CentOS 7.0 1406 x86_64 DVD

CentOS Linux

The CentOS Linux distribution is a stable, predictable, manageable and reproduceable platform derived from the sources of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). We are now looking to expand on that by creating the resources needed by other communities to come together and be able to build on the CentOS Linux platform. And today we start the process by delivering a clear governance model, increased transparency and access. In the coming weeks we aim to publish our own roadmap that includes variants of the core CentOS Linux.

Since March 2004, CentOS Linux has been a community-supported distribution derived from sources freely provided to the public by Red Hat. As such, CentOS Linux aims to be functionally compatible with RHEL. We mainly change packages to remove upstream vendor branding and artwork. CentOS Linux is no-cost and free to redistribute.

CentOS Linux is developed by a small but growing team of core developers. In turn the core developers are supported by an active user community including system administrators, network administrators, managers, core Linux contributors, and Linux enthusiasts from around the world.

Over the coming year, the CentOS Project will expand its mission to establish CentOS Linux as a leading community platform for emerging open source technologies coming from other projects such as OpenStack. These technologies will be at the center of multiple variations of CentOS, as individual downloads or accessed from a custom installer. Read more about the variants and Special Interest Groups that produce them.
The CentOS Project

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused around the goal of providing a rich base platform for open source communities to build upon. We will provide a development framework for cloud providers, the hosting community, and scientific data processing, as a few examples. We work with several ‘upstream’ communities to help them layer and distribute their software more effectively on a platform they can rely on.
The Governing Board

The CentOS Governing Board is made up of members of the CentOS Project, many of whom have been around since the creation of the Project, as well as new members from Red Hat who were instrumental in bringing the new relationship together. The focus of the Governing Board is to curate the CentOS Project, assist and guide in the progress and development of the various SIGs, as well as to promote CentOS Linux. For more information read the governance page.
The Project Structure

The CentOS Project is modelled on the structure of the Apache Foundation, with a governing board that oversees various semi-autonomous Special Interest Groups or ‘SIGs’. These groups are focused on providing various enhancements, addons, or replacements for core CentOS Linux functionality. A few notable examples of SIGs are:

Core - Building and releasing the core CentOS Linux platform.
Xen4CentOS - Providing Xen4 support for CentOS 6
CentOS Design - Improving the user experience with high quality artwork




The CentOS Project is pleased to announce the immediate availability of CentOS 7 for x86_64, including images for docker, and various cloud providers. There are many fundamental changes in this release, compared to previous releases of CentOS. Notably the inclusion of systemd, Gnome3, and a default filesystem of XFS. For more information about what makes CentOS 7 stand out, please see our release notes.

With the release of CentOS 7, the board will be able to focus on getting the Community Builders online, and facilitating the progress for the several Special Interest Groups that have been on hold during the release cycle.

Groups such as OpenStack, Xen4, Gluster, and oVirt can now customize CentOS Linux directly inside the project, building CentOS variants for new workloads on top of the slow-and-steady core platform. Read more about the variants proposal»