I do not expect an RHEL/CentOS cancellation in my
lifetime.  I expect IBM will keep them thriving
and available for a very long time. 

However, big companies can do stupid things, and
cancelling RHEL, or ending "free" CentOS, is
something a clueless IBM CEO might attempt someday.

I am designing systems that others will maintain and
upgrade for decades.  A reluctant switchover to, say,
Debian is easier to manage now than later.  I hope
that will NEVER be necessary.  Debian could be
mismanaged as well; this happened with X and Gnome.

I rely on Scientific Linux and variants because large
organizations like Fermilabs and CERN and LIGO do. 
I hope these organizations have contingency plans.

I assume that if IBM behaves badly in the future, our
international community will grumble, plead, and then
fork, keeping systems like RPM and yum functional for
approximately forever.

Is this a prudent assumption?  

Keith

-- 
Keith Lofstrom          [log in to unmask]