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CloudLinux free open source RHEL 8 based
As we already maintain CloudLinux OS, we plan to release a free, open-sourced, community-driven, 1:1 binary compatible fork of RHEL® 8 (and future releases) in the Q1 of 2021. We will create a separate, totally free OS that is fully binary compatible with RHEL® 8 (and future versions)
https://blog.cloudlinux.com/announcing-open-sourced-community-driven-rhel-fork-by-cloudlinux
Comments
Let's hope that this works out, RedHat changed the way it released patches some time ago to fend off Oracle Linux (back then Oracle Enterprise Linux). A lot of other players in the field including cPanel will be looking into this.
Cloudlinux is an Ukrainian company (based in the US), so no russian FSB(KGB)'s malware
What was the change RedHat made?
Was going to ask the same thing. They must must have already circumvented whatever changes RedHat made since they also provide KernelCare.. right?
CloudLinux OS is already RHEL based and they haven't any issue with updates & patches.
https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/10/rocky_linux/
That goes back before the Centos-6 release delays debacle. Instead of the SRPMs containing the upstream source tarball then a bunch of RH patches, they integrated everything together to make it more difficult (for Oracle) to track what changes were made, and why. Mainly affected the kernel.
http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Controversy-surrounds-Red-Hat-s-obfuscated-source-code-release-1200554.html
A bigger issue is Red Hat also kept things about their build method secret... Which base OS do you need to start with? Which libraries need to be upgraded to newer versions? Which compile flags? What's the package build order? Not easy to boot-strap the OS build in a way that maintains full binary compatibility when you don't know all these details.
Didn't Centos have to reverse engineer the build process for 8? I remember when they put out a schedule, there was some complaints about a lack of build system and needed test cycles to come up with the build system.
yes - @rcxb already explained it very well, RedHat did not release the patches in a single, easily separable/digestible form, this was probably targeted at Oracle Linux back then. As far as I remember that was also the time when CentOS was fully integrated into RedHat (from being a completely independent community), so that building compatible kernels was no longer an issue for CentOS.
And the build system/process was also not disclosed, making it somewhat more difficult to obtain a fully compatible "clone" - just look at the delay and all the time it took to bring out CentOS 8. My guess is that RedHat could try some further things to make life more difficult for competitors cloning "their" Linux, but I am pretty sure CloudLinux has the necessary developer resources and know-how already.
It seems RedHat is keeping up with the letter of OpenSource, but the spirit changed somewhat :-) Otherwise I can not understand this switch, Fedora is already there for this.
"Do No Evil" -> "Be good".
Francisco
"why be king when you can be god"
haha, maybe a bit of "Do as I say, don't do as I do", too :-)
"Reports suggest that Red Hat's own engineers are also upset by the move. Others outside the company are more blunt; Attems, for example, said "Red Hat should really step back and not make such stupid management moves"."
IBM: "Hold my beer."
Perhaps the question should be asked... what's the infatuation with carrying on RedHet/RHEL/CentOS and yum based distributions?
I mean... I get and understand that you use what is popular. That's why we always used CentOS on our servers (and also because that's all cPanel supported... and way back before June 2019, everyone was using cPanel).
But if RedHat and IBM want to mess around with how their distributions are maintained... why not take the time to re-source off of a different distribution, like Debian/Ubuntu?
I run Ubuntu on my personal computers - I used to run Debian, but Ubuntu came to be the more popular personal computer Linux distribution, so I switched to it. I don't have any stability issues with Ubuntu. Didn't really have any stability issues with Debian. Debian was always just a bit raw - as in... "here's the base packages, do with them what you want" and Ubuntu takes those base packages and rounds them out into a better usable product.
If Redhat/IBM is going to crap on everybody all the time. Why not take the opportunity to get out from under Redhat/IBM and re-base to Debian or some other distribution?
Is RHEL/CentOS really that much more "stable" than Debian?
Redhat has publicly stated it will not block 3rd partys from the source files to rebuild their RHEL packages. But whether you believe them given the CentOS 8 announcement, is another thing
A big factor is knowledge and level and timeliness of development and support. For me, it is at least. I am way more familiar with CentOS RPM/YUM than other distros. With 20 years using RHEL/CentOS, I can fix and solve any CentOS issue myself and in a more timely manner than I could on other distros. Yes it's just a matter of time and familiarity through use/experience, but that takes time. Time away from getting on with business right now. So if you're developing a product for end users which factor in actually providing support in a timely manner and you knowing your stuff, you'd choose a platform you're familiar with. Not doing so would be bad for your end users
It's also about looking after your existing customers/users. If they're RPM/YUM based, then you'd want to not alienate your existing customers /users - unless you want to do a CentOS announcement, and screw over your existing customers/users and say tough luck we're moving to Debian/Ubuntu and if you don't like it move on
It's like how many folks here would choose using PostgreSQL over MySQL as a database choice? Most folks would choose MySQL due to familiarity with it and know what to do when something goes wrong
It's why Centmin Mod uses CentOS as I know it in and out and how to squeeze the most performance out of it and know how to fix it in a timely manner when I break stuff
If/when I do a Centmin Mod Ubuntu/Debian version it probably will be a private for my eyes only version for quite some time as I wouldn't have the spare time to provide support for it initially - not in a timely manner anyway. I am familiar with Ubuntu/Debian but not as well as CentOS and only use Ubuntu right now for Docker images and LXD containers testing.
I definitely understand the familiarity aspect. And that's what I mean about using whatever everybody else is using. I mean, you might love CAINE Linux... but if you're going to run a business on something, you probably want something that's got a bit more of a contributing community.
Like I said, I use Ubuntu on my own computers at home and at work. But I use CentOS on our servers. Because when I have an issue on a server it's easier to get community support for something that everybody else is using. You're going to be waiting a while to get someone that runs CAINE Linux to come across with help for your issue.
So from that perspective, this is why RHEL/CentOS is used - everyone else uses it. But is it so much more stable than Debian/Ubuntu or something Debian based? Or is it just because it's so popular, that leads to people using it... which makes it more popular.... which leads to more people using it.
Wouldn't now be a great time to break that chain? And look into replacing the RHEL/CentOS model with something Debian based? Or some other packaging system (I'm actually only aware of deb and rpm, but I'm sure there are others).
In regards to Centmin, I would think it would be a good idea to at the very least start thinking about, writing down notes, but maybe not necessarily starting development on a re-base of this on some other distribution model - like Debian. Doesn't mean you'd have to switch everything, but if the CentOS/RHEL/CloudLinux/RL adaptations sour - then you're not left completely in the dark.
Yeah lots to think about, then again there is time till 2024 for it too
hmmm, there are also some web hosts that use Centmin Mod internally and externally with their own customisations added. So this is going to be an interesting few years
and do you think the existing OS comes without CIA/NSA's malware?