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by smilesnd 3140 days ago
Redhat is a commercial linux because they are competing with other os/distro in this market. If I pay Joe $5 a month to keep my ubuntu up to date it doesn't make ubuntu a commercial linux even though I am paying for a linux service. These companies building supercomputers are competing in producing supercomputers. Not in providing a linux disto and providing a service for said linux. I very much doubt I could get access to their linux disto and linux service without first purchasing a supercomputer from them.
1 comments

This is pretty much exactly how every HPC OS has been sold since the Cray X-MP. It's like if you buy Isilon - it is a software, hardware and support you buy. No one argues that isn't commercial.