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I’m out of the loop on RHEL forks. Can someone explain why it is important to be binary compatible with RHEL? Is there a lot of software whose binaries will onl

by jl6 4y ago

I’m out of the loop on RHEL forks. Can someone explain why it is important to be binary compatible with RHEL? Is there a lot of software whose binaries will only run on RHEL? Or is this more a case of wanting something free that can still make use of RHEL-specific skills and knowledge?

sllabres 4y ago
As soon as you use something like SAP or Oracle the number of offically _supported_ distributions quickly decreases. As example SAP HANA: RHEL and SLES or for example Oracle Database: RHEL, OEL (based on RHEL AFAIK) and again SLES. So it is not only a question if it would theoretically/technically fail on another platform.
- jl6 4y ago
  I don’t imagine SAP certification would extend to a community-supported fork of RHEL even if it was a 1:1 clone.
  - Moose_the_Goose 4y ago
    Many businesses will use the Forks for their dev environment.
    - carlwgeorge 4y ago
      Which is silly because Red Hat will literally give you free RHEL for non-prod if you pay for RHEL in prod. https://developers.redhat.com/articles/2022/05/10/access-rhel-developer-teams-subscription https://developers.redhat.com/articles/2022/05/10/access-rhe...
Symmetry 4y ago
When I was working for the US government we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware," which RHEL wasn't because we payed for it. But it was cheaper and easier to do most of our development on CentOS systems and because the software was the same we weren't worried about compatibility issues.
- mistrial9 4y ago
  > we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware" I am in the USA but this is new to me.. can you say more or better, links? regarding science applications, specifically...
  - Symmetry 4y ago
    This was when I was at a FFRDC doing work for the DoD, the rules might be different elsewhere but I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same either.
  - jl6 4y ago
    I’ve worked at orgs where the problem with freeware wasn’t the lack of cost, but the lack of support/indemnity/assurance and the lack of a contract to establish a legal framework for the dependency.
    - mistrial9 4y ago
      ok- so if I understand those terms, roughly(?): support --> contact system for humans to reach other humans with bugs or questions indemnity --> a legal statement by the vendor that the client is not responsible for long term liability for patents or legal challenges assurance --> a legal statement that the vendor will take responsibility if the product is not what it appears to be, or is missing parts that are required to fit a purpose establish a legal framework --> define the copyrights and governing law for rights, responsibilities and disputes between the vendor, their suppliers, the customer and their agents
      - jl6 4y ago
        Spot on. The kind of features that accountable execs care a lot about. The engineer’s conception of companies like IBM and SAP and Oracle is that they sell terrible clunky software, but a substantial part of the value comes in the CYA that the above brings. The users are rarely the real customer.
e40 4y ago
I think the replies to you missed the main point: standing on the shoulders of giants. RH has a LOT of resources and being a fork of it means you get all that person power for free.

by jl6 4y ago

sllabres 4y ago

As soon as you use something like SAP or Oracle the number of offically _supported_ distributions quickly decreases. As example SAP HANA: RHEL and SLES or for example Oracle Database: RHEL, OEL (based on RHEL AFAIK) and again SLES. So it is not only a question if it would theoretically/technically fail on another platform.

jl6 4y ago
I don’t imagine SAP certification would extend to a community-supported fork of RHEL even if it was a 1:1 clone.
- Moose_the_Goose 4y ago
  Many businesses will use the Forks for their dev environment.
  - carlwgeorge 4y ago
    Which is silly because Red Hat will literally give you free RHEL for non-prod if you pay for RHEL in prod. https://developers.redhat.com/articles/2022/05/10/access-rhel-developer-teams-subscription https://developers.redhat.com/articles/2022/05/10/access-rhe...

Symmetry 4y ago

When I was working for the US government we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware," which RHEL wasn't because we payed for it. But it was cheaper and easier to do most of our development on CentOS systems and because the software was the same we weren't worried about compatibility issues.

mistrial9 4y ago
> we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware" I am in the USA but this is new to me.. can you say more or better, links? regarding science applications, specifically...
- Symmetry 4y ago
  This was when I was at a FFRDC doing work for the DoD, the rules might be different elsewhere but I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same either.
- jl6 4y ago
  I’ve worked at orgs where the problem with freeware wasn’t the lack of cost, but the lack of support/indemnity/assurance and the lack of a contract to establish a legal framework for the dependency.
  - mistrial9 4y ago
    ok- so if I understand those terms, roughly(?): support --> contact system for humans to reach other humans with bugs or questions indemnity --> a legal statement by the vendor that the client is not responsible for long term liability for patents or legal challenges assurance --> a legal statement that the vendor will take responsibility if the product is not what it appears to be, or is missing parts that are required to fit a purpose establish a legal framework --> define the copyrights and governing law for rights, responsibilities and disputes between the vendor, their suppliers, the customer and their agents
    - jl6 4y ago
      Spot on. The kind of features that accountable execs care a lot about. The engineer’s conception of companies like IBM and SAP and Oracle is that they sell terrible clunky software, but a substantial part of the value comes in the CYA that the above brings. The users are rarely the real customer.

e40 4y ago

I think the replies to you missed the main point: standing on the shoulders of giants. RH has a LOT of resources and being a fork of it means you get all that person power for free.