Open Source Doesn't Require Providing Builds

>>mroche+(OP)
Respectfully, I disagree with the OP.

I'm using a router distribution -- no names please -- where the firmware build process is so intricate that their documented way to build LTS .iso images is via a docker based system. I've had very little luck (until recently) in getting that to actually work.

They provide nightly .iso images, but charge an arm-and-a-leg for the LTS images.

I've tried to use their nightlies, but they were subject to considerable churn in the last few months. That resulted in broken firewalls/routers.

I will NOT trust my firewalls to that, sorry.

In their defense, they _do_ have a way for "community members" (i.e. folks unwilling to pay $1000s/year for a stable build) to gain access to the LTS images. However the bar they have set to gain access is so high that my filing a bug they graded as "high priority" and then tracking down and verifying the workaround for a release candidate didn't qualify me to access the images.

I agree there is a gray area, and that the core developers deserve to be paid. I am actually willing to pay them for their software, but not $1000s/year.

In my honest opinion, they have crossed a line.

(Edited: changed "fix" to "workaround" above.)

>>fghoro+I7
Why no names? I am curious to see the product and how they are positioning their business model. I haven't seen something like this before.

>>notfri+0e
Sounds exactly like VyOS, and GP said it is a fork of Vyatta, which fits the bill.

I've not used VyOS in recent years, but their pricing structure does seem designed to convert users to customers.

>>KAMSPi+Ih
Yep. Got it in one...

>>fghoro+0m
I've never used VyOS but I was wondering what the problem would be. This is what I did to build a .iso (I have no idea if it works or not, I don't have the hardware to test it on), courtesy of their manual https://docs.vyos.io/en/latest/contributing/build-vyos.html:

    $ git clone -b sagitta --single-branch https://github.com/vyos/vyos-build
    $ cd vyos-build
    $ docker run --rm -it --privileged -v $(pwd):/vyos -w /vyos vyos/vyos-build:sagitta bash
    [docker] $ sudo make clean
    [docker] $ sudo ./build-vyos-image iso --architecture amd64 --build-by "j.randomhacker@vyos.io"

This caused an error message, which I solved using the first result on Google:

    [docker] $ sudo mount -i -o remount,exec,dev /vyos
    [docker] $ sudo ./build-vyos-image iso --architecture amd64 --build-by "j.randomhacker@vyos.io"
    [docker] $ exit
    $ ls -l build/*.iso
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 502267904 jan 22 23:55 build/live-image-amd64.hybrid.iso
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 502267904 jan 23 00:04 build/vyos-1.4-rolling-202401222255-amd64.iso

I picked 1.4 because that seems to be the latest LTS branch. Now, I'm not sure why it apt updated twenty times during the process, but after waiting a few minutes, I was left with what seems like a perfectly fine .ISO.

Is this harder than downloading an .ISO from a website? Yes, of course. Do I expect everyone to be able to follow the manual? Probably not. But that's why there are ways to pay VyOS, this is a company doing open source after all.

If you can spare some server capacity and are willing to put in effort, you could set up a script to run the build process automatically and host the ISO files for everyone to download, as long as you remove all the trademarked branding of course.

zlacker