Hi,
I would also like to voice my concerns about requiring x86_64-v3 for RHEL 10.
In the blog post https://developers.redhat.com/articles/2024/01/02/exploring-x86-64-v3-red-ha... Florian writes:
"... and adopting x86-64-v3 will exclude some systems from being able to run RHEL 10, just as the choice of x86-64-v2 for RHEL 9 excluded some systems."
I would like to point out a major difference between what was done on RHEL 9 and what is now planned for 10: the last CPU core designs that did not include support for x86_64-v2 were Intel Cedar Trail and AMD Bobcat. While it is hard to find reliable discontinuation dates, it looks to me like they were both discontinued in 2014. So when RHEL 9 was released in 2022, the affected systems were already 8 years or older. So they were already aging systems.
With the plans for RHEL 10 this is a completely different matter: as Florian writes in the blogpost, Intel still released new CPU variants without support for x86-64-v3 in 2023 so it is very likely that new CPUs without x86-64-v3 will be still sold by the time RHEL 10 will be released. This is of course in addition to the systems sold in the last years without x86-64-v3 and that won't be able to upgrade.
I don't think it is a good idea to raise the minimum requirements so much that even systems sold as new don't meet them.
Also the impacts of such a decision on the environment should be considered. When you believe for example the figures in https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsofts-draconian-windows-1... then the hardware requirements decided on by Microsoft for Windows 11 alone will lead to hundred thousands of tons of additional electronic waste. I think Linux vendors should set a better example in this regard.
It is these two points that lead me to believe that the raising the baseline to x86-64-v3 should not be implemented in RHEL 10. Instead further research&development should go into hwcaps and should then be reviewed by the time RHEL 11 will be branched.
Kind regards,
Gerd