With the December 2020 announcement that Red Hat was going to discontinue CentOS 8 at the end of 2021 (8 years before the declared end of life), many people are wondering if there is any impact on CentOS 7 support.
In this blog, we discuss the
impact of the CentOS 7 EOL announcement, analyze current options for organizations seeking support for CentOS 7, and discuss long-term support prospects for those using this popular Enterprise Linux distribution.
Current CentOS 7
- Support
- LifecycleIs CentOS 7 still supported?
- Will the CentOS 7 EOL Date Change?
CentOS 7 EOL Date
-
- Upstream
- maintainer
support Community Support Commercial Support
- Final Thoughts
CentOS 7 Support Options Upstream vendor support
The current
CentOS 7 support lifecycle To answer the
question at the beginning of the article, the short answer is, no, there is no immediate impact on CentOS 7 as a result of Red Hat’s December announcement. Or, at least, nothing has been announced to indicate that there will be any impact. Red Hat continues to release the date of June 30, 2024 as the end of maintenance support for RHEL 7, the upstream for CentOS 7.
RHEL 7 was released on June 10, 2014, so the June 2024 EOL date for CentOS 7 is the full 10 years we were hoping for.
Start planning your CentOS 7
switch
Whether you need to stay on CentOS 7
beyond the end of the community lifespan, need help choosing a solid migration path for your business, or simply need an extra hand to manage your current CentOS 7 deployments, our Enterprise Linux experts can help.
Support for Centos 7
CentOS 7 Support Lifecycle Overview CentOS release date End
of Life support
via
OpenLogic CentOS 7 July, 2014
June, 2024
OpenLogic Enterprise Linux LTS available until December
2029
Is
CentOS 7 still supported?
Yes, CentOS 7 is currently the only supported version of CentOS: CentOS Linux 7
will continue to receive community security patches and bug fix updates until June 2024. However, CentOS Linux 7
has gone through several phases in its lifecycle, and we are currently in the “Maintenance Support 2” phase where only what Red Hat deems critical is released and security patches and fixes are imported. of urgent priority errors.
This product will remain in this phase until it reaches the end of its useful life. The phase began in August 2020 and pulled CentOS 7 out of “Maintenance Phase 1” which, along with general availability, is where most changes occur, including minor versions.
Need CentOS
EOL compatibility? Talk to a CentOS expert.
CentOS 7
EOL
Date CentOS Linux 7 will reach End of Life on June 30, 2024, the same date that RHEL 7 enters the next phase of vendor support: RHEL 7 Extended Lifecycle Support. After this date, CentOS 7 will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes from Red Hat.
For all intents and purposes, CentOS 7 will no longer receive community support. Most, if not all, community-directed support requests for end-of-life versions of CentOS will be answered with the equivalent of: “That version of CentOS is EOL. Please upgrade to a newer distribution.”
Will the EOL date change compatible with CentOS 7?
We didn’t anticipate or expect any changes to the CentOS 7 EOL date, but honestly, we also didn’t expect to see CentOS Linux 8 support shortened by 8 years. It’s always possible that Red Hat will make another announcement and shorten the lifecycle of CentOS 7, but after the backlash of the CentOS 8 announcement, I’d be very surprised to hear about a reduced lifecycle for CentOS 7.
Support
for CentOS 7 options With CentOS 7
updated, there are several support options, including vendor support for upstream product (RHEL7) via Red Hat, upstream package maintainer support for packages included in EL7, community support (aka peer), and commercial support. Upstream vendor support for CentOS 7
Red Hat supports CentOS 7 through bug reports filed against RHEL 7 in Bugzilla.
Bugs filed on Bugzilla don’t always get the attention many of us think they should, but at least the problem is documented for others who encounter the same problem.
