Red Hat Gets Into The Clustering Biz

Bryan Mattern writes: "An adapted version of Red Hat 6.2 centered around Linux Virtual Server/cold failover is now available. The price is $1995, but includes a year of support for a node." This is also known as Red Hat High Availability Server 1.0.

Comments

I would NOT pay less than $2k

[Frymaster]

I work in a Sun shop... we all know that Sun is outrageously expensive.... so, here's my true story:

10:35pm cruching away on E3000. I hear a slight "pop" come from the SENA array. Watch in mild fascination/horror as the database drifts away from the front end like an un-hawsered boat from the pier.
10:36pm Panic. Check cables/power. Panic more.
10:38pm init 6 the whole thing. Call the end users (only 2... it's night shift). Act calm.
10:43pm system up. No data.
10:49pm call Sun (finding the card with the service number takes 5 min). Tell them my theory: "it's the gbic card". Sun's response: "we'll be the judge of that."
11:21pm Sun guy comes through the door. He's actually running...
11:58pm Sun guy stops working. Computer starts working. It's not the gbic cards, but he throws in a pair of new ones "just 'coz".
1:00pm I come in to work the next day because my ass is not fired.

The situation as it would be with that "free" rig
note, this is an untrue story...

10:35pm slight pop. no data. some screaming.
10:36pm assume it's the scsi card. remove casing. use compressed air to clear smoke away..
10:38pm scan room for compatible card to replace with. Find two ISA's used to prop up a short leg on a desk and Safeway bag full of SIMMs in the coat closet. screaming throughout.
10:41pm call Harold. He has lots of stuff. Mom answers and takes message. Find out later she relays the words "networth is down: need scooby cart".
10:51pm Debate "calling the boss man".
10:57pm call the boss man. "why don't you use the ones under the desk leg?" inform him their ISA. screaming from both parties throughout.
11:16pm have abandoned post. At "java bytes" internet cafe on 12th St. Offer pimply-faced teen large sum of cash for card from beaten Gateway in corner.
11:32 $200 poorer. case open. card in.
11:33pm it's the bus.
11:36pm surfing dice.com.

The bottom line is, if you think you're smart enough that you don't need that expensive contract you're too dumb to admin a network.

flame at will.

psst: THIS IS NOT FOR US.

[Wakko Warner]

A lot of us already know Linux backwards and forwards and could set up a high-availability clustering solution in our sleep. That's great.

This product is for people that can't, don't want to, or would rather spend their time doing business than recompiling their kernels.

$2000 for a support contract is nothing to a business betting the farm on a high-availability server. This product -- and, more importantly, this service RedHat is offering -- is for them.

Stop complaining about the price. As far as support contracts go, I can tell you this is pretty damned cheap.

- A.P.
--

"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad

Re:GPL and ability to download

[rgmoore]

Actually, they are under no GPL obligation to make their software available on the net at all. The GPL only says that they have to make the source available anyone who gets the binaries, and that anyone who gets the source and binaries is free to redistribute them. IOW, you're free to buy the full price distribution and make all of the GPLed software available for free download, but you have no right to demand they make it available for free download.

FWIW, this is exactly what the Free Software Foundation advocates. To quote (from Selling Free Software on the FSF web site.):

Actually we encourage people who redistribute free software to charge as much as they wish or can.

Free programs are sometimes distributed gratis, and sometimes for a substantial price. Often the same program is available in both ways from different places. The program is free regardless of the price, because users have freedom in using it.

Since free software is not a matter of price, a low price isn't more free, or closer to free. So if you are redistributing copies of free software, you might as well charge a substantial fee and make some money. Redistributing free software is a good and legitimate activity; if you do it, you might as well make a profit from it.

Distributing free software is an opportunity to raise funds for development. Don't waste it!

(Emphasis is theirs.) IOW, the people who wrote the GPL don't just accept the idea of selling GPLed software for what the market will bear, they actually advocate it. Of course the fact that anyone who can get a copy of GPL software is free to redistribute it inherently limits the price anyone can charge, but that's for the market to decide.

Good for Red Hat

[Anonymous Coward]

It's nice to see an open source company finally finding viable niches in which they can actually make money, justifying the hype. Although the whiney open-source `advocates' who don't understand the concept of value-added might complain about the sticker price, when you're looking at salaries in the 80K/yr. range for experts on the subject, paying 2K for a year of support ends up making a lot of sense.

Three cheers for open source companies with viable business models.

What's with the complaining?

[Trans]

So far every post I've read has been a complaint about a $2000 "free operating system". You're NOT paying for the OS, you ARE paying for a year of support.

Straight from the news item:

Support: A one year support package that includes standard hours installation and configuration assistance and 24x7 server-down support for two Linux Routers of a Piranha cluster, configuration of Piranha and Linux Virtual Server and any services required to run these applications, including httpd and ftpd, and configuration of Piranha and Linux Virtual Server for connectivity to one node behind the Linux Routers for either httpd or ftpd service.

For a business or organization, $2000 really isn't that much, especially when it gives management the right to point the finger at another company when something goes wrong...hence the importance of "Tech Support".

Please, if you don't like Linux, that's fine, but don't try to troll your way to infamy.