[NTLUG:Discuss] Commercial linux support options

[David Stanaway]

I am specifically looking at a supported kernel for a recent conntrackd 
or even better - support for conntrackd.

Again - mostly just for piece of mind.


Thomas Cameron (Red Hat) wrote:
> David Stanaway wrote:
>> Thanks for the input guys.
>> Kind of what I thought.
>>
>> Novel is politically incorrect where I am at - leaves RHEL or a 
>> different vendor.
>>
>> How much of a pain are custom kernel builds in RHEL? Do roll your own 
>> kernels burn your support?
> 
> If you need something that is not in the stock kernel, we will strongly 
> recommend that you compile it as a dynamic kernel module and insert it 
> into the stock kernel.  That way if you have a problem with that module 
> it is really easy to track while you still use the fully supported Red 
> Hat provided kernel.
> 
> Most folks who think they need a new kernel for RHEL change their mind 
> when they learn that we backport the vast majority of feature updates 
> from new kernels to the older RHEL kernels, but we do it in such a way 
> as to guarantee kernel API/ABI compatibility so your third party 
> software never knows that the kernel has changed.
>