On 06/30/2014 07:51 AM, Jarek Polok wrote:
> Hello all.
>
>
> On 06/27/2014 09:44 PM, Konstantin Olchanski wrote:
>> On Fri, Jun 27, 2014 at 08:17:19PM +0100, Mark Rousell wrote:
>>> However, based upon the balance of probabilities, it looks likely that
>>> SL7 will not be based directly on RHEL7 but on CentOS.
>>> If so, ... why continued with SL at all.
>>>
>> The 800lbs gorilla in the room is CERN (and other large physics labs),
>> who require a linux (some linux) to run the large compute farms
>> for analysis of LHC data.
> Since I'm involved in Linux @ CERN, let me answer your questions:
>
>> For historical reasons, this linux has been Red Hat based
>> (and we know it under the names "SL" and "SLC").
>>
>> Will it remain Red Hat based?
> Yes. (as already mentioned by others in this thread:
>       http://cern.ch/linux/nextversion.shtml)
>
>> Will the next cern linux be ubuntu/debian based?
> No.
>
>> Will Red Hat relax their rules to keep CERN (and the HEP community)?
> Not sure which rules are we talking about. (but I'm not aware of
> any special rules for CERN as a Red Hat customer)
>
>> As an added kink, with the major changes from RHEL6 to RHEL7,
>> the cost of going from SLC6 to RHEL based SLC7 becomes comparable
>> to going from SLC6 to a ubuntu/debian based SLC?
> Absolutely not. Starting migration from SLC6 to CentOS 7 requires minor
> tweaks to some of our in-house configuration / system mgmt. tools.
> Changing to a different platform would be a whole new story ...
>
> [ I'm not talking about experiments software stacks here,
>    some of these may be validated on other platforms, some not ..
>    Same applies to 3rd party commercial products ]
>
>> Whatever the case, there will continue to exist a linux of production quality
>> and of free or affordable cost.
>>
> Best Regards
>
> Jarek
>
 From a query I posted on this matter to the SL list:

2.  Evidently, Singh and other "core" CentOS team members actually are 
Red Hat employees,
just as the core SL team have been Fermilab or CERN employees 
(presumably in some cases
actually paid by the research collaborations funded by various 
government agencies through
various universities -- e.g., in the USA, NSF or DOE with each PI 
typically holding a
tenure-stream faculty position at a university).  Will the core SL team 
or the core CERN linux
team likewise become Red Hat employees?

End question.

Are Jerek Polok et al. now Red Hat employees, or still CERN "employees"?

Additional questions:

A.  Will the SL/SLC source tree for RPM builds be a separate copy from 
the CentOS git, downloaded therefrom?

A.1  Will the SL/SLC source tree be compared to the original SRPMs that 
CERN seems to have under license from Red Hat to verify
that the CentOS git source is in fact "unadulterated" RHEL 7 source, 
other than for obvious Red Hat logos and the like?

B.  Jarek states above:  Whatever the case, there will continue to exist 
a linux of production quality and of free or affordable cost.  What is 
"affordable cost" and to what is this "cost" to be paid?  Red Hat?  
CERN?  Fermilab (technically, the consortium responsible for operating
Fermilab as USA federally funded research facility) for USA-based 
university sites using SL 7?

Yasha Karant