[NTLUG:Discuss] Red Hat 9.0 End of Life 04/30/2004

[Rick Matthews]

Chris Cox wrote:
> > 
RM> I agree with your description of the current/previous Red Hat
RM> offerings.  But it appears that the new "Red Hat Enterprise 
RM> Linux" idea is more than a fancy box with printed documentation 
RM> and support bundled in. 
> 
> Uh... you'll just have to believe me.  I'm a long time RHAS user.
> There is very little difference between RH9 and RHAS3.0.  Apart
> from NPTL, the biggest RH thing in 3.0 is support for more than
> 4GB of memory... something the home version of SUSE has been doing
> for many years now.

I don't doubt that you know "Red Hat Advanced Server" inside and out.
I do believe that you are underestimating the magnitude of the changes
that Red Hat is making.  If you go to www.redhat.com and click on 
<Software> in the top menu bar, you'll be presented with these
choices:
<Red Hat Enterprise Linux> <Red Hat Network> <Red Hat Applications>
RHAS is not offered.

Listed under <Red Hat Enterprise Linux> you'll find:
<Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS>
<Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES>
<Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS>

It's very possible that RHAS and RHELAS are exactly the same code.
But that doesn't mean that the surviving product (RHELAS) will 
have the same pricing or pricing structure as RHAS.

RM> Look at this clip from the RH site:
RM> ------------------------
RM> Red Hat's Enterprise Linux family of operating systems is available 
RM> on a per-system, annual subscription basis. The subscriptions are 
RM> offered in three editions: Basic, Standard, and Premium -- each with 
RM> varying support levels and delivery options -- so you can choose 
RM> the subscription combination that best meets the needs of your 
RM> business.
RM> ------------------------
RM> 
RM> Subscription?  The workstation version is $179.... per year.?!?
> 
> Subscription I'm sure is with regards to support.

No sir, I don't think so.

Here's another clip, from http://www.redhat.com/software/rhel/:
--------------------
What is it?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the premier operating system for open 
source computing. It's sold by annual subscription, runs on seven 
system architectures, is certified by top enterprise software and 
hardware vendors, and backed by a Red Hat Network </software/rhn/> 
subscription and up to 24x7 support with one-hour response.
--------------------

Here's one from http://www.redhat.com/software/:
--------------------
Software Subscriptions
Reliable. Affordable. Easy to manage. Featuring the control, 
performance, and attention to security you expect from open source 
software. Red Hat software subscriptions are the first step to 
building an open source enterprise </software/architecture/index.html>.
--------------------

They need to fire their marketing department if "Software 
Subscriptions" means "Software Support".