What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

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What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

I can use either CentOS Linux or Stream and it makes no difference to me
17
12%
I will switch reluctantly to CentOS Stream but I'd rather not
9
6%
I depend on CentOS Linux 8 and its stability and now I need a new alternative
31
22%
I love the idea of CentOS Stream and can't wait to use it
12
8%
I'm off to a different distribution before CentOS 8 sunsets at the end of 2021
28
20%
I feel completely betrayed by this decision and will avoid Red Hat solutions in future
45
32%
 
Total votes: 142

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TrevorH
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What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by TrevorH » 2020/12/15 22:32:48

Red Hat recently announced that CentOS Linux 8 would go out of support early. Instead of being supported until 2029, the new sunset date is the end of 2021, around 7 years early. They suggest that CentOS Linux 8 all switch to CentOS Stream which is a "rolling" preview of the next RHEL point release, the one that has yet to enter beta for 8.4 for example.

What do you think of this decision?
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

MartinR
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Re: What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by MartinR » 2020/12/15 22:56:42

Trevor,
See my post viewtopic.php?t=76600&p=322308#p322308 for my thoughts on the matter.

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jlehtone
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Re: What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by jlehtone » 2020/12/16 08:41:22

Thinking makes brain hurt. Bertrand Russell: “Most people would rather die than think and many of them do!”

As I understood it, the "CentOS Stream" of the announcement does not exists yet. Not enough info to say yet whether it can be used.

Have I become grumpy and old, when any change is reluctant?

CentOS Linux 8 will go away, so it has to be replaced with something. Even Stream is a "different distro". As said, realistic options will be known later next year.

An idea can be great. The idea of traveling to Mars is nice too, but someone else can do it.

Hardly "betrayed". "Bemused"?

giampy
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Re: What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by giampy » 2020/12/16 09:09:08

Sorry, jlehtone, but Centos Stream already exists and it's pretty clear it's a (probably unstable) "what next RHEL will be" with packages to be tested by users.

People can think as much as they can without making their brain hurting but perhaps should read more before posting.

But still...............

Best Wishes

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jlehtone
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Re: What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by jlehtone » 2020/12/16 19:18:24

giampy wrote:
2020/12/16 09:09:08
... perhaps should read more before posting.
Indeed. The CentOS developers have clearly stated (on the mailing lists) that the CentOS Stream that has existed up to now has been (and still is) different from what it will be in the future. (Hence the 'the "CentOS Stream" of the announcement'.) The estimate is that by end of 2021Q1 we might be able to see the CentOS Stream that Red Hat now speaks highly of "in action". Not now. Not yet. How packages are built for Stream (and who will do it) is supposed to change drastically from what it has been so far.

That is why -- for time being -- I'll give benefit of doubt to Stream, i.e. will not even look at its direction yet. Thou shalt not eat fruit that is not ripe.

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InitOrNot
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Re: What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by InitOrNot » 2020/12/16 20:25:54

Red Hat was great because the ecosystem. CentOS was the plankton in the Red Had ecosystem. No CentOS means the big red whale will starve to death, given time.

Thar She Blows!! Ha ha ha!

joejac
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Re: What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by joejac » 2020/12/19 00:07:01

Hello to all.
I just installed Centos 8 on a VPS, but long term support is needed. A rolling distro is a risk for a server. Please, what would you recommend that it is stable for a web server?.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Best regards

scottro
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Re: What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by scottro » 2020/12/19 00:40:17

Note that you have some time, CentOS-8 will be supported till December, 2021. Currently, the most RedHat like version available is Oracle Linux, and they have a script to allow you to migrate from CentOS to their version.
Cloud Linux is planning a version to be RH compatible in the first quarter of 2021, and one of the original CentOS developers is going to start creating Rocky Linux. However, neither of those two have anything available yet.

Judging from other threads on the forum and CentOS mailing lists, other possibilities are Ubuntu server with LTS, Debian Stable, and FreeBSD. Working in a FreeBSD shop, I like it, and support for a point release is supposed to be for 5 years, but within that point release, the version you install may go EOL within a couple of years, e.g., FreeBSD-12.x will be supported but 12.1 won't be and you'll have to upgrade to 12.2. Unlike CentOS, FreeBSD does have tools that usually work for updating in place. I imagine Debian does too, back when I used it frequently, one of its big selling points was how easy it was to upgrade, whereas RedHat upgrades were always an adventure.

That being said, my personal experience of Fedora has had smooth updates in place from 30, to 31, to 32, to 33, but these weren't production systems and didn't have that much on them.

Anyway, as the anger begins to die down, some people are realizing that in a lot of situations, Stream may actually meet their needs. As I understand it, these won't be daring upgrades, but small ones, as in the way there was an upgrade to CentOS-8.3.

HOWEVER: Don't take any of this as more than one person's opinion. If any of the ideas appeal to you, please research them more thoroughly, especially if it's a production system.
New users should check the FAQ and Read Me First pages

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toracat
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Re: What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by toracat » 2020/12/19 02:08:17

scottro wrote:
2020/12/19 00:40:17
Cloud Linux is planning a version to be RH compatible in the first quarter of 2021, and one of the original CentOS developers is going to start creating Rocky Linux. However, neither of those two have anything available yet.
Yet another rebuild is Springdale (formerly PUIAS). This project actually started before CentOS.
CentOS Forum FAQ

joejac
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Re: What do you think of the recent Red Hat announcement about CentOS Linux/Stream?

Post by joejac » 2020/12/19 03:29:48

Thanks a lot scottro for your time and detailed answer.
Too much uncertainty, I love Centos 7, top notch stability, and it works in perfect match with Webmin/Virtualmin, that is so friendly to me.

This is a hostile move of Red Hat trying to engulf all Centos installed base one of the biggest in the web server area. It seems to me Red Hat tries to be the M$Linux.

Oracle has done a decent job with Virtualbox, but I am unsure if they will be trusted and safe for web servers.
Best regards

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