2.9 Summary

The origins of the Linux operating system can be traced back to the work of Linus Torvalds and Richard Stallman in the form of the Linux kernel combined with the tools and compilers built by the GNU project.

Over the years, the open source nature of Linux has resulted in the release of a wide range of different Linux distributions. One such distribution is Red Hat Enterprise Linux, created by Red Hat, Inc., a company founded by Bob Young and Mark Ewing. Red Hat specializes in providing enterprise level Linux software solutions combined with extensive technical support services. CentOS is essentially built from the same source code base as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but with the Red Hat branding removed.