# Red Hat and CentOS Linux 8 Status **URL:** \ **Category:** Discussion Zone\ **Tags:** systems, qow, centos, hottopic\ **Created:** [May 31, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/red-hat-and-centos-linux-8-status/2370 "2022-05-31T15:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toreliza](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/user_avatar/ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/toreliza/32/157_2.png) [@toreliza](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/u/toreliza)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/red-hat-and-centos-linux-8-status/2370/1 "2022-05-31T15:51:02Z")
What decisions have been made, and what subsequent experience can institutions share concerning the Red Hat discontinuation of CentOS Linux 8 as a rebuild of RHEL 8? Is there one dominant direction? Or a clear advantage to one choice over another? ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/red-hat-and-centos-linux-8-status/2370/2 "2022-05-31T18:27:37Z")
It really depends on if you need minor version kernel stability for kmods? CERN and Fermilab are recommending Stream: > **[Linux @ CERN](https://linux.web.cern.ch/#update-on-centos-linux-strategy)** > > Documentation for Linux at CERN OpenHPC have switched to targeting Rocky: > **[Release 2.4 (16 November 2021) · openhpc/ohpc](https://github.com/openhpc/ohpc/releases/tag/v2.4.GA)** > > General Updates > > updated target distro support to EL 8.5 and Leap 15.3 > packaging update for hwloc - resource managers are now configured to rely directly on ohpc variant > updated ohpc compatibility ... Our University has a RHEL site license, so my department is currently planning on CentOS7 → RHEL9, skipping 8 altogether. ---
**Author:** ![csim](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@csim](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/u/csim)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/red-hat-and-centos-linux-8-status/2370/3 "2022-05-31T22:25:38Z")
Hey Torey, For the OpenHPC project, we’ve chosen to use Rocky ([https://rockylinux.org/](https://rockylinux.org/)) as our RHEL clone. We build with RHEL and test with Rocky. At ISC, PEARC and SC last year during our BoF sessions, we polled our attendees and Rocky came out on top. Also, we already use warewulf as one of our provisioners and use Singularity/Apptainer as one of our supported container solutions, so the choice just makes sense. Now, that being said, multiple OpenHPC sites have reported success using OpenHPC (built with RHEL and tested on Rocky) with Oracle linux as well as Alma Linux. Truth be told, any of the RHEL clones should work (mostly) the same and be binary compatible. CentOS stream can also be used but will require more frequent sysadmin effort but it’s not too bad, especially if you make use of automated (CI/CD) based methods to build your supported software stacks. On my personal dev box for OpenHPC, I do use CentOS stream. Happy to hop on a call and discuss sometime. Best, Chris ---
**Author:** ![ChuckP](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/user_avatar/ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/chuckp/32/920_2.png) [@ChuckP](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/u/ChuckP)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 4:43pm UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/red-hat-and-centos-linux-8-status/2370/4 "2023-02-01T16:43:48Z")
We’re a RedHat shop, so we rely heavily on RHEL8, but Rocky has been a solid alternative. ---
**Author:** ![ktrn](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/user_avatar/ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/ktrn/32/554_2.png) [@ktrn](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/u/ktrn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/red-hat-and-centos-linux-8-status/2370/5 "2023-02-15T00:27:15Z")
We (at Boston University) tested Rocky8 for a while, but at the end decided to go with Alma8. There is a webpage that compares Rocky8 and Alma8: [https://phoenixnap.com/kb/rocky-linux-vs-almalinux](https://phoenixnap.com/kb/rocky-linux-vs-almalinux)