If Red Hat addresses your issue, don’t expect a quick response, unless it’s something they consider a high priority. Many times the solutions (links to upstream patches, patches sent directly, etc.) that are provided take many months to be included in a RHEL release. If the version of RHEL you filed the error against is no longer the current minor version, the ticket may close without resolution.
That said, it’s nice to be able to reference a Bugzilla issue by reporting the issue through the other support channels.
You can also submit issues in CentOS Bug Tracker but, unless the issue is directly related to CentOS itself, and is not a problem in the equivalent version of RHEL, you will be prompted to submit the issue to Red Hat or the upstream project.
Upstream maintainer support for CentOS 7
Sometimes the quickest way to resolve a problem with a package is to take the problem directly to the
developers who maintain the original package that Red Hat included with RHEL.
If the problem is not present in the version(s) released by the maintainers, probably due to a configuration or code change implemented by Red Hat, Upstream people are likely to reject your support request.
When the problem
is present in the original code, most projects want to hear about the problem directly. The people responsible for projects often have a reputation to defend, even if it’s just the reputation of the project and not for themselves.
Bottom-to-peer support is that issues can usually be resolved faster than the upstream vendor support option, as long as the project is actively developing. The downside is that Red Hat isn’t likely to incorporate an upstream package fix into a future update or release anytime soon unless they overrun the package in a newer version.
Community support for CentOS 7
Another support channel is community support, also known as peer support. This method can be unpredictable because it is the equivalent of throwing your question at a large group of people without knowing the respondents’ background or the quality of the answer you return to shore.
Community support can be obtained through mailing lists, chat/IRC servers, or online groups, such as the vast expanse of StackExchange sites.
If the problem is
commonly encountered or catches the attention of someone who knows exactly what is wrong, or at least how to fix the problem properly, community support can be a wonderful option. On the
other hand, an uncommon (or never-before-seen) problem may result in little (or no) response, delayed responses, incorrect answers or accidental misinformation.
People who respond to requests for community support often have a genuine desire to help you, but have no real investment in solving your problem.
Commercial support for
CentOS 7
Commercial support is one of the main differentiators between RHEL and CentOS Linux
.
Many RHEL subscriptions include commercial support with responsive SLAs, but costs can be prohibitive. Avoiding the substantial costs associated with RHEL is one of the main reasons why CentOS Linux is so popular.
“CentOS 7 is a current version, so I’ll go to Red Hat and buy support for them,” you say. Well, Red Hat will tell you that CentOS 7 is not a supported product and that you need to convert your systems to RHEL 7 or 8 for support. It is now tied to your subscription model in the future.
This is where 3rd party commercial support for CentOS 7 from a company like OpenLogic can be a great option.
There are
many reasons to run CentOS Linux 7,
and the fear of running out of compatible infrastructure shouldn’t
be a reason to avoid CentOS 7.
Regardless of what happens with CentOS 7, OpenLogic’s CentOS Linux 7 support will be available for 5+ years to extend the life of your systems until you’ve had a chance to upgrade them. Get CentOS support
from our enterprise
Linux experts OpenLogic can also help with migrations and upgrades. Whether you’re migrating from CentOS Linux 7 to another Enterprise Linux distribution (such as Oracle Linux or Ubuntu), to one of RHEL’s emerging rebuild distributions (such as AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux), or from CentOS Linux 6 to CentOS Linux 7 or 8, our teams support a vast ecosystem of OSS projects. We know how they interoperate and how to maximize their resources while minimizing the risks associated with change.
Get the
CentOS 7 Additional
Support Resources Datasheet – Enterprise Linux Support Blog – RHEL 9 Release Overview
Blog – Support
- Your Linux EOL with Our New Download Center
- 7 Support & Services
- Enterprise LInux Disto
- CentOS Future Blog –
- List
- CentOS Stream White Paper Preflight Verification – Decision Maker’s Guide to Enterprise Linux
Blog – What’s Next for CentOS Stream Support Offering – CentOS
Blog – Choosing the Right
On-Demand Website –
