From: Simon Perreault nomis80@lqt.ca

Isn't it acceptable for Red Hat to sell SLAs on a per-computer basis? I really don't get where you're going.

The main problem people have in understanding RHEL is that they don't understand it is a subscription with guarantees and, optionally, service level agreements (SLAs).

It's _not_ a product at all. Red Hat has been wanting to get away from a "product" every since they came out with Red Hat Linux 6.2 "E" Service Level Agreements.

E.g., you _never_ pay for an "upgrade," if you have an active entitlement, you are entitled to whatever product, current or past, that is still actively supported.

You could even subscribe while RHEL 4 is current today and install RHEL 2.1 and be supported until it is retired (in another year or so). At the same time, you will get RHEL 5 if you have entitlements when it comes out.

-- Bryan J. Smith mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org