EL Version Timeline

This page summarizes version release and lifecycle information for each distribution in the Enterprise Linux family.

Currently Active Versions

Version Series	RHEL	CentOS Stream	AlmaLinux	Rocky Linux	Oracle Linux	Anolis OS	OpenCloudOS
EL 11	In planning (no official date; site forecast 2028)	Not branched	Not released	Not released	—	—	—
EL 10	10.0 (2025 GA), latest 10.2	10	10.2	10.2	10.2	—	—
EL 9	9.0 (2022), latest 9.8	9	9.8	9.8	9.8	23.5 (independent)	9.6
EL 8	8.0 (2019), last 8.10	8 (EOL)	8.10	8.10	8.10	8.10	8.10

RHEL ships minor releases roughly every 6 months (May and November). The current latest minors are RHEL 9.8 and RHEL 10.2 (both released in 2026-05); EL 8 has entered maintenance support with no new minor releases — 8.10 is the last. AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux / Oracle Linux track the corresponding RHEL minor.

CentOS Stream lifecycle: Stream 9 reaches EOL on 2027-05-31 (aligned with the end of RHEL 9 full support); Stream 10 is expected to reach EOL around 2030. For new projects on CentOS Stream, prefer Stream 10.

End-of-Life Versions

Version Series	RHEL EOL	CentOS EOL	Notes
EL 8	2029-05 (maintenance)	2021-12-31 / 2024-05-31	CentOS Linux 8 terminated early (2021-12-31); CentOS Stream 8 reached EOL on 2024-05-31
EL 7	2024-06	2024-06-30	All EOL
EL 6	2020-11	2020-11-30	All EOL

Key Events Timeline

Date	Event
2004	CentOS project launched as a free rebuild of RHEL
2006	Oracle releases Oracle Enterprise Linux (later renamed Oracle Linux)
2014	Red Hat officially sponsors the CentOS project
2017	Alibaba begins internal use of Alibaba Cloud Linux, based on EL
2020-12	Red Hat announces CentOS Linux 8 ends early (2021-12-31); the Rocky Linux project is announced the same day
2021-03	AlmaLinux first stable release
2021-06	Rocky Linux first stable release
2021-10	OpenAnolis (Anolis OS) community officially established
2021-12	CentOS 8 reaches end of life (originally planned for 2029)
2022-01	OpenCloudOS community established (led by Tencent)
2022-05	AlmaLinux 9.0 released
2022-07	Rocky Linux 9.0 released (GA)
2023-06	Red Hat restricts access to RHEL source code
2023-07-13	AlmaLinux announces an adjusted compatibility goal: from a 1:1 rebuild to ABI / binary compatibility
2024-06	CentOS 7 reaches end of life
2025-05	RHEL 10 / EL 10 released (GA)
2025-11	RHEL 9.7 / RHEL 10.1 released
2026-05	RHEL 9.8 / RHEL 10.2 released (current latest minors)

Support Lifecycle by Distribution

RHEL Support Policy

Full Support: 5 years, including feature enhancements and security fixes
Maintenance Support: 5 years, security fixes and critical bug fixes only
Extended Life Phase: Paid extended support

AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux

Committed to following RHEL’s support lifecycle, providing security updates for the same duration.

Oracle Linux

Follows the same support lifecycle as RHEL. The system itself is free to download and distribute; Premier / Premier Plus are paid subscriptions, and Extended Support is billed separately.

Anolis OS / OpenCloudOS

Support lifecycle is determined by their respective communities, typically providing at least 5 years of long-term support. The end of life for Anolis OS 23 is not recorded in our fact source (distro-profiles.json has no eol for it); check the openanolis announcements before citing a date, and do not confuse it with the ELS end of Anolis OS 7 (2028-06).

How to Choose a Version

New projects: EL 9 (mature and stable) or EL 10 (newest, longest support window)
Need the latest features: CentOS Stream 10
General production: AlmaLinux 9/10 or Rocky Linux 9/10
Oracle databases: Oracle Linux 9/10
China cloud / domestic IT: Anolis OS or OpenCloudOS
Existing EL 7/8 systems: Migrate to EL 9 or EL 10 as soon as possible; see the Migration Guide