CentOS was one of the most popular enterprise-focused operating systems as a fork of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). It was free, in contrast to Red Hat Enterprise Linux and it was providing everything RHEL offers, except professional support. In 2014, Red Hat acquired CentOS and terminated its development in 2020.
Official support and more plans
As the most popular enterprise Linux distribution shuts down, the original CentOS founder Gregory Kurtzer (CIQ) has developed Rocky Linux and CloudLinux has developed AlmaLinux. Those Linux-based operating systems are now gaining more and more attention every day. They are currently filling the void of CentOS for enterprises.
CIQ, the company behind Rocky Linux is now working with Google Cloud for providing high-quality support for its customers. Alongside the support, Google is now looking the ways of providing a streamlined product experience with CIQ. They are planning to include performance-tuned Rocky Linux images, out-of-the-box support for specialized Google infrastructure, and tools for easy migration. Gregory Kurtzer, CEO of CIQ and founder of Rocky Linux said:
« We asked ourselves, how do we bring the best value to everyone? Through this partnership, anytime you use our Rocky Linux on Google Cloud, both Google and CIQ jointly have your back! From the cloud platform itself, all the way through the enterprise operating system, every aspect of using Google Cloud is supported by a single call to Google, and together, we are your escalation team »