[huskerlug] Re: Advice -- RedHat version support(No free lunch!)

> I am also considering Gentoo because of its software package system.
> However, I am concerned about compiling lots of updates on a production
> system (would be ok if there were development/backup systems though).

I would recommend holding off on Gentoo for a production system yet.  Don't 
get me wrong, I love it for my home PC and laptop, but I wouldn't consider it 
for a production system.  At one time they talked about making a "stable" 
branch of Gentoo just for servers that doesn't live on the bleeding edge.  
This branch would only have necessary security & bug fixes applied to it 
until upgrade time.  I haven't followed the lists for awhile, so I don't know 
what ever happened to this idea.

> specific "version" of the operating system. I feel a bit betrayed by
> RedHat right now and I don't see how anyone in business would want to
> install their operating system right now when the expected lifetime is
> going to be over in a few months. I assume they are expecting to roll

Red Hat is trying to push their "enterprise" version.  If you want a decent 
life cycle, you have to buy Red Hat AS, ES, or WS.  The support life cycle 
for these is 5+ years.  I understand their reasons for doing it since they 
are trying to become a successful commercial Linux distributor (successful 
meaning they make a profit).  They simply aren't making money on the 
"consumer" grade Red Hat, so they are dropping the support for it.  

I think it is good for the community to have at least one successful 
commercial distributor (preferably more) so that Linux can be sold to PHBs 
easier.

> out a new version soon...does anyone know when that will be happening?
> I don't mean to be starting a religious war here...does anyone know if
> a new version of RedHat is expected soon?

Red Hat Linux "consumer" grade has been merged with the "fedora project".  The 
recent RH beta (svern?) will be the code base for the first release of 
fedora.  However, I can't answer your question about when it will be 
released.

As far as a distro for your server goes, I would recommend the following "free 
as in beer (as well as speech)" distros for servers:

Openwall 
Debian

Openwall is reliable, slow moving, and puts security first.  The project 
founder/lead is Solar Designer, a fairly well known security guru in the OS 
community.  It was also designed to be compatible with RH 6.x.  So, a lot of 
the directory setup is similar to it.  RH 6.x packages should be able to 
install cleanly on it if needed (however, I recommend using Owl packages 
first if available).  Owl may not fit your needs since the package selection 
is more limited (it takes time to do security properly).

If you're willing to purchase the "enterprise" editions of Red Hat or Suse, 
they make a good option too.  It all depends on your needs and what your 
management requires.  If they want a vendor to call and yell at when 
something breaks, the commercial "enterprise" distros are probably the best 
route. 

Just my .02.
-- 
Steve Bremer
RHCE,CCNA
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