Questioning RH's decisions to remain PLUS A BIT...

[Gerald Thompson]

> -------------------------snip------- 
> 
> ( BTW, I did already purchase 3.0 WS and ES  from RH )
> 
> But from what I understand of the licensing, I can only install this RHES /
> RHWS ) on one server right?  
> I will now evaluate fedora and ES and WS and determine if I should be spending
> 100 x the price for ES 3.0.
> 
> Otherwise I have to look elsewhere and I am really not wanting to do that.  Like
> I said earlier, I have invested alot of money on RH training (RHCE) and would
> like to stay with it.
> 
> RH just went a bit far on the move.  I agree with the Enterprise move and know
> RH needs to make money, but the 80$ box sets need to stay and have the guarantee
> of a year or 2 of updates.
> -------------------------snip------- 

What I think you need to do is consider a couple of things.  Fedora is
going to have about 6 to 8 months of updates from Redhat.  Then Fedora
Legacy is going to take over for about 1 year of updates after that. 
That gives you a total of 20 months of updates for a Fedora distro.  You
will have to make sure to use yum to do the updates and you might have
to create a script of some kind to make all the 100 stations do it
automatically.

You can buy licenses for your ES and WS 3.0 distro's.  Call Red Hat
sales and see what kind of package that they can set you up with.  All
you need is update allowances for each workstation or server you install
it on right.  So you need licenses that will cover all your computers
with updates.  Red Hat always makes allowances if you buy in volume,
call them and see what kind of volume package you can purchase.

If you think about it, right now you have to buy RHN access for each
workstation you register for updates except the initial demo update. 
Red Hat doesn't expect you to buy an ISO for every workstation and
server, you can use the same disks for all over them.  What Red Hat
wants is that you need a support license for each workstation and
server.  So what kind of package do you need, that is why Red Hat has
sales consultants, they help you find the price package that suits your
need.  I believe you are allowed to convert existing RHN subscriptions
to Enterprise for half price, you might have to call Red Hat to confirm
this.

What I notice most people are doing here is they are crying that the sky
is falling in, but in the end has anyone actually called Red Hat by
phone and asked them what kind of package they could get for give you
for your data-center.  Think about it like this, where do you need the
most stability?  probably your servers, so you really need the ES
licenses.  Can you use Fedora for the workstations?  Do you need
stability and strict update structure for your workstations, if you do
then WS is the right option for you.  Are you willing to take a little
risk on cutting edge?  If you are then Fedora is the right option for
you.

Anyway, before people cry that the sky is falling, I think they should
take a step back, look at how much they are spending per year to
maintain their data-centers right now, this includes your subscriptions
to RHN for updates.  Then call Red Hat and see what kind of package they
can offer you, compare the costs, then make a decision.

All the people who have one or two computers, do they honestly care if
they have to upgrade their OS install every 6 to 7 months, how many of
you can honestly say you don't do this already.  I know I am an early
adopter, as soon as 7 was out, I upgraded.  As soon as 8 was out I
upgraded.  As soon as 9 was out I upgraded.

I don't consider myself a very knowledgeable bug test so I was waiting a
little bit for the first official Fedora distro before I upgraded.  I
will probably get both comps to Fedora on my days off this week.  I only
have the two computers so who cares that I have to update consistently. 
All I can say is if you are running a whole bunch of computers you
should at least take the time to talk to Red Hat and see what they can
offer.  If you are a non-profit or education organization they might
even offer you a good deal on the licenses.  All companies like to
support their communities and Red Hat is no different than anyone else.

Sincerely,
Gerald Thompson