| --- |
| title: About CentOS |
| layout: aside |
| --- |
| |
| ## 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 |