Oracle, SUSE and CIQ launch the Open Enterprise Linux Association amid Red Hat controversy (UPDATED)
The fallout from Red Hat’s recent decision to make it harder to access the source code of its flagship Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) distribution continues. A number of Linux distributions, including Alma Linux, Rocky Linux and Oracle Linux, based their distributions on RHEL. When Red Hat cut off the standard ways they used to get the source code for their distributions, SUSE quickly jumped into the breach with a RHEL fork.
Today, Oracle, SUSE and CIQ (the commercial entity behind Rocky Linux) are launching a more formal pact in the form of the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA), which describes itself as a “community repository for enterprise Linux sources.” In the context of the Red Hat saga, OpenELA’s tagline says a lot: “No subscriptions. No passwords. No barriers. Freeloaders welcome.”
Linuxiac:
-
Rocky, Oracle, and SUSE Join Forces against Red Hat in OpenELA
CIQ, Oracle, and SUSE announced the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA) formation to support RHEL-based distributions.
Red Hat’s decision to limit access to its source code is one of the leading events that marked the open-source world this year with a negative sign. It truly shocked the community, causing a storm of disapproving reactions.
UPDATE
In LWN :
-
The Open Enterprise Linux Association [LWN.net]
The Open Enterprise Linux Association has announced its existence. It is a collaboration between CIQ (Rocky Linux), Oracle, and SUSE to provide an RHEL-compatible distribution.
iTWire:
-
RHEL source: SUSE, Oracle, CIQ join to provide compatible code
Red Hat, which was bought by IBM in 2019, said in its June announcement that RHEL source code would be available only to paying customers.
In a statement on Thursday, SUSE chief technology and product officer Dr Thomas Di Giacomo said his company had formed the Open Enterprise Linux Association along with Oracle and CIQ, the last-named being the company that is behind Rocky Linux, an RHEL clone.
The statement said OpenELA would encourage development of distributions compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux by providing open and free Enterprise Linux source code.
sdxcentral:
-
Open Enterprise Linux Association takes aim at Red Hat Enterprise Linux
A new group has formed this week known as the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA) and it’s taking direct aim at IBM‘s Red Hat business unit.
OpenELA was formed by a group of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) software clone vendors including CIQ, Oracle and SUSE. The clones are not happy and they’re now joining forces to do something about their dissatisfaction.
For the last several months, there has been significant disruption in the Linux open source software world, with enterprise Linux vendor Red Hat changing some of its terms, making it somewhat more difficult for others to simply clone and replicate RHEL. With the new OpenELA organization, the goal is for the clone vendors to come together in common cause to help each other in various ways to build RHEL clones.
InfoWorld:
-
Suse, Oracle, CIQ join forces to fuel RHEL-compatible Linux distros
Responding to Red Hat’s recent changes to Linux source availability, Suse, Oracle, and CIQ have partnered to form a trade association to encourage the development of Linux distributions compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
The companies on August 10 announced their intent to form the Open Enterprise Linux Association, or OpenELA. CIQ, Oracle, and Suse are collaborating to deliver source code, tools, and systems through the organization. “With OpenELA, CIQ, Oracle, and Suse join forces with the open source community to ensure a stable and resilient future for both upstream and downstream communities to leverage Enterprise Linux,” said CIQ CEO Gregory Kurtzer in a prepared statement.
ZDNet:
-
Oracle, SUSE, and CIQ go after Red Hat with the Open Enterprise Linux Association
Three of Red Hat's rivals are taking on Red Hat Enterprise Linux with their new Open Enterprise Linux source code repository. Here's why this is a big deal.
One later report:
-
Oracle, SUSE and CIQ launch Open Enterprise Linux Association to target Red Hat
SUSE SA, Oracle Corp. and Ctrl IQ Inc. announced Thursday the formation of a new industry alliance forming the Open Enterprise Linux Association, OpenELA, a new organization that aims to encourage the development of distributions compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
IDG:
-
Red Hat rivals form Open Enterprise Linux Association
Three of Red Hat’s chief enterprise Linux competitors are banding together to create an alternative to Red Hat-based software, after the company made changes to its terms of use earlier this summer, making it more difficult to access its source code.
Oracle, SUSE, and CIQ, in a joint statement issued Thursday, said that the new Open Enterprise Linux Association will “encourage the development” of Linux distributions compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux by providing free access to source code.
The Register:
-
Oracle, SUSE and others caught up in RHEL drama hit back with OpenELA
A non-profit called the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA) has been formed by Oracle, SUSE, CIQ, and other organizations that make Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and CentOS rebuilds.
The OpenELA homepage opens with some strong, even confrontational words: "No subscriptions. No passwords. No barriers. Freeloaders welcome." That's a reference to the drama around RHEL and the recently erected paywall around its source code.
Linux Magazine:
-
CIQ, Oracle, and SUSE Form Alliance to Thwart Near-Closing of the RHEL Source
CIQ, Oracle, and SUSE have come together to create the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA). Because those organizations have business models that depend upon maintaining compatibility with RHEL, they created OpenELA to share resources and work communally on a solution that will provide downstream compatibility.
This new organization describes itself as a "community repository for enterprise Linux sources." What's at the heart of the Open Enterprise Linux Association is that the source will be available with no subscriptions, passwords, or barriers. In fact, the group goes so far as to say, "Freeloaders welcome."
TechRepublic:
-
Oracle, SUSE and CIQ Form the Open Enterprise Linux Association
The creation of the Open Enterprise Linux Association on Aug. 10 shows Oracle, SUSE and CIQ (maker of RockyLinux, which is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux) taking a stance to promote open source and their competing products against Red Hat’s new policy for Linux distributions. The new trade organization was created after Red Hat made the source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription-only. OpenELA’s goal is to “encourage the development of distributions compatible with RHEL by providing open and free Enterprise Linux source code.”
Christine Hall:
-
The AlmaLinux Dilemma: When Upstream Suddenly Disappears
AlmaLinux had been on something of a three-year roll, when suddenly a move by Red Hat upset the apple cart.
I wondered what it felt like to have an open-source project that was young but essential, getting lots of uptake from both home users, but especially from the enterprise, and to suddenly have the upstream open-source project that was your source rip the rug out from underneath you by denying you access to your source.
Some later coverage/analysis:
-
Explained: Amid Red Hat controversy, rivals join hands to offer open and free enterprise Linux source code
Last week, companies like SUSE, Oracle, and CIQ formed a non-profit called the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA). The founding companies are Linux entities that make Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). This collaboration seeks to develop distributions that are compatible with RHEL by offering open and free enterprise Linux source code.
New shows:
-
HPC News Bytes 20230814: Linux Wars, China and Chips, Intel AVX, Gordon Bell Prize Finalists
Linux Wars continue: Oracle, SUSE, and CIQ form Open Enterprise Linux Association (watch for upcoming episodes on @HPCpodcast on this)
Forbes:
-
The Future Of Open-Source Enterprise Linux And Community Collaboration
In the rapidly evolving world of technology, a seismic shift is taking place as the very ethos of the open-source market finds itself in flux. The cherished ideals of open community standards, collaboration, and crowdsourced innovation are now being challenged by powerful enterprises, many of them publicly-traded corporations, grappling with the balance between shareholder fiduciary responsibilities and community support.
Red Hat, one of the longtime leaders in the open-source space, made some key announcements, which I got the chance to discuss with Gunnar Hellekson, the GM of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux business recently, that the company is changing how it approaches the open-source community as it relates to its main source of revenue, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). RHEL is an open-source operating system that thousands of organizations, institutions, and government departments use globally.