Mirantis mandatory for PAW

[mabr]

Hello guys,

when installing PAW for Windows Server 2016 or 2019 IBM tells me I have to install and use Mirantis Container Runtime (https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/planning-an ... requisites).

But when I follow the guidelines to install Mirantis Container Runtime (given by Mirantis and recommended by IBM -> https://www.mirantis.com/blog/getting-s ... ws-server/), I found this line:
"Note: Obtaining the helper script is free, and you don’t need a license to install Mirantis Container Runtime. You’re welcome to experiment at no cost, but a license is required for production usage."

So do I really have to pay for a Mirantis license when installing PAW in production usage or is there a workaround for this issue? Maybe by using some other container runtimes? Has anybody some experience regarding this issue?

[gtonkin]

You are in for a surprise!

IBM sent this out recently:
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/ ... SSCTEW-_-E

TLDR: From end April 2023, the runtime will no longer be free, you will need to purchase a subscription to get access to it.

[mabr]

Thanks for the information.

But will my current PAW installations still work after the end of April 2023?

[JohnO]

Hello guys,

when installing PAW for Windows Server 2016 or 2019 IBM tells me I have to install and use Mirantis Container Runtime (https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/planning-an ... requisites).


So do I really have to pay for a Mirantis license when installing PAW in production usage or is there a workaround for this issue? Maybe by using some other container runtimes? Has anybody some experience regarding this issue?

This was again covered in the Feb Ask me Anything. My takeaways were:

1) As mentioned from 30 April you won't be able to download without a license
2) In any case you may want a support arrangement with Mirantis

Three was a Linux option suggested by IBM which would not require, details escape me.

[Martin Erlmoser]

as far as i understood it, on windows microsoft supported the docker runtime, they "sold" this part to mirantis, now has to be now separately licensed.
i kind of doubt that this affects "old" installs in any way, as the docker engine there is older than the mirantis provided one and you neither used anything from mirantis but also can not get expect support from them.

in my experience (different 2016 and 2019 servers in completely different environments, docker on windows server is a nightmare (HNS issues, windowsfilter issues) before switching to a paid mirantis license i _always_ recommend switching to linux instead.
sadly IBM dropped support for docker swarm, kubernetes and centos, which means rhel or openshift seems the be the only way to go as far as i'm aware.
they still have guides online for installation but they dropped it out of the software compatibility report.

internally i run a centos 7 install since years and paw runs rock-solid on it, with a higher uptime than all windows servers together.

ibm wants everybody to be a cloud customer, and they do everything to make this option more feasible.

[HighKeys]

Hi there,

i have a question to this Topic, we evaluate PAW at the moment and our Test/Dev enviroment got installed with Docker CE Runtime.

It took some time to get it working (Windows Server 2019) but its working and i can't catch any issues so far. Is there a reason why we should use Mirantis instead of Docker CE?


I'm really not a pro with Container Runtimes and Kubernetes, so it might me a dummy question.

Thankd and BR

[orlando]

Hi,
I don't know much about the subject either.
I would approach the topic via any necessary support. What does IBM do if you have a problem and the whole thing runs under Docker CE - do they help or do they say: "take mirantis, then it works, if not we can help". If IBM is also happy with Docker CE and helps - yay.

Given what IBM charges for licences, Mirantis is a bargain - in case of doubt, that shouldn't be a problem.
Or you go straight to RHEL, then you don't have a licensing issue. We will all have to get used to Linux, at the latest when V12 comes.

Best regards,
orlando

[WilliamSmith]

Are you saying the long term road map is to migrate PAW away from running on Windows server?

[lotsaram]

Are you saying the long term road map is to migrate PAW away from running on Windows server?

Long term roadmap?

[orlando]

Are you saying the long term road map is to migrate PAW away from running on Windows server?

IBM would love to move everything to RHEL today instead of tomorrow.
But I would rule out that IBM has any kind of viable roadmap.

[WilliamSmith]

Oy! Well, I guess I'll give our windows server TM1 instance a hug (she's not that bad after all) and be grateful for lack of vision :]