As far as I can tell, there isn't a [public] mailing list for general
discussion of the Enterprise line, so I'll post my comments here.
On 2003-03-12 at 14:25:00-0500 Brent Fox <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Think of it like this. The consumer OS moves quickly (a release
> every six months or so). This is where we will try out new ideas
> and roll in the latest stuff from the open source community. Our
> focus for this line is to drive things forward as fast as we can.
> We shortened the support time on this line so that we can focus on
> rapid improvement rather than long-term support.
>
> The Enterprise line moves more slowly (a release every 12-16
> months). Features that have proven themselves in the consumer line
> will be rolled into the Enterprise line. The focus for this line is
> stability, security, and supportability. We expect customers to pay
> us for this additional support.
My big concern here is that Red Hat's current strategy doesn't seem to
acknowledge the fact that servers sometimes have to be cutting edge,
too.
Here's an example. I want to hook MIMEDefang into our incoming
[sendmail-based] mail systems, so I need sendmail 8.12 in order to get
milter. I have two choices:
1. Deploy an Enterprise-based server. Upgrade sendmail from 8.11
(which is what ships with AS/ES) to 8.12. Upgrade every other
package which depends on sendmail (and vice-versa). Maintain
all of these packages (security errata, et. al.) myself.
2. Deploy a Consumer-based server, which has the recent versions
of the packages I need. Upgrade the server every 6-9 months.
The important cost factor is my time: when the time it takes to
upgrade assorted Enterprise packages to the versions I need exceeds
the time it takes me to rebuild a Consumer-based server, going with
the Enterprise-based server becomes a lose.
I don't think it's unreasonable to pay Red Hat for additional support.
(AS, with its "$1500 per server per year" price tag, wasn't really
economically feasible for our organization; ES is more in our
ballpark.) I don't think it's unreasonable for Red Hat to push its
hardware partners to the Enterprise line. Red Hat, after all, is a
business; they need to make money if they're going to stay in
business. (And for how much easier Red Hat Linux has made my life
over the past 5 years, I wish them nothing but success.)
But what I am leery about is that I don't want it to be the case that
6-12 months from now, our hardware vendors start treating me like a
leper because I buy their nice shiny Enterprise-certified hardware,
set aside some of the machines, and then install the Consumer OS on
them instead of AS or ES.
Red Hat wants to push most people (enterprises, SOHOs, etc.) to the
Enterprise line. But servers sometimes have to be cutting edge, and
the only cutting edge Red Hat line is the Consumer line. It would be
nice to see a nod from Red Hat that they are aware of this paradox,
and therefore will only gently push people towards the Enterprise
line, instead of dragging them kicking and screaming.
Regards,
James
P.S.: *Is* there an Enterprise-line mailing list? (I'd like to hear
others' impressions of what the water is like before I jump in
myself.)
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