Frequently Asked Questions regarding Red Hat support policies for CentOS installations

Updated -

Overview:

This article provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding support for CentOS installations, raising issues, and how to migrate to a supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation.

Table of Contents:

Answers:

Will Red Hat Global Support Services now field customer questions about CentOS?

No. CentOS users will continue to look to the CentOS community if they need help maintaining their CentOS installations. This includes monitoring the latest developments in Red Hat Enterprise Linux to compare it with the content the CentOS Project is delivering, and diagnosing/resolving issues without the benefit of timely support by Red Hat and its partners. Users interested in support for CentOS, OpenStack, Gluster, and oVirt should consider Red Hat subscriptions for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform, Red Hat Storage and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, respectively.

How can I get support from Red Hat after installing CentOS or applying packages obtained from the CentOS Project to a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system?

You cannot get support for CentOS or CentOS packages from Red Hat. However you can install Red Hat Enterprise Linux, verify that the issue exists on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and then contact Red Hat under your Red Hat subscription. Red Hat only provides support for software that is distributed by Red Hat; it does not provide support for software from external providers or projects, including the CentOS Project.

Will there be a formal mechanism for CentOS team members to file bugs with Red Hat? How will this work?

CentOS team members do not have a formal mechanism to file bugs with Red Hat. Bug filing and triage for CentOS are handled by CentOS community members in an open and transparent fashion on community hosted pages. Bugs that exist in CentOS might or might not exist in Red Hat products, and Red Hat does not verify that all bugs reported through the CentOS Project also exist in Red Hat products. Users interested in filing bugs specific to Red Hat products should reproduce the problem on Red Hat products and then open a support case with Red Hat via the Red Hat Customer Portal.

How easy will it be for users to convert from CentOS to Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

Converting from using CentOS to Red Hat Enterprise Linux is not changing as a result of Red Hat’s participation in the CentOS Project. CentOS users seeking commercial support will need to plan a migration via installation or conversion to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux and purchase a subscription. Subscribers who choose to pursue a new installation, will also need to reinstall any existing applications.

To convert an existing CentOS system to a supported Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation without a reinstallation, the convert2rhel utility can be used. For further details regarding this migration path, please see the following:

How to convert from CentOS or Oracle Linux to RHEL - Red Hat Customer Portal

Will Red Hat sell subscriptions for CentOS?

No. Red Hat only provides support for software that is shipped by Red Hat; it does not provide support for projects in which it participates, such as the CentOS Project.

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