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reviewer1362969 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Jun 20, 2021
Provides extremely useful information and has good compatibility
Pros and Cons
  • "Offers useful information and has good compatibility."
  • "Lacks sufficient security and some coding tools."

What is most valuable?

The solution provides useful information and has good compatibility. 

What needs improvement?

I'd like to see additional security and more coding tools. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is stable. 

Buyer's Guide
CentOS
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about CentOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable, we have around 30 users. 

How was the initial setup?

I wasn't involved in the initial setup but I believe it was straightforward. We have infrastructure related employees who dealt with the deployment. 

What other advice do I have?

I recommend this solution and rate it nine out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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reviewer1473483 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Engineer at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Dec 23, 2020
Cost-effective and easy to install, but it will no longer be compatible with Red Hat Linux
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is that it is compatible with RedHat."
  • "In the future, CentOS will no longer be compatible with Red Hat."

What is our primary use case?

Most of the time, I use CentOS for deploying Tomcat to run web applications. I use it to run Docker, as well.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is that it is compatible with RedHat. 

What needs improvement?

In the future, CentOS will no longer be compatible with Red Hat. I would prefer that it remains compatible because when it changes, we will no longer be using it.

What is missing from this product is a real file system like CFS. Having a modern file system is important and in CentOS 7, btrfs was supported. However, in version 8 it has been removed. I don't understand why and I think that it was a very bad move and a very customer-unfriendly thing to do.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with CentOS for a few years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

CentOS is quite stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In the company, we have approximately 800 people who are using it. Beyond that, a lot of our customers are using it, as well.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have never been in contact with technical support. We manage it ourselves.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

For as long as I have been with the company, they have been using CentOS.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is mostly straightforward. We have automated it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There are no licensing costs for CentOS.

What other advice do I have?

At this point, because of the announcement that it will no longer be compatible with Red Hat in the future, I do not recommend this product.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
CentOS
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about CentOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.
D6B8 - PeerSpot reviewer
District Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
User
Sep 8, 2020
It allows us to freely use and test open-source technologies and solutions
Pros and Cons
  • "It has minimal updates compared to other distributions."
  • "They could build more options into the wizard."

What is our primary use case?

We use CentOS whenever we can to help bridge services or to add another layer to our infrastructure. We currently use CentOS for monitoring orientated tasks, but it has been our chosen distribution for our enterprise for a few years.

How has it helped my organization?

It allows us to freely use and test open-source technologies and solutions. Without it we wouldn't have a server monitoring system, log management system, or many other services that we depend on.

What is most valuable?

It has minimal updates compared to other distributions. We like the idea of long-term support. CentOS gives us a peace of mind when it comes to updates. It's also a bonus that most of our vendor supported hardware/software is built with CentOS under the hood, allowing us to stay in the Fedora ecosystem.

What needs improvement?

You're getting what you expect (a linux distro). The wizard has gotten better through the years, so maybe they could build more options into the wizard. However, we have scripts that we deploy to overcome this.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I don't believe an update has broken anything in our environment. It's very stable and that's the reason CentOS was chosen.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Yes and no. In regards to the OS itself, there aren't any scalability issues. We have run into issues with other applications but that's not the fault of CentOS, rather, it is the application that would need to be revised.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We've used Ubuntu in the past for various systems and projects, and once in a while, a vendor uses it for their platform. We don't care for the more aggressive updates, and we usually don't need the most updated packages.

How was the initial setup?

Straightforward. We deploy with the minimal options, and the wizard is very easy to navigate to help install it. We also have a script that we run to make this process much easier.

What about the implementation team?

In-house for anything related to CentOS.

What was our ROI?

We don't track ROI.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

You can pay for the support if you purchase Red Hat. We don't have the need for that just yet, and CentOS satisfies our needs when needed (assuming we can support it in-house).

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

When it comes to Linux, we've tried the Debian route before. Trying both Debian and Ubuntu, we settled on CentOS once we noticed that the enterprise market was going in that direction. It proved to be a wise choice.

What other advice do I have?

If you had to choose a Linux distribution for enterprise grade stability, then this would be the logical choice. If you want latest features and fast deployment of updates, then you might want to take a look at Ubuntu.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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PeerSpot user
Security Pre-Sales Engineer - Southern Reigion at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Aug 10, 2017
Helps Us Keep Things Simple Yet Very Secure

What is most valuable?

The simplicity of the Desktop & Server platforms and the availability of multiple repositories of apps and tools.

How has it helped my organization?

We use CentOS together with Apache for certificate verification. The platform has helped us to keep things simple and yet very secure, allowing us to meet the requirements with surgical precision.

What needs improvement?

I've found certain issues where I couldn't find any documentation to help me solve them. But I guess it's a case by case situation where popular problems have a lot of chatter about how to resolve, whereas certain problems don't have as much.

For how long have I used the solution?

