CentOS Migration & Support
CentOS Linux 7 and 8 have reached end of life and no longer receive security updates, yet many servers still run them. We keep your CentOS server safe for now and move it to a supported, compatible system: AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CloudLinux or Ubuntu.
Get CentOS help
Reply < 4 hYour CentOS servers, handled.
We convert CentOS 7 and 8 in place where the tooling allows (ELevate, migrate2rocky, cPanel’s ELevate) or rebuild on a fresh supported OS and migrate every site, database and mailbox with zero downtime.
CentOS versions: why each came, and what changed.
Each release, the one it replaced, the one that followed, and the features that mattered for servers.
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CentOS 6
2011Why it came: Free rebuild of RHEL 6.
Followed by CentOS 7 ⟶
- SysV/Upstart init
- ext4 default
End of life (2020)
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CentOS 7
2014Why it came: Free rebuild of RHEL 7 with systemd and XFS; the most widely deployed CentOS.
⟵ Replaced CentOS 6 Followed by CentOS 8 ⟶
- systemd
- XFS
- firewalld
End of life (June 2024)
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CentOS 8
2019Why it came: Free rebuild of RHEL 8, cut short when the project moved to CentOS Stream.
⟵ Replaced CentOS 7 Followed by CentOS Stream ⟶
- dnf and AppStream
- nftables
End of life (December 2021)
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CentOS Stream
2019–nowWhy it came: A rolling preview of the next RHEL minor release, not a stable rebuild, which is why most servers moved elsewhere.
⟵ Replaced CentOS 8 Followed by Successors: AlmaLinux & Rocky Linux ⟶
- Upstream of RHEL
- Faster updates
- Shorter, rolling lifecycle
Different model: not a CentOS 7 replacement
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Successors: AlmaLinux & Rocky Linux
2021Why it came: Community projects created to continue the free, stable, RHEL-compatible model CentOS used to provide.
⟵ Replaced CentOS Stream
- Drop-in RHEL compatibility
- In-place conversion tools
- Long support windows
Supported
Release years and support windows as published by the vendor; check their lifecycle page for exact dates. We track them for you on every server we manage.
What goes wrong on CentOS, and how we fix it.
How it works
CentOS questions.
Not for internet-facing servers: CentOS 7 no longer receives security updates. Plan a migration; we can harden it in the meantime.
AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux are the closest match and the easiest move for cPanel and RHEL-style setups. Ubuntu suits stacks built around Debian tooling. We’ll recommend one after the audit.
Yes. Either the conversion happens in a short maintenance window, or we build a new server and switch DNS once everything is tested.
cPanel provides ELevate to upgrade CentOS 7 cPanel servers to AlmaLinux. We run it, fix the inhibitors and check every account afterwards.