Version info
As BlueOnyx is available in different flavours, it may become more difficult for you to pick the right one for the purpose you have in mind.
This page aims at helping you to make the right decissions to pick the flavour of BlueOnyx that suits you the most.
Latest version of BlueOnyx:
The newest version of BlueOnyx is the AlmaLinux 9 based BlueOnyx 5211R. It was released on 21st November 2022. If you do a new installation of BlueOnyx, then you are encouraged to use BlueOnyx 5211R.
The next oldest (but still supported) version of BlueOnyx is the AlmaLinux 8 based BlueOnyx 5210R. It was released in October 2019 and was initially based on CentOS 8, but got rebased onto AlmaLinux 8 when RedHat phased out CentOS 8 early.
Our oldest still supported version of BlueOnyx is BlueOnyx 5209R. But it will go End-of-Life on 30th of June 2024 when CentOS 7 goes EOL.
CD version or "yum groupinstall blueonyx"?
Generally it doesn't really matter if you pick the ISO image version or use the YUM install method to install BlueOnyx 5211R, 5210R or 5209R. The resulting install of BlueOnyx will be the same as if you used the ISO image for install.
The "yum groupinstall blueonyx" method is fairly simple and requires you to just a few commands. The CD-installer is as easy as it gets: Boot off the ISO, hit return in the menu and wait 5-10 minutes for the install to finish. After the install (and the reboot it asks for) you have a perfectly installed BlueOnyx that is ready for immediate usage. It simply can't get any easier than that.
If you can, it would always be advisable to pick the ISO version. It sets up the OS and the partitions in a fashion that makes it the most hassle free type of install.
What about BlueOnyx 5207R/5208R?
Those were the 32-bit and 64-bit versions with the new GUI on CentOS 6. These went EOL on November 30, 2020.
What about BlueOnyx 5107R/5108R?
Those were the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of BlueOnyx with the old style GUI on CentOS6 and Scientific Linux 6. The EOL for the GUI was advanced to 2019-07-23 and on that day we released YUM updates that automatically upgraded these to 5207R and 5208R respectively, which in turn went EOL on November 30, 2020.
What about BlueOnyx 5106R?
That was the 32-bit CentOS5 based version of BlueOnyx. The undelying CentOS5 was supported with updates until the CentOS5 EOL at March 31, 2017. At that point we then also declared the end of life of 5106R. If you still do operate a BlueOnyx 5106R, then please CMU-migrate sites and users to newer versions of BlueOnyx instead.
Virtualization / BlueOnyx in a VPS?
Generally BlueOnyx works fine in a VPS. If your virtualization solution allows you to install the guest OS from a CD, pick the CD-Version of BlueOnyx 5211R, 5210R or 5209R and install the VPS from the ISO image.
For OpenVZ 7 based virtualization (Aventurin{e}, Virtuozzo or Proxmox) we offer pre-created OS template caches for all supported BlueOnyx versions for download. However, due to architectural reasons BlueOnyx 5211R will not run on OpenVZ 7.
If your virtualization solution isn't OpenVZ based and doesn't allow you to install the guest OS from a CD either, then install CentOS7 via supported means and then install BlueOnyx 5209R with the help of these instructions and the instructions for BlueOnyx 5211R installs are here.
We hope this answers your questions, but feel free to ask on the BlueOnyx mailing list for more advice or suggestions.