News, Operating Systems, Uncategorized
Ubuntu 19.10 “Eoan Ermine” Now Available
The latest (non-LTS) Ubuntu 19.10, Eoan Ermine is now available on all eRacks systems.
Here are the Release Notes for it.
Simply select it from the OS choices in the “Operating System” dropdown while configuring your eRacks system.
UPDATE Feb 2020
As always, we can also install the pre-release / beta version of the next Ubuntu release, code-named Focal Fossa, which will indeed be an LTS release, and is scheduled for April 23, 2020 –
Just say you want Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa in the “Notes” field when you pace your order.
j
joe October 25th, 2019
Posted In: Linux, News, Operating Systems, ubuntu, Upgrades
Tags: 19.10, Eoan, Eoan Ermine, OS, ubuntu