With CentOS 7 approaching its End of Life (EOL) in 2024 alongside RHEL 7, enterprises face critical infrastructure decisions. The recent changes in CentOS's direction (CentOS Stream becoming a rolling-release distro) have created uncertainty for production environments requiring long-term stability.

Here are the most viable options with code examples for system verification:

# Check current CentOS version (pre-migration)
cat /etc/centos-release
lsb_release -a

Option 1: RHEL Conversion

Convert existing CentOS 7 to RHEL 7 using subscription manager:

# Install subscription manager
sudo yum install -y subscription-manager

# Register system (replace with your credentials)
sudo subscription-manager register \
  --username your_username \
  --password your_password \
  --auto-attach

Option 2: AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux Migration

Migrate to RHEL-compatible alternatives using elevate tool:

# For AlmaLinux migration
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlmaLinux/almalinux-deploy/master/almalinux-deploy.sh
chmod +x almalinux-deploy.sh
sudo ./almalinux-deploy.sh

For legacy applications requiring CentOS 7:

# Dockerfile example for CentOS 7 containerization
FROM centos:7
RUN yum update -y && \
    yum install -y your-application
COPY entrypoint.sh /
ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint.sh"]

Major cloud platforms offer extended support options:

• AWS: CentOS 7 AMIs with extended security updates
• Azure: CentOS 7 images with optional premium support

Post-migration validation script:

#!/bin/bash
# Verify package consistency
rpm -Va | grep '^..5'

# Check for remaining CentOS packages
rpm -qa | grep -i centos

# Validate repository configuration
yum repolist all

With CentOS 7 reaching End of Life (EOL) in 2024 alongside RHEL 7, many production environments face critical decisions. The CentOS ecosystem has fundamentally changed since Red Hat's 2020 announcement about CentOS Stream becoming a rolling-release distribution positioned upstream of RHEL.

For teams requiring stable, production-grade Linux servers post-2024, consider these RHEL-compatible options:

# Example: Checking current CentOS version
cat /etc/centos-release
# Sample output: CentOS Linux release 7.9.2009 (Core)

The most direct path involves transitioning to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For development teams:

# Convert CentOS 7 to RHEL 7 using convert2rhel
sudo yum install -y https://repo.almalinux.org/elevate/elevate-release-latest-el7.noarch.rpm
sudo yum install -y convert2rhel
sudo convert2rhel --auto-attach

These 1:1 binary compatible alternatives offer long-term support:

# Migration script to AlmaLinux (for CentOS 7)
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlmaLinux/almalinux-deploy/master/almalinux-deploy.sh
chmod +x almalinux-deploy.sh
sudo ./almalinux-deploy.sh

While CentOS Stream serves as RHEL's upstream, evaluate its suitability:

# Check if a package exists in CentOS Stream
dnf --disablerepo="*" --enablerepo="centos-stream" search nginx

For container-based deployments, consider rebuilding images:

# Example Dockerfile for RHEL UBI (Universal Base Image)
FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi8/ubi
RUN yum install -y your-application-packages
COPY app-config /etc/your-app/
EXPOSE 8080
CMD ["/usr/bin/your-app"]

Implement pre-migration validation:

# Basic compatibility check script
#!/bin/bash
for pkg in $(rpm -qa); do
    rpm -q --whatprovides $pkg &> /dev/null || echo "$pkg might have compatibility issues"
done

Evaluate each option's support timeline:

• RHEL 7 ELS (Extended Life Support) until 2026 (additional cost)
• AlmaLinux 7 support until 2024
• Rocky Linux following RHEL's lifecycle