> I would like to deploy centos on hundreds of client PC (a new setup). > Presently, several distros has attract me due to their focus on the desktop, > however they only have few months lifetime before a new version released. > > Is it advisable using centos on client? what about support for new > hardware and several office productivity software like openoffice, did centos > always update to the latest version? > > Previously i was using RH9 on several hundreds clients and love it, however > the update was horrible since it is unsupported, hence I can not install it > on the new hardware (ie. sata) I have used CentOS 4 as a desktop OS since the day it was released. I have never had any problems with it. In fact, my parents use it as well, with minimal help from me. CentOS rebuilds source RPMS from RH. RH has a 7 year support cycle. Thus, a CentOS release will be supported for the same period of time. CentOS also has a CentOS plus repository that contains some newer releases of particular software that is not included in RHEL. You may be interested in using cobbler and koan <http://cobbler.et.redhat.com> to help manage the build .. or rebuild of your lab. HTH, Barry