CentOS 7.8 Minimal

Azure Operating Systems

CentOS Linux 7.8.2003 with a reduced package set, pinned to that point release

Base

Hardened build

minimal ports, security patches applied at build time

Access

Unique credentials

generated on first boot, readable only by root

Verified

Boots working

services pass a health gate before release

Support

24/7, 365 days

by email and live chat, 24 hour response SLA

Overview

CentOS Linux is a free, open source community rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, binary compatible with RHEL. This image combines two properties: it is CentOS Linux 7.8.2003, the point release that corresponds to RHEL 7.8, pinned there so updating the machine cannot quietly walk it onto the terminal 7.9.2009 release; and it carries a reduced package set, with the packages an Azure guest cannot use removed.

Both halves are the reason it exists as its own listing. The pin matters because plenty of software is certified, supported or simply known to work against one specific CentOS 7 point release rather than the CentOS 7 line as a whole, and a machine that drifts off it is no longer the platform that was signed off. Pinning trades currency for reproducibility: these repositories carry 11,617 packages against 16,771 in the terminal 7.9 tree.

The trim is measured, not asserted. Against cloudimg's own standard CentOS 7.8 image that this one is cut from, on the same kernel and the same day: 295 installed packages instead of 330, and 668 MB of package payload instead of 1,191 MB, a 44 percent reduction. The bulk is firmware for hardware a Hyper V guest does not have.

CentOS Linux 7 reached end of life on 30 June 2024 and receives no further upstream security updates, so this image is patched only to its capture date from the frozen CentOS 7.8 vault and is provided for legacy migration workloads. A smaller package set means fewer components that can carry a vulnerability, but it is not a substitute for migrating.

Why the cloudimg image

cloudimg cuts this image from its own standard CentOS 7.8 image, so the size comparison it publishes is exact rather than approximate: the same kernel, the same vault snapshot and the same day on both sides. Nothing is removed by force. Every candidate had to clear two independent dependency proofs before it was erased, and the build first proves those checks still refuse to remove glibc, systemd and yum, so the image carries no broken dependency and anything you need reinstalls normally from the pinned vault. The image ships a manifest recording exactly what was removed and why, so the claim is verifiable on your own machine. The repositories ship already repointed at the 7.8.2003 vault, so package management keeps working after the original mirrors were retired and the machine stays on the release you bought. There is no baked in credential: access is by the SSH key you choose at launch, password authentication is off and the root account is locked, so no two instances share a secret. SELinux ships enforcing, SSH is the only port reachable off the machine, the Azure guest agent survived the trim so it provisions cleanly, and the image comes with a paired deploy guide and 24/7 support while you migrate.

Common uses

Running software whose support statement names CentOS or RHEL 7.8 specifically, on the smallest defensible footprint
Reproducing a build or a defect against exactly the package set that shipped in 7.8.2003
Compatibility and RPM validation against the RHEL 7.8 ABI, where fewer installed components means less to review

Overview

Why the cloudimg image

Common uses

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