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Group CEO at Mmusi Group
Real User
An upstream open source development platform that allows you to alternate certain things and minimize admin features
Pros and Cons
  • "I like how you can alternate certain things and minimize admin features on there and just let it run on specific scripts. It's nice. Even if I had to put it in a container, I'd still do it. I prefer Linux over Windows any day."
  • "The price could be better. They could add more drivers in terms of peripherals and other things. Add more drivers for the Linux specifications in the next release. Right now, they are just pushing to have more drivers for Windows instead of Linux."

What is our primary use case?

I use CentOS for business applications and personal applications. Because Linux is an operating system, the use case will differ from person to person. We used it to host our scripting servers and infrastructure layout.

What is most valuable?

I like how you can alternate certain things and minimize admin features on there and just let it run on specific scripts. It's nice. Even if I had to put it in a container, I'd still do it. I prefer Linux over Windows any day.

What needs improvement?

The price could be better. They could add more drivers in terms of peripherals and other things. Add more drivers for the Linux specifications in the next release. Right now, they are just pushing to have more drivers for Windows instead of Linux.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CentOS since 2010.

Buyer's Guide
CentOS
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about CentOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

CentOS is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

CentOS is a scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

CentOS tech support is fine.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

At the time, there were quite a lot of options like Linux, Red Hat, and Ubuntu. But if you're already using these commands that work here, they will be the ones that work there. So, we chose CentOS.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost depends on how the organization or a specific person licenses it. If you want the free version, there's Ubuntu which is supported by forums. You can pay for the license yearly or pay for a specific version.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to potential users.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give CentOS a nine.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Group Manager at HCL Technologies
Real User
Easy to set up, great for access controls and captures inappropriate usage
Pros and Cons
  • "It’s scalable."
  • "In terms of commands, it's all CLI and there isn't any GUI which can make it challenging to use for some people."

What is most valuable?

It is good for ensuring that only approved applications are allowed to run. Other applications, which have not been approved by IT, are picked up as violations. You really can define at the start of it, what is approved, what is not approved, and you can clearly identify if there's an exhibition of unapproved applications and that get filtered or blocked by the tool.

The security and IT team can go back and question the user to see why that particular application was run or maybe do further investigation in terms of seeing if that machine has attracted any malware.

The solution is stable.

It’s scalable.

The initial setup is pretty simple.

What needs improvement?

The solution could be a bit more user-friendly. In terms of commands, it's all CLI and there isn't any GUI which can make it challenging to use for some people.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using it for the last two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn’t crash or freeze. It’s reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have found that the solution can scale.

Our company has 15 to 20 users leveraging it right now.

How are customer service and support?

I’ve never directly dealt with technical support. I can’t speak to how helpful they are.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using Redhat Linux. We just had the application need, which is why we adopted this product.

How was the initial setup?

It was just an application requirement. The application we are managing requires CentOS, which we had to install. There wasn't any choice.

For CentOS, the setup itself is straightforward. It didn't take much time. We installed it in one day. It was just the image that was installed. It also doesn’t take much staff to deploy or maintain the product.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing is per device.

What other advice do I have?

I’m not sure which version of the solution we’re using. It might be version 8.

I’d recommend the solution to others. However, it all depends upon if the application needs it. If there is an application dependency, yes, you will need that. However, it'll come from a specific need.

We have not been using the OS as such. We have been just managing the application on the OS. We have been only supporting the application. We don't do anything, particularly on CentOS. We are doing all the settings on the application that's running on top of it.

That said, the product is okay. It's good, stable. It hasn't given us any issues, and we have no performance problems. I’d rate it overall an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
CentOS
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about CentOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Landry  Mbala - PeerSpot reviewer
Développeur applications at Trust Merchant Bank
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A stable solution that helps to create applications
Pros and Cons
  • "The product is based on Red Hat and very stable."
  • "The tool has no official support."

What is most valuable?

The product is based on Red Hat and very stable. 

What needs improvement?

The tool has no official support. 

For how long have I used the solution?

The product helps us to create applications. 

How are customer service and support?

We had used support in the past and it was good. 

How was the initial setup?

The product's setup is simple. You can deploy the solution in one hour. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the product a nine out of ten. One admin is enough to maintain the product. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Head of Department of operational and compliance at ACE GABON
Real User
Provides efficient virtualization and good security
Pros and Cons
  • "The product is very efficient when it comes to virtualization."
  • "Integration with Open Stack could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for web applications. We are customers of CentOS and I'm head of the operations and compliance department.

What is most valuable?

The product is very efficient when it comes to virtualization and good from a security perspective. 

What needs improvement?

I'd like to see better integration with Open Stack, because it can be a bit of a struggle. The solution requires a lot of experience on Linux. I'd like to see the GUI become more user-friendly so that someone who doesn't have much experience can use it. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for 20 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy given my level of experience with Linux. Installation takes about 20 minutes, and then extra time for deploying some tools. I generally carry out the maintenance for our company.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We're using the open-source version of CentOS.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I sometimes use Ubuntu for network service. The main difference is that if you don't upgrade with Ubuntu, you have to change the source and that can create problems that we don't experience with CentOS.

What other advice do I have?

If you have experience with this solution, it's a good product. Without sufficient knowledge of Linux it's important to purchase support with the product. 

I rate this product 10 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
SulaimanMustapha - PeerSpot reviewer
CRS at Kneedrag
Real User
A scalable, stable test and development solution that would benefit from notification features for upgrade deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "The latest version of this solution has everything built in, making it comprehensive and very easy to use."
  • "There is no notification before updates are applied to the solution, which occasionally means that new functionality isn't compatible with how the product is currently being used, and causes issues."

What is our primary use case?

This solution is mainly used for testing and development purposes.

What is most valuable?

The latest version of this solution has everything built in, making it comprehensive and very easy to use.

What needs improvement?

There is no notification before updates are applied to the solution, which occasionally means that new functionality isn't compatible with how the product is currently being used, and causes issues.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for around 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have found this solution to be stable during my time using it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is very scalable, you simply add a node and expand a cluster so that you can scale out on your containerization.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup for this solution is straightforward and very self-intuitive.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
D6B8 - PeerSpot reviewer
District Technology at INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 196
User
It allows us to freely use and test open-source technologies and solutions
Pros and Cons
  • "It has minimal updates compared to other distributions."
  • "They could build more options into the wizard."

What is our primary use case?

We use CentOS whenever we can to help bridge services or to add another layer to our infrastructure. We currently use CentOS for monitoring orientated tasks, but it has been our chosen distribution for our enterprise for a few years.

How has it helped my organization?

It allows us to freely use and test open-source technologies and solutions. Without it we wouldn't have a server monitoring system, log management system, or many other services that we depend on.

What is most valuable?

It has minimal updates compared to other distributions. We like the idea of long-term support. CentOS gives us a peace of mind when it comes to updates. It's also a bonus that most of our vendor supported hardware/software is built with CentOS under the hood, allowing us to stay in the Fedora ecosystem.

What needs improvement?

You're getting what you expect (a linux distro). The wizard has gotten better through the years, so maybe they could build more options into the wizard. However, we have scripts that we deploy to overcome this.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I don't believe an update has broken anything in our environment. It's very stable and that's the reason CentOS was chosen.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Yes and no. In regards to the OS itself, there aren't any scalability issues. We have run into issues with other applications but that's not the fault of CentOS, rather, it is the application that would need to be revised.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We've used Ubuntu in the past for various systems and projects, and once in a while, a vendor uses it for their platform. We don't care for the more aggressive updates, and we usually don't need the most updated packages.

How was the initial setup?

Straightforward. We deploy with the minimal options, and the wizard is very easy to navigate to help install it. We also have a script that we run to make this process much easier.

What about the implementation team?

In-house for anything related to CentOS.

What was our ROI?

We don't track ROI.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

You can pay for the support if you purchase Red Hat. We don't have the need for that just yet, and CentOS satisfies our needs when needed (assuming we can support it in-house).

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

When it comes to Linux, we've tried the Debian route before. Trying both Debian and Ubuntu, we settled on CentOS once we noticed that the enterprise market was going in that direction. It proved to be a wise choice.

What other advice do I have?

If you had to choose a Linux distribution for enterprise grade stability, then this would be the logical choice. If you want latest features and fast deployment of updates, then you might want to take a look at Ubuntu.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Phat Chau - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution architect at EASY CREDIT Vietnam
Real User
Top 5
Cost-effective product with an easy setup process
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a scalable and cost-effective product compared to public cloud solutions."
  • "There could be more integration features included in the product."

What is our primary use case?

We use CentOS for repository features.

What needs improvement?

There could be more integration features included in the product.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using CentOS for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have five CentOS customers. It is a scalable and cost-effective product compared to public cloud solutions.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup process is easy. It requires five executives for deployment, including managers, admins, engineers, and developers. It takes around a month to complete.

What about the implementation team?

We take the help of a reseller to implement the product.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We don’t have to pay for the system’s licenses.

What other advice do I have?

I rate CentOS a nine out of ten.

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1889697 - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Product Officer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 10
Straightforward to set up, easy to use, and open-source
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to troubleshoot."
  • "The solution could be more scalable."

What is our primary use case?

We deploy our products onto the solution. We use it as an OS. Our support team deploys it to customers. 

What is most valuable?

Overall, the solution works well. 

The team is very comfortable using it. 

It is very simple and straightforward to set up.

The solution is stable.

It's open-source.

The solution is easy to troubleshoot.

As a well-known product, it's easy to find people who know the solution well. 

What needs improvement?

I'm not an expert on the solution. I cannot pinpoint specific issues. 

The solution could be more scalable.

For how long have I used the solution?

The company has used the solution for more than ten years, and I have used the solution in the company for one year (since I came on board).

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is very good. I'd rate it eight or nine out of ten. There are no bugs or glitches. We haven't had any issues. There haven't been any crashes. It doesn't freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability could be better. It doesn't scale that well. I'd rate the scalability seven or eight out of ten.

We have around 50 people, our support team, using the solution. 

Our support team deploys the solution on the customer side to assist customers, so the amount of usage would depend on the number of customers we have.

How are customer service and support?

We get support from a vendor. It's open source. We can figure out how to troubleshoot on our own. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've also used Oracle Linux as well. We put deep packet processing on the Linux solution.

How was the initial setup?

We haven't had issues with the setup. The support team is comfortable handling the setup. 

The deployment isn't too long. I didn't get a sense that the deployment took too long. 

They mostly give you a file, and it's deployed in a single step. It's not a big project.

We have about five people who handle deployment and maintenance. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is open-source. We do not pay a licensing fee. 

What other advice do I have?

We may be using version nine of the solution. 

This is a very widely known solution that is very stable. It's easy to find engineers comfortable with it since its usage is common. 

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CentOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CentOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.