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CentOS Linux Is Going End of Life, What Does That Mean for Me?

·2 mins
Guest Posts RHEL CentOS Red Hat Migration

Back in 2023 I wrote this one for the Red Hat blog to talk through what the CentOS Linux 7 end of life actually means for the people running it. June 30th, 2024 is the date the repositories shut down, no new updates arrive, and a lot of servers need a new home. Because CentOS Linux 7 is a derivative of RHEL 7, I wanted to look at the migration less as a technical exercise and more as a programmatic one.

Originally published on Red Hat Read the full article →

A few things I wanted people to walk away with:

  • The most direct path is converting to RHEL. The convert2rhel command replaces CentOS packages with their RHEL equivalents, and it is a supported process, so you keep running the way you already are without a rip-and-replace.
  • Free is not the same as no cost. CentOS is community supported, so you pay in time and DIY effort or by hiring a third party, and that adds up against your team’s work-life balance.
  • RHEL buys you predictability and a partner. You get a full 10-year lifecycle, a minor release every six months, certifications a community effort cannot pursue, and tools like Red Hat Insights.

If June 2024 is closer than your migration plan is comfortable with, it is worth starting the conversation with your sales or consulting team now.

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