I don't know the exact differences point by point. But I can tell you one thing:
Both AS and ES versions share the same RPM's, only first CD of AS and ES differs. Rest all are same (including the CD key, check sum and everythin). You can infact swap AS with ES without any problem.
All i know is only the kernel is different between AS and ES (I am not sure what exactly the difference).
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Ok but what are the deep differences? I noticed that there are some differences regarding the SLA and the support, but are there SOFTWARE differences? Kernel differences? and consequently Hardware support differences?
RedHat site is a little confusing about these differences... The only clear difference is the PRICE :-)
Thank you for the answers. Alessandro
if you don't try, you'll never know if you are able to
Yes only the kernel is different between AS and ES. The only other file which I could think of different is redhat-release file (which identifies the type of redhat installed).
I believe other than these everything else is same.
as somebody else already stated, the main difference is the number of CPU's/size of memory you can address as well as CPU architecture (for example IBM Power5/Mainframe Support is only available with AS).
So technically with AS you can have a bigger machine running your business where with ES you need multiple smaller machines carying the same load.
Then there are differences in Support levels and probably ISV restrictions that call for AS.
So, if your machine specs are within the limits of ES, and you don't need the extended support options of AS, then ES would probably be the better deal.
I won't repeat what others already said... just add that at Red Hat they use the same version control repository for both AS and ES, which means they build them with the same bits. You can run ES on a system with more than 2 CPUs, but if you call Red Hat for support and they discover that you have more than 2 CPUs... ;-) Same for the memory... Also some premium level of support are only avail with AS, as some cpu architectures are avail only with AS.
