A couple of days ago, the CentOS team proudly announced the release and immediate availability of the seventh update to the CentOS 4 distribution series.

This version includes important bug fixes, such as the one regarding kernel versions 2.6.9-78.EL and 2.6.9-67.0.20.EL, while the installer comes now with the option to upgrade if an older version of CentOS is already installed on the computer. Among other  features are Firefox 3.0.x, a kernel command line parameter to change the system clock rate and a better support for guest operating systems, via virtualization tools.

At the moment, this version is available only for i386 and x86_64 architectures, while development continues for other platforms like ia64, s390, s390x, and also the server version for i386 and x86_64. As already mentioned, an upgrade can be performed from an older CentOS-4, by using the yum upgrade command.

The most important changes this update brings are:

· The SHA-256 and SHA-512 hash functions can now be used for password hashing;
· A kernel command-line parameter (divider=[value]), which is useful when trying to adjust the system clock rate, while user space applications keep their visible HZ timing value;
· Alongside the current 1.1.5 version of OpenOffice.org, the updates directory also includes a technology preview for version 2.0 that can be installed either alone, or along with the 1.1.5 version;
· The use of paravirtualized block device and network drivers has been implemented, thus enhancing fully-virtualized guests' performance;
· Mozilla Firefox base 3.0.x is now included in this version.

Download CentOS 4.7 right now from Softpedia.