Choosing a CentOS Replacement: What to Consider

If your business is running on CentOS, you’re now living on borrowed time. A once stable and reliable Linux operating system, CentOS will officially reach its end of life in just a few days. This means no more security patches, no more maintenance updates and no more security. With 60% of cyberattacks caused by unpatched systems (according to the Ponemon Institute), it’s time for you to decide your next move.

Replacing an OS is a huge endeavor – whether you are migrating to a new OS or upgrading to a supported OS. It takes time, resources and lots of testing. And what happens if one of your business-critical applications doesn’t run on the new OS? You have to replace that application, which also means time, resources and testing. And, while you’re doing all of that testing, you might be looking at extended downtime.

So what are some considerations to take into account when looking for a CentOS replacement?

Here are our top three:

1. Scalability
2. Flexibility
3. Robust Support

1. Consider Scalability

As your business continues to grow, you want to make sure that your OS can scale appropriately. Scalability, as defined by SUSE, is “the ability for IT systems – such as applications, storage, databases and networking – to continue to function properly when changed in size or volume. It often refers to increasing or decreasing resources as needed to meet the higher or lower demands of a business.”

Choosing a CentOS substitute that scales with your business allows you to add more users, service more customers and process more data. This allows you to make informed decisions.

Linux is a highly scalable operating system – running on both desktop machines and in the largest supercomputers. Releasing our first enterprise Linux in 1991, SUSE is known for our modular, reliable, compliant and future-proof Linux server. SUSE provides a scalable choice that ensures your enterprise’s business continuity.

2. Consider Flexibility

Like most businesses, you are probably running a complex infrastructure. You might have servers in the cloud (or multiple clouds), on-premises or even on the edge. This adaptability makes Linux suitable for a wide variety of applications.

No matter where you are running your Linux OS, you want to make sure that it runs similarly wherever you need it to so your administrators are comfortable with the features and function of the OS. That’s why SUSE has developed our enterprise server with modularity in mind – using a common codebase to ensure applications could be moved across multimodal IT environments.

Flexibility also includes the ability to run the OS wherever you need it to run. Whether you are running on-premises, in the cloud or on the edge, with SUSE, you gain superior reliability, performance and flexibility to run the most demanding business-critical workloads. SUSE offers multiple editions of its OS to support different types of environments and workloads – no matter where your business takes you.

3. Consider Robust Support

While CentOS was a stable Linux distribution that was supported by a robust community, those days are now gone. When choosing the right replacement for CentOS, consider who can best support your business and provide you with business continuity – not only today but into the future. You want to choose a company that has deep open source roots and who has the engineering bench to address and provide security patches to address any vulnerabilities. Furthermore, you want a company that provides support for your entire infrastructure – not just a specific distribution.

SUSE provides you with 24x7x365, follow-the-sun technical support services plus optional consulting services for your entire infrastructure. We’ve been in the open source business for 30 years, our engineering team is robust and our support and consulting teams are available to help you with your entire Linux infrastructure.

What If You Don’t Want to Replace CentOS?

If you want to keep your CentOS infrastructure and make July 1, 2024 just another day in your data center, SUSE has your answer with SUSE Liberty Linux.

SUSE Liberty Linux is the best replacement for your end-of-life CentOS. With SUSE Liberty Linux, you receive fully application binary compatible security patches and maintenance updates for your entire Linux estate. You’ll get enterprise support and predictable releases for your multi-distro world from a trusted partner who understands Linux and the value of open source. Moreover, you get access to world-class, follow-the-sun technical support for your multi-distro environment.

Learn more about Liberty Linux here.

Prepare for June 30th with our Comprehensive Guide to Navigating CentOS End of Life.