CentOS History
CentOS, which stands for Community Enterprise Operating System, is the result of a group of open source contributors and users working together to develop Linux solutions that are freely available to users who do not require a great deal of commercial support to achieve their goals.

CentOS dedicated servers were designed based on Red Hat's product, Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Although the Red Hat Linux server is made entirely of free and open source software, it is only distributed to the public in binary form (including CD-ROM and DVD-ROM) at a fee paid by subscribers. However, Red Hat does release its source code for its product under the terms of the GNU General Public License, so the use of the code for the creation of the CentOS Linux distribution is an entirely valid and acceptable practice. The distribution of CentOS products completely complies with Red Hat's redistribution policy.

The CentOS server is almost identical to the Red Hat product except that it is modified to remove all Red Hat branding and artwork. CentOS and its Linux solutions are not in any way affiliated with or supported by Red Hat, Inc.

The Goals of CentOS

The CentOS dedicated Linux servers and distributions are developed by a team of core developers who are supported by a user community comprised of system administrators, network administrators, enterprise users, managers, core Linux contributors, and Linux enthusiasts all over the world.

CentOS products were designed with the goal of providing organizations and individuals with Linux products to help them achieve success in activities like dedicated Linux server hosting and dedicated server web hosting. In an effort to meet this goal, CentOS is committed to:

• Creating solutions that are easily maintained.
• Usable for the long-term in production environments.
• A user and package maintainer friendly environment.
• Supporting the core for the long-term.
• Actively working toward the development of additional solutions.
• A strong community infrastructure.
• An open management policy.
• An open business model.
• Commercial support through its partner vendors, like Vault Networks.

CentOS Solutions

CentOS released its first version CentOS 3 build-rc0, in 2003. Since then, the offerings have greatly expanded to include the following: