Solution for Images End of Life (EOL)

Image EOL refers to the end of an image's life cycle, which may occur due to the cessation of third-party support or the discontinuation of open source programs. Consequently, SurferCloud will also halt technical support for the corresponding images and will mark "EOL" when selecting the image version, indicating that the image has reached the end of its life cycle.
You can refer to this document for solutions after the image EOL. If your inquiry does not pertain to the specified images, please contact us for assistance.

I. Solutions for CentOS Linux After Maintenance Stops

According to the official announcement from CentOS, the CentOS Linux project will cease maintenance. The basic image of CentOS Linux provided by SurferCloud is sourced from the official CentOS project, and thus, SurferCloud will also stop maintaining this basic image once official maintenance ends.
This article mainly introduces the content and impact of the official announcement of CentOS, the response plan of SurferCloud basic image and suggestions for response.

CentOS Official Announcement Content

On December 8, 2020, CentOS officially announced its plan to discontinue maintenance for CentOS Linux and introduced the CentOS Stream project. For detailed information, please read the CentOS Official Announcement (opens in a new tab). The impacts on the CentOS Linux image are as follows:

• CentOS Linux 7: As a replica of RHEL 7, it stopped receiving updates on August 6, 2020, and will reach its end of life (EOL) on June 30, 2024.
• CentOS Linux 8: As a replica of RHEL 8, it has a shortened life cycle and stopped receiving updates and maintenance (EOL) on December 31, 2021.

Due to these official changes, users of CentOS Linux 7 and 8 will no longer receive software maintenance or support, including bug fixes and feature updates. The official CentOS recommends migrating to the CentOS Stream version after maintenance ends. For production environments or critical business deployments, it is advisable to consider using stable Red Hat Enterprise Linux, keeping in mind the following considerations:

• CentOS Stream is a rolling release version and serves as a pre-test version of RHEL, which may introduce certain risks when used in production environments.

SurferCloud Basic Image Response Plan

In response to the official announcement from CentOS, SurferCloud has implemented the following plan:

• SurferCloud's service support for the CentOS operating system will align with the official CentOS timeline. Support for CentOS Linux 7 will continue until June 30, 2024.
• Maintenance for CentOS Linux 8 stopped on December 31, 2021, and SurferCloud has ceased updates and maintenance for this basic image. However, CentOS Linux 8 will remain available for the time being, ensuring that users of related cloud server images are not immediately affected.

Response Suggestions

You can select a suitable operating system to replace CentOS Linux as you need. The specific operational instructions are as follows:

• If you do not need to keep the system disk data, you can change it by reinstalling the operating system. For detailed operations, please refer to Operation Guide;
• SurferCloud recommends using the Rocky Linux image as a suitable alternative.

Additionally, there are numerous other basic images available in the SurferCloud catalog. You can select an operating system as needed. The detailed descriptions of available images are as follows: