Difference between CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS

With the introduction of Linux, various popular Linux-based distributions gained recognition and gained popularity. These comparisons involve Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS and CentOS. Red Hat OS has gained popularity in business due to its paid support and service, where large organizations strongly favour it. On the other hand, CentOS has gained popularity due to its Red Hat-like similarities.

In this article, you will learn about the difference between CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS. But before discussing the differences, you must know about CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS.

What is CentOS?

CentOS is a free and open-source Linux OS. It is a platform for community and enterprise computing that functions similarly to RHEL, its upstream source. CentOS version 2 was launched for the first time in 2004. CentOS version 7.0 exclusively supports the x86-64 architecture, while previous releases supported IA-32 with Physical Address Extension (PAE). On the other hand, it officially joined Red Hat OS in January 2014 under a new CentOS governing board.

Its primary goal is to create a robust platform for emerging open source technologies. Furthermore, cloud providers can build frameworks, scientific data processing, and many other features. It is also supported by an active user community that includes network administrators, system administrators, Linux contributors, and users worldwide.

Advantages and Disadvantages of CentOS operating system

There are various advantages and disadvantages of the CentOS operating system. Some advantages and disadvantages of the CentOS operating system are as follows.

Advantages

1. It is highly reliable and stable for enterprise tasks.
2. It is the developed version of the Red Hat operating system.
3. It is open-source and solely maintained by the community.

Disadvantages

1. It doesn't provide regular updates.
2. It lacks features in comparison to the other operating systems.
3. It has no market-recognized certifications.
4. There is no official support for the operating system.

What is Red Hat Operating System?

RHEL is referred to as a Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS. It is developed by Red Hat Inc. There are a number of variants for x86-64, IBM Z, Power ISA, ARM 64, as well as an x86-64 desktop version. Additionally, Red Hat Advanced Server was the first version of this distribution. Later on, the Red Hat company changed its name to Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS. There are two versions of this distribution: Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES and Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS.

Red Hat OS limits the free redistribution of their officially supported releases of RHEL even though it freely distributes the source code. Overall, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS is a reliable Linux distribution and offers large community support.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system

There are various advantages and disadvantages of the Red Hat Linux operating system. Some advantages and disadvantages of the Red Hat Linux OS are as follows.

Advantages

1. It is designed to be easy to use.
2. It has over 250 open-source projects across various technology stacks.
3. It has built-in security features, including mandatory access controls (MAC) and Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) that assist your intrusions and fulfil regulatory requirements.
4. It offers more than an OS; it also gives you access to Red Hat's wide environment of cloud, software, and hardware partners and offers 24x7 support.
5. It provides certifications from several public cloud and service providers in addition to the flexibility of open-source code and the creativity of open-source communities.

Disadvantages

1. It is quite expensive.
2. As it is aimed mainly at servers, Linux OS users select Ubuntu over Red Hat because its GUI isn't very appealing.
3. It releases fewer updates than any other Linux distribution, making you wait.

Key differences between CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS

Here, you will learn about the various key differences between CentOS and Red Hat OS. Some main differences between CentOS and Red Hat OS are as follows:

1. CentOS is a manageable, predictable, stable, and reproducible platform derived from RHEL sources. In contrast, RHEL is a commercial Linux distribution.
2. CentOS is developed for the amd64 platform. In contrast, Red Hat OS is developed for the ARM 64, IBM Power, IBM Z, x86-64, Power ISA, and IBM LinuxOne platforms.
3. The open-source community maintains CentOS. In contrast, Red Hat OS is maintained by the Red Hat organization.
4. CentOS was firstly launched in 2004. In contrast, Red Hat was firstly launched in 2000.
5. CentOS applications include mainframes, desktop PCs, workstations, and servers. In contrast, Red Hat applications include workstations, servers, mainframes, and supercomputers.
6. Yum, Package Kit, and rpm are CentOS package managers. In contrast, Red Hat's package managers are Yum, yumex, PackageKit, and RPM.
7. CentOS is similar to Red Hat; it is free and does not have official support. On the other hand, Red Hat offers subscription-based services as well as official support.
8. CentOS is preferred for personal use. In contrast, Red Hat is preferred for organizational use.

Head-to-head comparison between the CentOS and Red Hat Operating System

The OS has various head-to-head comparisons between CentOS and Red Hat Operating System. Some comparisons of the CentOS and Red Hat OS are as follows:

Conclusion

In summary, CentOS and Red Hat OS are two widely used Linux OS. The primary distinction between these two OS is that CentOS is a community-supported Linux OS that is compatible with RHEL. In contrast, Red Hat is a commercially oriented Linux distribution.