This is the official CentOS HVM image built using a minimal configuration file and is for HVM instance types only. The image contains only enough packages to run in Amazon Web Services, enable an SSH server, and allow users to log in. Note that this is the default CentOS image that Centos.org recommends everyone to use. It includes packages that were updated at certain points in time to include important security updates. David Duncan is a partner solutions architect for Amazon Web Services. He is also a Red Hat Certified Architect and Red Hat Certified Engineer. He works closely with open source partners to enable more open source software to support Amazon EC2. David Duncan is also a member of the CentOS community and has been involved in CentOS development and community development and management.