Daily use for a little over a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

None so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Didn't have the opportunity to go to a bigger scale, since our business was just starting out.

How are customer service and technical support?

Haven't had the chance to use it.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No. We started and created our solution around CentOS.Not at all complex. Anybody with basic Linux knowledge can install the server and almost anybody can easily install the desktop and get themselves familiar with it over a week

How was the initial setup?

Not at all complex. Anybody with basic Linux knowledge can install the server and almost anybody can easily install the desktop and get themselves familiar with it over the course of a week.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Nothing.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Ubuntu.

What other advice do I have?

Make sure you've read about the installation steps and best practices for securing the servers once the OS is installed.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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PeerSpot user
Director Corporate Systems Division at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Aug 10, 2017
System Has The Typical Configuration To Streamline Our Bidding, Development And Implementation

What is most valuable?

  • The size: in only 2U you have four dual processor servers.
  • The server manufacturer has a compatibility list regarding RAM, hard drives, LAN and RAID cards, operating systems, etc. Asus has its own RAID, LAN card, but supports other manufacturers.
  • The OS support list is very complete.

How has it helped my organization?

When a university or datacenter asked us about a certain amount of servers, we would study several models. As this four server system has the typical configuration (two LAN cards, remote management, two power supplies) the bidding, development and implementation process has been greatly simplified.

What needs improvement?

NVMe support. The manufacturer is developing a new line for that model which includes support for that type of hard drive.

For how long have I used the solution?

The last 12 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Yes. The system has 10GB SFP+ Asus cards but some of them, under CentOs 7, only work at 1GB speed. Asus discovered it is a firmware problem and sent us a new version for those cards. Now the system works at 10GB without problems.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No. The servers have enough card slots and memory slots, so when it is necessary to add more RAM or new cards, there is no problem.

How are customer service and technical support?

As I have just said, we had problems with the SFP+ cards but they were solved very fast. Asus technical support is very efficient.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Yes, BladeSystem. We changed the solution because the initial expenditure for BladeSystem is very high.

How was the initial setup?

It was very straightforward because the servers come with all the necessary components: CPU dissipators, kit rail, two power supplies, etc.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I always advise using free software (like CentOs) because it has all the necessary tools for the universities and CPD. The Asus platform has remote management activated, without any licensing. With other server manufacturers, I would suggest it is necessary to ask for remote management licensing.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated 1U servers, but using the four-server system we save money.

What other advice do I have?

The Asus platform is tested with CentOs 7. But if it is necessary to add new hardware, it is very important to verify that it is compatible with CentOs.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Applications & Systems Administrator at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
Aug 3, 2017
You can do a lot on the command line. I would like it to be more intuitive.

What is most valuable?

  • Command Line
  • Cost
  • Ease of maintenance

With Linux, you can do a lot on the command line. Once a Linux server has been built, it tends to be stable with no performance leakage.

How has it helped my organization?

  • Scalability
  • Security
  • Performance

What needs improvement?

I would like it to be more intuitive. There could be better help facilities. However, I guess the GUI can be fairly intuitive.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I did not encounter any issues with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I did not encounter any issues with scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would rate the level of technical as OK.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We uses Windows before.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was complex initially. However, once we overcame the steep learning curve, it was a lot easier.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This solution is much more cost effective than Windows and the Open Source options.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Sun and Ubantu.

What other advice do I have?

You need to have a command line skill set.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Sr. Network Administrator at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Jul 29, 2017
This solution has contributed a lot to security and flexibility in our company

What is most valuable?

Valuable features for us are security and flexibility.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has made our organization more secure than in previous releases.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution since its release.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Initially, I found it a bit difficult to work with as it was a totally new platform as compared to CentOS 6.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We did not encounter any issues with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We did not encounter any issues with scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

I have never needed to use the customer service.

Technical Support:

I have never needed to use the technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have been working with the CentOS product since the beginning of my career.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was a bit complex as it was quite different to previous CentOS releases.

What about the implementation team?

We performed the implementation in-house.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Cloud Engineer | OpenStack Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Jul 25, 2017
There are many Linux distributions​ which come with all the new software. But we have no use for these new versions if they are buggy. With CentOS, we know it just works.

What is most valuable?

Stability was the main "feature". There are many Linux distributions which come with all the new software, but we have no use for these new versions if they are buggy. With CentOS, we know it just works.

How has it helped my organization?

Not really, as we didn't really test other distros.

What needs improvement?

CentOS and RHEL for that matter are fairly difficult for beginners, as there are no popular and widely used Red Hat-based Desktop distros. And this has a slightly smaller user base and tutorials than other popular distros.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No.

How are customer service and technical support?

Didn't use it. We were using the (free) community version.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No.

How was the initial setup?

It was just the easy Anaconda installer.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

No experience.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No.

What other advice do I have?

Try it! It's an amazingly stable Linux distro.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CentOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CentOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.