Red Hat shut down CentOS 8.x and launches CentOS Stream because of the hope of providing a platform closer to the RHEL development cycle through the latter. 1. As the upstream development platform of RHEL, CentOS Stream adopts a rolling release mode. 2. This transformation aims to expose the community to new RHEL features earlier and provide feedback to accelerate the RHEL development cycle. 3. Users need to adapt to changing systems and reevaluate system requirements and migration strategies.

introduction

Over the past few years, CentOS has become the first choice for many server administrators and developers as a stable Linux distribution. However, on December 8, 2020, Red Hat announced that CentOS will stop its 8.x version development and instead support CentOS Stream, which undoubtedly shocked the entire open source community. Why did Red Hat make such a decision? This article will explore the reasons for CentOS shutdown in depth, analyze the motivations behind it, and share some of the experience I have accumulated during the process of using CentOS.

By reading this article, you will learn about the evolution of CentOS, the strategic transformation of Red Hat, and the impact this has on the open source community and users. I will also share some of my thoughts on future Linux distribution choices, hoping to provide you with some valuable insights.

Review of basic knowledge

CentOS, full name Community Enterprise Operating System, was originally a free and open source version based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). It is popular for its stability and high compatibility with RHEL. CentOS's community version features make it the preferred operating system for many businesses and individual users because it provides similar features to RHEL, but does not require high licensing fees.

While using CentOS, I found its package management system yum is very powerful and simple to configure, and is very suitable for beginners and professionals. At the same time, CentOS's community is active and provides a large amount of documentation and support resources, which is very helpful in solving problems and learning new technologies.

Core concept or function analysis

CentOS shutdown and CentOS Stream introduction

Red Hat decided to shut down CentOS 8.x development and instead launch CentOS Stream, because they hope to provide a platform closer to the RHEL development cycle through CentOS Stream. CentOS Stream is no longer a stable release, but a rolling release version designed to serve as an upstream development platform for RHEL.

// Concept example of CentOS Stream [root@localhost ~]# yum install centos-release-stream
[root@localhost ~]# yum distro-sync

This code snippet shows how to upgrade an existing CentOS system to a CentOS Stream. The process is simple, but for many users, it means they need to reevaluate their system requirements and migration strategies.

How it works

Red Hat hopes to achieve a more transparent development process through CentOS Stream, allowing the community to get exposure to new features of RHEL earlier and provide feedback. This model can accelerate the RHEL development cycle and also provide more opportunities for the community to participate. However, this also means that users need to adapt to a changing system, which may not be suitable for everyone.

In my experience, CentOS's stability is one of its biggest advantages. Turning off CentOS 8.x means many users need to look for new stable releases, which is a challenge for them. At the same time, the introduction of CentOS Stream also provides a new opportunity for users who want to participate in RHEL development.

Example of usage

Basic usage

On CentOS 8.x, I often use yum to manage packages, such as installing nginx:

// Basic command to install nginx sudo yum install nginx

This command is simple and effective, and is perfect for daily use. However, with the introduction of CentOS Stream, users need to adapt to new package management methods, which may take some time.

Advanced Usage

For those who wish to participate in CentOS Stream development, patches can be submitted in the following ways:

// Submit patch to CentOS Stream
git clone https://git.centos.org/rpms/nginx.git
cd nginx
# Edit the code and submit the patch git add.
git commit -m "Your commit message"
git push origin master

This process requires some experience in Git operations, but it is a great opportunity for users who are interested in participating in open source development.

Common Errors and Debugging Tips

During the migration to CentOS Stream, users may encounter common problems, such as package dependencies. My suggestion is to use yum 's distro-sync command to solve these problems:

// Solve package dependency problem sudo yum distro-sync

This command can help you synchronize all packages and ensure system consistency.

Performance optimization and best practices

While using CentOS, I found some optimizations and best practices that can improve the performance of the system. For example, use yum-cron to periodically update system packages:

// Configure yum-cron
sudo yum install yum-cron
sudo systemctl enable --now yum-cron

This setting ensures that your system is always up to date and reduces security risks.

At the same time, it is also very important to write code that is readable and maintained. For example, when writing shell scripts, I try to use comments and clear structures:

#!/bin/bash
# This is a sample script to start nginx service<h1> Check if nginx has been started</h1><p> if ! pgrep -f nginx > /dev/null
Then</p><h1> If nginx is not started, start it</h1><pre class='brush:php;toolbar:false;'> sudo systemctl start nginx
echo "Nginx has been started."

else echo "Nginx is already running." fi

Such code is not only easy to understand, but also easy to maintain.

Overall, the shutdown of CentOS is a complex issue involving Red Hat's strategic shift and the response of the open source community. As a user who has been using CentOS for a long time, I hope that through the analysis and sharing of experience in this article, it can help you better understand this change and provide some reference for your future choices.

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