FOSDEM: Enterprise Linux for all, thanks to Centos
Dag Wieers of Project Centos made a passionate plea for more private users to turn to the free Red Hat Enterprise clone, and stressed that commercial companies with non-critical machines could also benefit from Centos.
The foundation of his argument lies in the difference between a stable Enterprise Linux and a modifiable community version. "Everyone should use Enterprise Linux," said Wieers, "not just companies." The Centos project distribution stems from the GPL licensed source texts of Red Hat's Enterprise software.
Wieers explained that while private users who, for example, administer their friends and relatives PCs, are more interested in simple maintenance, this for Wieers does not require a constant updating of the distro. Further, other private users are not helped when a chic-looking distribution tempts them to take the Linux plunge, only to be overwhelmed by a complicated system and then return to Windows with technological tails between their legs. With, Centos, all would benefit from a stable RHEL package, said Wieers.
After his speech, Wieers went on to tell Linux Magazine Online that even commercial companies with non-critical machines do not necessarily need Red Hat support. He admitted that initially, relations with Red Hat were not the easiest. This has changed, he said, with Red Hat more laid back about users, both private and those with a limited corporate agenda, using Centos, with Red Hat concentrating on corporations and larger companies, and the Centos community providing support for their own users. Wieers added that in any case, firms running critical setups are better off with Red Hat support.
Dag Wieers is a consultant who, even before the creation of Fedora, developed Red Hat packages in his spare time. His reason for not joining Fedora, he told Linux Magazine, was a lack of enthusiasm for quick release cycles.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.