[OmniOS-discuss] The Future of OmniOS

[Nikola M]

On 04/21/17 09:19 PM, Paul B. Henson wrote:
> As both a home hobbyist user of OmniOS and a paid support user of OmniOS at
> my day job, I'd first like to thank you guys for putting together a great
> operating system that has served me well over the years and I hope will
> continue to do so.
>
> However, I would like to clarify your stance when you say you are
> "suspending active development" and that r151022 will be the "final
> release". Per your historical release cycle:
>
> https://omnios.omniti.com/wiki.php/ReleaseCycle
>
> r151022 was to be an LTS release with security/bug fix support through H1
> 2020. While there will be no further releases of OmniOS from OmniTI, will
> you continue to back port fixes and fix issues in r151022 through that
> timeline, or will it be released as is and then be up to the as yet
> undeveloped community to do so? 

I suppose OmniOS community can pay 2 guys with ease to maintain it and
surrounding expenses.
When you look at it, it is more then cost effective to have 2 guys stay
on the payroll,
not to mention they are already here and Community gets ability to sell
support, so that expense seems not so big even more.

I suspect knowledgeable and able people are in high demand and more
quickly they are re-hired the better for everyone using it. (and won't
be hired by some non-illumos related company)
They won't pay people doing OmniOS in OmniTI, I bet there is many others
that will pay those 2 guys.

Plus side is that other companies can provide and sell OmniOS support
contracts and even more positive wider community influx seems more then
welcome, as I read it.
I also read that security and other updates after OmniOS release got to
be financially organized in OmniOS support group and pay maintaining
people that needs hiring.  (so you also can continue having your support
contract)

> We currently have critical production
> systems deployed, systems whose deployment was only approved by management
> due to the availability of commercial support (the wisdom of such a
> perspective we will not discuss), and this sudden development is potentially
> going to leave us in quite a pickle. While I certainly can't dictate to you
> how to run your business, it would have been much easier on your customers
> had you made this announcement with the release of r151022, and coincided
> the end of your support offering with the end of life of this last release.
> Which also ideally would have provided time for an omnios community to have
> developed and started producing their own releases before the last
> officially supported omniti version reached sunset.

So aether multiple companies with interest in OmniOS can step up and
start accepting contracts for maintain OmniOS for their customers and
quickly acquire and hire talents already available,
or create a new company/support group that can accept support contracts
then.

Additional to that solution would be to also to provide additional
developer time from the existing staff in companies using OmniOS, so
that code is contributed and releases are done by a constant contribution.
So companies grow out of "only  a customer" role and accept an active
role -it becomes product of your company too, if having at least one guy
also developing/partially maintain it on the payroll.

Second is more like how Openindiana functions and how illumos functions.
Company/companies and community members providing infrastructure and
build servers, and community including companies employees providing the
code and support, build and maintain.