by Delta » Sat Jan 06, 2024 9:30 pm
RHEL OS works exactly the same as CentOS, since RHEL is the upstream edition/branch of CentOS.
A common misconception of using the original RHEL OS is that it requires payment or license to work, so it does not has the freedom to tamper with. Users with such misunderstandings often choose to install a downstream branch, such as CentOS, AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux.
The answer is No.
Just like CentOS, Debian and Ubuntu, the original RHEL OS may work independently without a "service", whether people call it a "subscription", "license" or "payment", it is all about Red Hat's software update and support services. More specifically, you only need to "pay" when using "yum/dnf" to download software packages from Red Hat's servers (or require a "hand" from Red Hat).
You may wish to use their service to provide software repositories and security updates for your servers, but this is not compulsory. The operating system itself is just a GPL-compliant open source software. So why would a open source software requires a "service" to work? It doesn't make sense.
You may choose not to use Red Hat's software update services. This way you can install this open source operating system without any physical restrictions, just like the way you use CentOS. But there will not be a default server available to install packages using "yum/dnf". By using RHEL in a GPL-compliant manner, the only difference is that you may need to setup your own package repositories. However, the RHEL's official Binary ISO file provides major software packages. Doing a local filesystem repository will be very fine.
In practice, it doesn't need to be troublesome. For individual developers, Red Hat officially provides long term software service license free for up to 16 PCs. Red Hat is encouraging users to use RHEL the same way they used CentOS and obtain packages from the official repository. Just sign up at Red Hat and you are all good.
Therefore, there's no need to worry about upgrading from CentOS 8 to RHEL 9. Things are even getting better as you are now having the official Red Hat OS, not a modified branch version. It's free (non-cost official repository) and freedom (association to Red Hat is not a must, you can host your own).
In summary, we encourage users to upgrade their RHEL 8/CentOS 8 (or below) to official RHEL 9, since many of us are finding version 9 to be very stable and friendly to operate, especially when using TBS cards and drivers.