I used to be a Patreon contributor ($25/month for a long time) and that gave me access to the LTS images. I see no option anymore to download the Vyos minted LTS ISO that’s affordable as a single home user as the donation options were removed some time back.
I am aware I could contribute but I’m time-poor, I could build the LTS version but for sure it won’t be the same as the one Vyos provide and last but not least the current options to pay for an image don’t make it viable.
What options does a home user, who WANTS to support the project financially in order to get the LTS images have, that makes financial sense…?
I’m in the same boat… unfortunately, nobody seems to understand the need to make the LTS releases available for individuals. I can have ESXi for free as an individual to run it in my homelab, but not VyOS anymore. even if I’m willing to make a small donation… I gave up on this matter.
VyOS now uses OpenCollective for this purpose instead of Patreon. The $40 tier there gets you access to the LTS ISOs for personal use.
Alternatively, it is possible to build your own ISO images using the supplied instructions for developers who are working towards the next LTS release. The resulting ISOs can be functionally identical to the published LTS releases but not bit-for-bit identical. And, as this approach is intended for developers, you are on your own when it comes to support with building it or ongoing maintenance. These are the instructions for the current 1.3.x LTS ISO: https://docs.vyos.io/en/equuleus/contributing/build-vyos.html
But it’s gone from $300/year via Patreon to $480/year via Open Collective. That’s HARDWARE levels of investment over a couple of years (Ubiquiti etc) for access to an LTS image that’s refreshed a couple of times a year with no support other than the forums. This is not a complaint, just the facts.
You’re seriously losing out on people like me who would like to donate but not to the tune of $500/year.
What do you think is the downside to offering single image LTS use for individuals for a set fee or a lower monthly?
I can’t comment on the price points at which VyOS have chosen to set their OpenCollective tiers as I’m just a fellow user and not able to represent VyOS in any way.
That said, I do contribute to VyOS on OpenCollective at one of the higher memership tiers because I feel I get value for it. Also I have used the ISO build instructions to construct my own images to contribute some minor patches to the project.
I could build the LTS version but for sure it won’t be the same as the one Vyos provide
They’re both built from same code, aren’t they? I’m just getting familiar with VyOS on a spare hardware. I’m not aware of any ‘secret sauce’ in official build.
The custom build 1.3.3 you are using is the same as the LTS build that Vyos released. except some of the update from vyos.dev (with version 1.3.x) is newer than the build.
You can check with command: show version and find last commit and compare it.
It’s pulled from upstream Debian packages so the longer you leave it before you build the more likely that you’ll have packages that differ from the official Vyos LTS version.
I think this was being looked at so the exact packages included in LTS could be retained but not sure where that it.
But that’s not the thrust of my point. I want to support Vyos, which would mean I get access to LTS images, but for $480/year this is simply not viable. As mentioned above you can get hardware that does Vyos and more in decent GUI packages, with support, for not much more…
Then it isn’t the same, it just has the same build number/string.
BUT, that wasn’t my point
As a single home user I WANT to support the project AND get access to LTS images in doing so. At $480/year, it’s simply not an option. I suspect Vyos are losing many donations from people in the same dilemma I have.
anyone from Vyos care to comment, especially as I have just read that you’ve pulled the Open Collective route as well?
@JoeN - perhaps you can offer some advice on how we can get access to LTS images as individual users wishing to support the project at a sensible cost?
I wanted to provide you with an update regarding access to LTS images through the Open Collective Program. Currently, we do not have any alternative options available for individual users who wish to support the project at a sensible cost. I understand this may not be the answer you were hoping for.
However, I want to assure you that we are actively working on addressing this issue. We are in the process of preparing an announcement that will be shared later this year. This announcement will contain detailed information about the discontinuation of the Open Collect Program and the steps we are taking to address the concerns raised by our valued users and contributors.
We understand the importance of clarify and transparency, and we are committed to providing updates and clarity on this matter. As soon as I have new information to share, I will communicate it promptly to our community.
We sincerely appreciate your ongoing support, patience, and understanding during this transitional period.
Thanks, and appreciate that you took the time to provide an answer. I am looking forward to seeing what options you’re able to provide all tiers of your users.
One active gripe I do have - to date I’ve donated over $500 via Patreon, since you removed that option and for a time I had access to LTS images. Sadly that’s since been removed. It seems especially harsh that even with $500 in the tank I can’t download an LTS ISO…
@phillipmcmahon Unfortunately, access to LTS images through OC is currently unavailable. Let’s wait for the announcement that will be released later this year, containing detailed information about this matter.
Comparing the hashes is not going to help you to verify that the official iso and a docker built one are from the same version. Even if you self-build two iso’s one after another without any updates or changes, they will still have different hashes.
Personally I would also prefer if the LTS would be made public for personal use and by license agreement needed to buy a license if being used commercially (or if one want more than community support - for example not uncommon in the commercial sector to have SLA’s and similar like NBD or even <4h response time for support requests).
In my case I can contribute to the community in the forums and by filing bugs that I discover. In return I would then be able to use both the rolling releases as a guineapig along with LTS where I dont need the bleeding edge.
I mean if I would have to pay $480/year for a personal LTS license of VyOS then why not spend those money on lets say (Ciena) Vyatta instead?
