RHEL3.0 ES

[Ed Wilts]

On Wed, May 05, 2004 at 02:45:56PM +0200, Jochen Vogel wrote:
> Thats right but i think If i want support from checkpoint or HP
> I must use RHEL

If you want support, you need to be prepared to pay for support.

Today's Linux model is that software is still available for free with
community support.  For 3rd party vendor support, you'll need to migrate
to an Enterprise Linux distribution.  It's the vendors that forced Red
Hat into an enterprise distribution.  It's really no different than
other mainstream operating systems.  Solaris and VMS, for example, have
releases at the same frequency as RHEL.  Some of the certifications take
a long time to do (think Oracle for example) and the vendors don't want
to spend all their time ceritifying on a moving target.  They want to
certify, support, wait for a year, and then start the process over
again, rather than continually certifying.

You should verify, however, if Checkpoint and/or HP really want RHEL ES
or if RHEL WS will do, in which case RH Professional Workstation (RHPW) will
also work.  The only difference between ES and WS is the list of
included packages.  The only difference between WS and RHPW is the
support.  So, if RHEL WS will work, you can buy RHPW instead - the
software is identical - for about $85 ($83 at buy.com) and it includes a
full year of free RHN updates.
 
> If Tao or White Box are RHEL clones.

They mostly are, but it's possible that Checkpoint and/or HP will not
offer support for the software on Tao or WBL.  For package
installation, it's likely that the software will install cleanly on Tao
or WBL, but you'll still have support questions.

> What is Fedora?

This is the unsupported consumer-oriented release, roughly equivalent to
the previous Red Hat Linux releases.  The reason vendors like Checkpoint
don't want to support it is that Fedora changes rapidly - every 3-6
months or so.  RHEL changes every 12-18 months so the vendor
certification process is drastically cheaper.

> > -----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
> > Von: Ed Wilts [mailto:ewilts at ewilts.org] 
> > Gesendet: Mittwoch, 5. Mai 2004 14:34
> > An: General Red Hat Linux discussion list
> > Betreff: Re: RHEL3.0 ES
> > 
> > 
> > On Wed, May 05, 2004 at 02:03:05PM +0200, Jochen Vogel wrote:
> > > In the past i installed checkpoint on an HP system
> > > Checkpoint supported RH7.x and HP supported RedHat
> > > 
> > > Now Checkpoint support only RHEL3.0 ES and HP only support RHEL3.0
> > > 
> > > now i should pay 350?/year for software downloads. thx  
> > 
> > You're paying $350 for support - telephone, web-based, and update
> > support.  If you don't want to pay for support, there are no-cost
> > options I gave you in my first reply.
> > 
> > > > -----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
> > > > Von: Ed Wilts [mailto:ewilts at ewilts.org] 
> > > > Gesendet: Mittwoch, 5. Mai 2004 13:40
> > > > An: General Red Hat Linux discussion list
> > > > Betreff: Re: RHEL3.0 ES
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > On Wed, May 05, 2004 at 10:36:27AM +0200, Jochen Vogel wrote:
> > > > > Checkpoint only support RHEL3.0 ES.
> > > > > ES cost 350? for the right to download with 1year RHN.
> > > > > What is after this year if i need updates?
> > > > 
> > > > It's an annual subscription so it's $350/year.
> > > > 
> > > > If you do not need support but just need the packages, 
> > you can look at
> > > > RHEL clones like Tao Linux or White Box Linux.
> > > > 
> > > > -- 
> > > > Ed Wilts, Mounds View, MN, USA
> > 
> > -- 
> > Ed Wilts, Mounds View, MN, USA

-- 
Ed Wilts, Mounds View, MN, USA
mailto:ewilts at ewilts.org
Member #1, Red Hat Community Ambassador Program