Why isn't Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop free?
Solution 1
The reason that a Linux distribution is "free" is that many of the pieces of software it includes are covered by the GNU General Public License (GPL for short).
There are two different types of "free":
- freedom to see and modify the source code ("libre")
- free of charge ("gratis")
The GPL is about the first "freedom", not the second.
Provided Red Hat release the source code, then they are probably complying with the license.
Further reading:
References:
- GNU General Public License
- A Quick Guide to the GPLv3
- Does the GPL allow me to sell copies of the program for money?
- Red Hat source RPMS
Solution 2
A lot of what RedHat charges for is actually the support and services around the OS itself. They have their own specific config and build, but any Linux provider has that.
The real reason RedHat can charge is that their support services are appropriate at enterprise level. Their market space includes corporates and large organisations whose need for maintenance and support is significant. Most large organisations couldn't survive on in house IT in a cost effective manner.
Solution 3
To be a bit more specific, Red Hat does freely provide the source RPMs used to build the binary version of their distribution (the base ISO, updates, etc). You can grab all the SRPMs and build them, and you will essentially have RHEL. There are a number of projects that do just this (with some rebranding), notable CentOS, Scientific Linux, White Box, etc.
As Mikel notes, Red Hat is "libre", since it releases the SRPMs. It is not "gratis", as it charges for doing the work in building from the SRPMs, and providing enterprise-grade support (the latter is obviously more important for their bottom line).
Take a look at this Ars article on Red Hat's business model, and how it changed from the late 1990s/early 2000s to what it is today:
Solution 4
If you want a RedHat without licence costs use Fedora, Scientific Linux or CentOS. Fedora is from RedHat, whereas Scientific and CentOS are RedHat clones.
CentOS is closer to RedHat, its main aim is binary compatibility.
OpenSource does not forbid that you pay for (patch) distribution support.
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MSajjadi
Updated on September 18, 2022Comments
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MSajjadi almost 2 years
Why isn't
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktopfree?Isn't it a
LinuxOS? If it is, so why is not free? -
user66001 over 10 yearsJust wondering - Isn't it supposed to be "Red Hat", not "RedHat", or "Redhat"? Or is there some historical reason for the different versions? Also, could I ask for a more expansive explanation of why in house IT couldn't support a large Red Hat client base? Thanks!