The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing. — Isaac Asimov

Re: Amazon Linux AMI – what distro is this based on?

The Amazon Linux AMI is based on RHEL 5.x and parts of RHEL6. One of our goals is binary compatibility with RHEL 5.x, and therefore CentOS5.x. Astute users will note that our kernel is based on 2.6.34, and we have engineered the image to conform to a cloud environment. For example, the lack of Xorg support helps to keep the images small and lean. The goal of the Amazon Linux AMI is to provide an image for use in the cloud and to serve as reference image of EC2 best practices. The maintenance (security, enhancements, features and bug fixes) for the image will come directly from Amazon, while maintaining maximum compatibility, security and functionality.

via Amazon Web Services Developer Community : Amazon Linux AMI – what distro is this ….