Rolling ISOs
The CentOS Linux team produces rolling CentOS-7 isos, normally on a monthly basis.The most recently completed version of those ISOs are version 1609 (16 is for 2016, 09 is for September).
The team usually creates all our ISO and cloud images based on all updates through the 28th of the month in question .. so 1609 would mean these ISOs will contain all updates for CentOS-7 through September 28th, 2016.
These rolling ISOs have the same installer as the most recent CentOS-7 point release (currently 7.2.1511) so that they install on the same hardware as our original ISOs, while the packages installed are the latest updates.
This means that the actual kernel that boots up on the ISO is the 7.2.1511 default kernel (kernel-3.10.0-327.el7.x86_64.rpm), but that the kernel installed is the latest kernel package (kernel-3.10.0-327.36.1.el7.x86_64.rpm for the 1609 ISOs).
These normal Rolling ISOs can be downloaded from this LINK and here are the sha256sums:
CentOS-7-x86_64-DVD-1609-01.iso:
3948f7a31a8693b2df90dc31252551dcd5aa9d13f4910ad9ce28fcddc247d84f
CentOS-7-x86_64-Everything-1609-01.iso:
602383c2aa93f6d7df46bd47658dcbf9b9d567108dec56ba60ce46a2f51c6eb2
CentOS-7-x86_64-LiveGNOME-1609-01.iso:
f6ee8af6814bc58e2c8424db862a443649f3a57b5f85caf63704ab52d5bbac68
CentOS-7-x86_64-LiveKDE-1609-01.iso:
1349c70e815d46c49d6ea459de6fbc074f5131c803343db18d32987ee78fd303
CentOS-7-x86_64-Minimal-1609-01.iso:
54721e5e444a3191b18b0fabe1c35e12b65f93aa31732beb7899212d19cab69b
You can verify the sha256sum of your downloaded ISO following these instructions prior to install.
The DVD ISO contains everything needed to do an install, but still fits on one 4.3 GB DVD. This is the most versatile install that will fit on a single DVD and if you are new to CentOS this likely the installer you want. If you pick Minimum Install in this installer, you can do an install that is identical to Minimal ISO. You can also install many different Workstation and Server installs from this ISO, including both GNOME and KDE.
The Everything ISO has all packages, even those not used by the installer. You usually do not need this ISO unless you do not have access to the internet and want to install things later from this DVD and not included by the graphical installer. Most users will not need this ISO, it is > 7 GB but can do installs from a USB key that is big enough to hold it (currently an 8 GB key).
The LiveGNOME ISO is a Basic GNOME Workstation install, but there is no modification or personalization allowed during the install. It is a much easier install to do, but any extras packages must be installed from the internet later.
The LiveKDE ISO is Basic KDE Workstation install. It also does not allow modification or personalization until after the install has finished.
The Minimal ISO is a very small and quick install that boots to the command console and has network connectivity and a firewall. It is used by System Administrators for the minimal install that they can then add functionality to. You need to know what you are doing to use this ISO.
Newer Hardware Support
As explained above, the normal rolling ISOs boot from the Point Release installer. Sometimes there is newer hardware that might not be supported in the point release installer, but could be supported with a newer kernel. This installer is much less tested and is only recommended if you can not get one of the normal installers to work for you.There are only 2 ISOs in this family, here are the links and sha256sums:
CentOS-7-x86_64-DVD-1609-99.iso:
90c7148ddccbb278d45d06805dee6599ec1acc585cafd02d56c6b8e32a238fa9
CentOS-7-x86_64-Minimal-1609-99.iso:
1cfbbc73cc7a0eb17d7fe2fa5b1adf07492e340540603e8e1fd28b52e95f02e3
You can verify the ISO's sha256 sum using this LINK, and the descriptions above are the same for these two ISOs.
