On 12/07/17 20:44, ToddAndMargo wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> On a previous post, I was asked why I was always asking about releases.
> I responded that Red Hat would fix my bugs, but slate them for future
> editions.  Here is an example:
> 
> https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1356288#c14
> 
>         "It's currently planned for 7.5."
> 
> It was reported under 7.2.  They have fixed it, but won't
> release it until 7.5.
> 
> I do sincerely appreciate them fixing bugs, but the delays involved
> are something to behold.
> 
> When I asked them if there was some workaround till them,
> there response was:
> 
>         "The best way would be to contact your support
>         representative, who'll then guide you through the
>         possible options."
> 
> And I clearly stated I was coming from the community.
> 
> The "double edged sword" of EL Linux can be a real pain
> in the neck at times: stability by freezing packing
> versus aggravation for not fixing bugs in those
> frozen packages.  EL Linux defeats the purpose of
> Kaizen (continual improvement).
> 
> EL Linux is still a good package though, despite its
> aggravations.

Community spins of EL Linux may always lay somewhere behind the official
upstream distro (RHEL).  Remember that even though Red Hat have fixed
it, they have not had time to run these fixes through regression
testing.  And if regression tests are not existing, they strive to write
proper regression tests for it.  So this is part of why they don't rush
out a fix.

Secondly, if you are a RHEL subscriber and you a real issue, Red Hat
have a possibility to allocate a resource to help you work around that
issue - after all, you might be paying them (if you do not have a
self-support subscription)  to get their help.  And this is their way to
ensure that whatever workaround you deploy into a production environment
are not too ugly and that they will be willing to further support you if
issues from this workaround appears later on.

Thirdly, if Red Hat starts pushing out unsupported quick-fixes to anyone
ASAP, how would that encourage enterprise customers to sign-up for their
subscriptions?  And if there's a drop in subscribers, how would that
effect the development, QA and support team for their customers?  And
how would that again hit both their downstream and upstream communities?

If you have a production critical environment, I'd rather recommend you
to look at the various subscription alternatives and consider support
their efforts.  After all, these efforts are which results in such an
enterprise ready Linux distribution with a long-term stability plan.


-- 
kind regards,

David Sommerseth