Upcoming changes in OS support for Vespa

Vespa has announced that CentOS Stream 8 will be the sole supported operating system for the upcoming Vespa 8 release, marking a shift from the previously supported CentOS Linux 7. This decision aligns Vespa's open-source releases with the internal systems at Yahoo, which have already migrated to RHEL 8. The choice of CentOS Stream 8 is driven by its free availability, compatibility with the Copr build system, and the timely access to updates and security fixes compared to other RHEL downstream distributions. The transition to CentOS Stream 8 requires consumers of Vespa artifacts, such as RPMs and container images, to upgrade their systems to ensure compatibility. The change is influenced by the deprecation of CentOS Linux 8 and the emergence of new RHEL rebuild distributions like Alma Linux and Rocky Linux, but CentOS Stream 8 was chosen for its proximity to production environments and the assurance it provides for delivering reliable Vespa releases.