---
title: About CentOS
---

## CentOS Linux

The CentOS Linux distribution is a stable, predictable, manageable and
reproducible platform derived from the sources of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
(RHEL). We are now looking to expand on that by creating the resources needed
by other communities to come together and be able to build on the CentOS Linux
platform. And today we start the process by delivering a clear governance
model, increased transparency and access. In the coming weeks we aim to publish
our own roadmap that includes variants of the core CentOS Linux.

Since March 2004, CentOS Linux has been a community-supported distribution
derived from sources freely provided to the public by Red Hat. As such, CentOS
Linux aims to be functionally compatible with RHEL. We mainly change packages
to remove upstream vendor branding and artwork. CentOS Linux is no-cost and
[free to redistribute](/legal).

CentOS Linux is developed by a small but growing team of core developers. In
turn the core developers are supported by an active user community including
system administrators, network administrators, managers, core Linux
contributors, and Linux enthusiasts from around the world.

Over the coming year, the CentOS Project will expand its mission to establish
CentOS Linux as a leading community platform for emerging open source
technologies coming from other projects such as OpenStack. These technologies
will be at the center of multiple variations of CentOS, as individual downloads
or accessed from a custom installer. Read more about the [variants](/variants)
and [Special Interest Groups](http://wiki.centos.org/SpecialInterestGroup) that
produce them.

## The CentOS Project

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused around
the goal of providing a rich base platform for open source communities to build
upon. We will provide a development framework for cloud providers, the hosting
community, and scientific data processing, as a few examples. We work with
several 'upstream' communities to help them layer and distribute their software
more effectively on a platform they can rely on.


### The Governing Board

The CentOS Governing Board is made up of members of the CentOS Project, many of
whom have been around since the creation of the Project, as well as new members
from Red Hat who were instrumental in bringing the new relationship together.
The focus of the Governing Board is to curate the CentOS Project, assist and
guide in the progress and development of the various SIGs, as well as to
promote CentOS Linux. For more information read the [governance
page](/about/governance).

### The Project Structure

The CentOS Project is modelled on the structure of the [Apache
Foundation](http://apache.org), with a governing board that oversees various
semi-autonomous [Special Interest Groups or
'SIGs'](http://wiki.centos.org/SpecialInterestGroup). These groups are focused
on providing various enhancements, addons, or replacements for core CentOS
Linux functionality. A few notable examples of SIGs are:

* [Core](http://wiki.centos.org/SpecialInterestGroup/Core) - Building and releasing the core CentOS Linux platform.
* [Xen4CentOS](http://wiki.centos.org/Manuals/ReleaseNotes/Xen4-01) - Providing Xen4 support for CentOS 6
* [CentOS Design](http://wiki.centos.org/ArtWork) - Improving the user experience with high quality artwork