Not long ago, Red Hat announced changes to the way RHEL source code is released .
On this matter, OSCHINA invited Zhang Jiaju , chief architect of Red Hat Greater China , Sir Wei , translator of the Chinese version of "Cathedral and Bazaar" , and Tan Zhongyi , a veteran engineer with more than 20 years of open source experience, to discuss from their respective positions.
After listening to a live broadcast, I have to admit that I sprayed Red Hat too loudly before. Things don't seem to be what I understand-Red Hat is going backwards in the direction of open source, but is more radical.
According to the live broadcast, some viewpoints were recorded, as follows:
Just changed the location of the RHEL source code distribution
RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux), an enterprise-level Linux system launched by Red Hat, is completely open source. In the past, its source code was mainly placed in three places: CentOS stream, Red Hat Customer Portal, git.centos.org. It's just that now, the source code is no longer on git.centos.org, and the other two addresses are still valid.
Since it's just a change in location, why should it be "overwhelming"?
CentOS Linux and CentOS Stream are two variants under the CentOS project. At present, the CentOS project still exists and develops healthily. About three or four years ago, Red Hat shifted its focus from CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream.
With the transfer of Red Hat's energy, Linux-related work is also placed on CentOS Stream, so in CentOS Stream, you can get the latest source code of RHEL. There is no need to put the source code in git.centos.org.
Does Red Hat change RHEL in violation of GPLv2?
RHEL adopts GPLv2, and changing the location of the source code release this time does not violate GPLv2. As long as the distributed party gets the RHEL binary code, they can obtain the source code free of charge, without barriers, and without any constraints, and can redistribute it. And it's still easy to get the source code.
Download the RHEL source code as free users
Now there are two official ways to download the source code: CentOS stream, Red Hat Customer Portal.
CentOS stream needless to say. Red Hat Customer Portal is actually a subscription account, both paid and unpaid. For ordinary users, even non-paying users can get the source code.
However, users who rely on the automatic update of the original address need to modify the script for automatic download and update, and there will be no other costs.
What's up with CentOS Stream and RHEL?
CentOS Stream is the main line of RHEL development and operation and maintenance. CentOS Stream and RHEL are moving forward in sync. Every commit of CentOS Stream will eventually enter into RHEL, the CentOS Stream you see is RHEL, there is basically no difference between the two.
If there is any difference, CentOS Stream is updated from time to time (updated every day), and RHEL is updated only when it reaches the release node (updated about every six months). Any good things in RHEL are put into Stream first.
Many people believe that CentOS Stream is upstream of RHEL and becomes unstable. But in fact, it's not. Any commit of CentOS Stream must go through a complete test, and it will be put on the main line of Stream after running without problems, so Stream will have new patches every day.
To sum it up in one sentence, RHEL is a milestone release, and CentOS Stream is a continuous release.
Someone asked, what's the point of updating so timely? For example, for hardware manufacturers, they can get the latest version for compatibility testing a few months in advance. Moreover, since each version is guaranteed to be compatible, there is no such thing as updating the previous test and then doing nothing.
The shift of focus to CentOS Stream is actually a more active release strategy
CentOS Stream is continuously released and updated in real time. Users can see the details of RHEL development and evolution (in fact, the evolution details of CentOS Stream). This is also what we often say "teaching a man to fish" instead of "teaching a man to fish". It not only gives the result, but also the process.
Compared with RHEL, CentOS Stream adopts a more active release strategy, and users can get the latest version earlier. So why is Red Hat taking a more aggressive approach? From the perspective of business logic, a new function of a product is often kept secret in the early stage to avoid being copied by competitors. Otherwise, if it was made public early, who else would the product be sold to?
This is also the place where Red Hat is admirable.
Of course, many people choose to open source part and close source part to obtain customers and commercial benefits in the name of open source. But Red Hat's value is that the core part should be open source, and it will be more valuable only if it is open sourced to the community. At the same time, 100% open source is also a process of gaining user trust.
How to obtain commercial benefits is related to Red Hat's business model, such as earning income through on-site services, training, and service guarantees.
So what did Red Hat do wrong?
Having said that, since the change of the RHEL source code distribution method does not have much impact on users. So what are you spraying about Red Hat?
First of all, Red Hat's gesture is uncomfortable. Everyone was used to this path, but suddenly it disappeared, making people think that Red Hat has changed from "open" to "closed". It's a simple matter, but if you explain it carefully and directly, everyone will understand it soon. It can only be said that public relations and PR are really not done well.
In addition, the name Stream makes people think that the CentOS Stream version is unstable, or understood as a beta test version. In fact, it is a "stable version", a product that has reached the delivery level. Many people think that Red Hat hides the good stuff - RHEL, so that no one can see it. In fact, it is really wronged.
If there is any misunderstanding, you can scan the code and watch the live playback.
