[Sussex] Access to RHEL updates without subscription

[Paul Tansom]

Since this LUG list seems to be more Red Hat friendly that others I'm on
it seems to be the most productive to ask this question on :)

Is it possible to access RHEL WS 3 updates without a subscription. Don't
get me wrong here, I'm not looking to circumvent licensing and access to
the update resources that require payment, but I am beginning to see a
major draw back with their model compared to Windows (I can almost hear
the gasps at this point!). I need to access updates that were available
when the subscription was valid, but weren't downloaded or installed.

My specific problem is that I am working with an installation of RHEL WS
3 that has had a newer kernel downloaded through the proper channels.
Unfortunately between that point and me working on the machine the
subscription appears to have run out (I guess it was an included with
the boxed version 1 or 2 months worth). The problem is that in order to
get the network card working with it I need to compile the driver
(NVidia NIC on board). To do this I need to download the RHEL kernel
source, but I can't do this without a subscription!

This appears to indicate that without a subscription to the RH network a
copy of RH is worthless since you can't keep it secure, or more
specifically in this case, change hardware.  In effect, make th cost of
having a RH desktop compared to a Windows one significantly more
expensive in pure software costs, than Windows. This based on a full
retail version of Windows XP Pro costing a bit in excess of £200 and
RHEL costing slighty under £200 with £100 per year subscription to the
RHN. Since Windows updates are freely available this puts Window at £200
over 5 years (if you don't upgrade) and RHEL £600 (assuming one years
updates included, but since I'm sure this install is less than a year
old I may be being generous here).

Anyway, putting down RH wasn't the aim here (it just sort of happens
unfortunately). What I need to do is keep this machine running, and
without the updates, just access to the software that was available when
the subscription was still valid.

-- 
Paul Tansom | Aptanet Ltd. | http://www.aptanet.com/