[Gllug] is this a big problem?

[Tethys]

Mamading Ceesay writes:

>>      That's an important point - it is getting more expensive to deploy
>> Linux and 
>>     In some ways it's defeating one of the major selling points that Linux
>> used to have.
>
>Only if people chose to install RHEL and SLES instead of say Debian or CentOS.

...and back in the real world, Linux is expensive to deploy. Debian or
CentOS simply aren't viable options in many companies. Once you reach
a certain size, software that comes with a support contract tends to be
mandatory. And please don't trot out the old "but you can get support for
Debian" line. It's just not true when you're talking about mission critical
systems. Of the 29 entities listed on the Debian web site as offering
support in the UK, the vast majority are individuals offering support
on a per incident basis. Only 1 that I could find appeared to offer a
standard support contract, the same as you'd get with Sun, Cisco, IBM...
or Red Hat or SuSE, and they looked like a one man band operation, too.

Yes, Debian and CentOS are fine choices for small businesses, particularly
those with skilled in house Linux admins. But don't pretend they're viable
alternatives to RHEL or SLES, because for the target market, they're not.

Tet
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