Red Hat confirmed that CentOS Linux 8 will reach its End of Life on December 31, 2021, shifting the CentOS project to the developer‑focused CentOS Stream platform and outlining support timelines, migration options, and alternative distributions for enterprise users.
CentOS Stream 9, released before CentOS Linux 8’s end‑of‑life, serves as a continuously delivered distro that mirrors RHEL’s upcoming releases, using Fedora 34 as its base and undergoing rigorous testing to ensure stability comparable to RHEL itself.
The article explains that CentOS 8 will cease maintenance next year, ending the free RHEL rebuild, introduces CentOS Stream as a rolling‑release bridge between Fedora and RHEL, and outlines the impact on CentOS 7 and the need to consider alternative distributions.
The article explains how Red Hat's strategic move to replace CentOS Linux with the rolling‑release CentOS Stream has upset the community, outlines the background of RHEL, Fedora and CentOS, and introduces Rocky Linux as a community‑driven alternative for stable server deployments.
