what are pro’s and con’s compared to Red Hat & CentOs

[sankardeva]

Was wondering if anyone on experience with CentOS Linux OS? This is an open source version of RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux). If so, what are pro’s and con’s compared to Red Hat and is this a viable alternative to RHEL?

This question was motivated by whether it makes sense to migrate the Clearcase Source Code Control system from RHEL to CentOS. Reason is that our “clearcase” host is currently running under RHEL 4 and I don’t believe RHEL is under maintenance. Is this statement correct? Also do you know the yearly maintenance cost for RHEL?

[grishi_111]

visit disrtowatch.com to look about pro's and con's:
DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.

[coopstah13]

I will often use CentOS in place of RHEL at work with no problems. Our software "requires" RHEL but when I run on CentOS it doesn't say anything. This is because CentOS is (nearly) 100% binary compatible with RHEL. The only thing you don't get is the paid support. RHEL4 is still being maintained. redhat.com | Red Hat Enterprise Linux Errata Support Policy

[Rubberman]

As mentioned, CentOS is the community version of RHEL. Mostly the differences are in splash screens, etc. I haven't found any software that is certified to run on RHEL that won't run on the same version of CentOS. As for Clearcase, you can get CentOS 4 or try to run it on CentOS 5, unless they have an RHEL 5 version of CC that you can get.

Support subscription costs for RHEL depend upon a number of factors. You need to contact RHEL sales to get a quote for your needs if you are going to continue to run RHEL 4. Sorry, but I don't know when support for version 4 will be terminated, but I believe it is "not yet".

[reed9]

You might be interested in these articles.

Installing CentOS: A Cautionary Tale

Ever Increasing Entropy: The Ongoing "CentOS 5.3 On A Netbook" Saga

Ever Increasing Entropy: The End of the CentOS Netbook Experiment

[Rubberman]

I run CentOS on my main workstation - an 8 core x86_64 dual display development system. However, I wouldn't run it on my laptop, for which I use Ubuntu. The newer software used by Ubuntu handles all the laptop cruft (WiFi, Bluetooth, webcam, power management, etc) much better than CentOS or RHEL will out-of-the-box. In fact, I didn't have to do anything with Ubuntu to use all that stuff (WiFi, skype w/ bluetooth headset and usb webcam, Sprint wireless usb broadband modem) with either of my laptops, but CentOS would have taken me a week to get all of that sorted out.

Personally, I think there is a place for more staid systems like CentOS, as there is for more bleading edge ones like Ubuntu, FC11, et al. I have been very happy with both and use them both every day.

[reed9]

I run CentOS on my main workstation - an 8 core x86_64 dual display development system. However, I wouldn't run it on my laptop, for which I use Ubuntu.

If this is in reference to the articles, I agree, though I think she had valid reasons for trying to run CentOS on her netbook.

But in regards to the OP, the more pertinent point is her conclusion to move to a different RHEL clone, Scientific Linux.

[Rubberman]

Most of the differences between Scientific Linux, RHEL, and CentOS are in updates to kerberos and Andrew File System modules to better work in the scientific network. Software compiled on CentOS, RHEL, Scientific Linux, or Fermi Linux are all very much interoperable. Between them they cover a large percentage of high-end server systems in commercial as well as scientific and academic communities.