While we have a small percentage of other distributions running for specific purposes, our standard Linux distribution of choice is CentOS. CentOS is an Enterprise Linux distribution which is ideally suited for long term and stable server deployments. This is in contrast to distributions like Fedora, which has a fast release cycle, the latest cutting edge software versions, and is targeted more at end users and developers.
Major CentOS version releases only come around every 3-4 years, so when a new version comes along it is a great opportunity to upgrade older servers. Major new releases always bring new features as well as security and performance enhancements, but can also pose challenges if your application or code base requires major upgrades or changes to run smoothly on the new OS.
CentOS 8 was recently released and is now available for new VM deployments at Anu.
CentOS 6 will become end of life on 30 November 2020, so now would be a good time to start planning to upgrade either to CentOS 7 or 8.
We recognise that a major OS upgrade can be time consuming and challenging for some customers. In order to facilitate a smooth upgrade, we offer our customers running CentOS 6 and 7 a complimentary new CentOS 8 VM with the same spec, running in parallel to the existing VM. Should it be required, we can provide migration support including data transfer and porting configurations for a modest fee. Once customer applications have been tested and are running smoothly on the new VM, the old one is deleted and billing switches to the new VM.
In case the customer requires more than 30 days to complete the upgrade, both servers will be billed after 30 days, until the transfer is complete.
Not sure which CentOS version you’re running? Check the Webmin dashboard, or run ‘cat /etc/redhat-release‘ from the command line.
Ready to upgrade? Ping us an email on support@anu.net and we’ll get you started.