RHEL comes with very limited repos, so this might help: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/epel/
this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2024
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I manage a number of RHEL/Rocky and Ubuntu machines for work. EL is fine as a server distro but it doesn't make a great desktop distro. The packages are old and I've found it to be missing a number of packages I use on a desktop system. For a desktop, Fedora or Ubuntu is a better fit.
I think it depends on your use case. For my gaming desktop I use Fedora to get the latest packages. For professional scenarios I've been using Almalinux the past couple of years. It started life as a RHEL clone, but since RHEL changed their code distribution rules I see them more parallel in the stream rather than down. It's completely free, but there are options to purchase support and live kernel patching if required.
If you want to go the Suse route, Opensuse Leap will give you the closest experience to Suse enterprise. I believe Suse actually offers conversion tools to convert Leap to the full enterprise OS. I don't have personal experience with it, but have considered it in the past and this is the information I recall.
i suspect that the biggest reason to use an enterprise distribution is the support since it helps shield you from the consequences of interoperability that naturally come out of the whole linux ecosystem of the right hand not knowing what the left had is doing.
More than a decade ago I bought SUSE enterprise for a couple of years just to support the project. Never needed any assistance so I'm not sure about a different experience. BTW The box was nice 🤣
Older software is the most noticeable thing. Enterprise does not mean it is better - just that it is supported for a long time and they do that by not changing much on them. They are more designed for servers rather than workstations and generally not a great experiences unless you are running hundreds or thousands of them in an enterprise situation.
Professional just means payed for. What you are paying for is support in managing the systems, not a great user experience.
For home desktops it is far nicer to be on newer software rather than things that came out 5 to 10 years ago.
Can I assume you're not actually running an enterprise distro?
I mean, me neither, yet, but:
- Both SUSE and Red Hat have had a minor release this year, with their software being less out of date than Debian
- I feel like enterprise distros seem to be very different in the areas where differences between distros actually matter: Package management (which can be fine-tuned a lot more with application streams, security updates, package modules, etc.) and complete, up-to-date documentation (which is the thing most people miss in Linux).
I was really looking for real world experience, not a re-hashing of unvalidated opinions that have been around for >10 years (when they might have actually been true).
It looks like you have your mind made up and are looking for affirmation, not discussion. Next time, say that instead of being an ass to people trying to help you.
I think I was pretty clear with what I was asking in this thread:
"Is anyone here using an enterprise Linux distro?"
You also asked
I'm considering switching to RHEL, to get a "professional" Linux, since it's free if you register an account, but is it worth it?
Is the experience very different from Fedora?
Yes, Debian.
Debian from top to bottom.
If you're looking for something like this, but not paid for, try Debian stable. Same idea but free. Ubuntu also have an LTS version and I'm sure others.
The "Enterprise" in the title just means "support", which is a check box for a lot of organisations. Not so much home users.
Try it out maybe? You're not buying a car... There's not much point going around and asking if you spend 20 mins trying it out and realise you don't want to use a 5 year old DE.
Basically expect the system will change only when you update to a new version, and that you'll need to use external PMs like flatpak or nix for all user packages if you plan on doing anything more advanced than browsing and office work.
Read their reply. This is someone who already made their mind up without even testing it.