Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

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Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby snowhite » Sun Sep 21, 2014 9:58 pm

I love the fact that ArchLinux / Arch Linux ARM almost uses 100% vanilla packages; that Arch Linux ARM is so very customizable, but I am unsure about it’s license/terms (GNU GPLv2). Can unmodified ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free software?

To clarify I do not want to create my own linux distro, but if possible I would love to use ArchLinux as my underlying OS in an turn-key appliance running proprietary software on ARM hardware; or should we stick with Debian/Ubuntu?
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Re: Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby moonman » Mon Sep 22, 2014 3:55 am

This is why we have AUR. There are many not exactly free packages there, but only the end user is responsible for downloading them. As a distribution we can't redistribute certain things without permission, but you as a user can use whatever you want.
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Re: Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby WarheadsSE » Mon Sep 22, 2014 2:46 pm

There are already existing large projects using ALARM under the hood. Some of them even got a large amount of press.
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Re: Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby snowhite » Mon Sep 22, 2014 2:55 pm

AUR is slick and comes in handy, but still unsure about ArchLinux|ARM -- can I use it on a commercial appliance my company is creating ----> running base archlinux ARM and bunch of MIT licensed libs and where the only proprietary bits are created by my company?

For example Redistributing Debian GNU/Linux in a commercial product have a specific location for private binaries (though rather use archlinux)
https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-faq/ch-redistrib.en.html

My understanding is that the linux kernel is GPLv2 and most packages are GPLv2 but some are GPLv3 which have the added clause of a strict copyleft. Strict copyleft licenses demand that any changes be released as open source software, whereas limited copyleft licenses only require this in certain cases. We don't want to change the kernel or make OS changes, just base archlinux with our own custom binary but I won't be able to talk my company into making our proprietary software open source unfortunately.

It would be fantastic if we could use archlinux. Any additional details and suggestions would help me out a lot. Thanks.
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Re: Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby snowhite » Mon Sep 22, 2014 2:57 pm

Sorry just saw your reply:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', 'There are already existing large projects using ALARM under the hood. Some of them even got a large amount of press.')

Sounds great. Do you know any off by heart? I would love to further explore these projects and see how they managed to be compliant. That's really our biggest concern, we know archlinux rocks.
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Re: Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby WarheadsSE » Mon Sep 22, 2014 3:41 pm

Since using Arch (or ALARM) is a relatively "new" development, there is nothing I know of specifically of the kind Debian has. Generally though, either they essentially fork & follow, or add in a proprietary repository to the stack and keep all their non-native distribution bits in there.

Some of the projects I can not speak of due to NSA, but I can speak of is http://www.marvell.com/solutions/educat ... -smile.jsp which was actually premiered at CES a few years back.
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Re: Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby snowhite » Mon Sep 22, 2014 5:28 pm

Awesome thank you WarheadsSE. That’s encouraging, our device is for a different market but conceptually it's the same idea, a turn-key solution running ALARM at the core would be sweet.

I think we need to map out the packages we need, not many, just basic ones like tar and curl and check all the licenses; and then figure out a legal way to add my companies proprietary stuff.
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Re: Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby WarheadsSE » Mon Sep 22, 2014 5:50 pm

Legally speaking, keep it in a separate repo/layer, and viola. This keeps your bits entirely separated and easy to access. Since the packages in the main repos have their license type/information available, as well as generally with their licenses already installed into the system, your legal team should be fine with that. Then, all you would have to be worried about are kernel/bootloader/blobs that you create or package from the SoC manufacturer.

This is what the Arch Assault project does entirely.

This is also what other people in the private sector are doing, for which I can not discuss in detail.
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Re: Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby snowhite » Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:30 pm

Interesting, ok, so we could put our private binaries into /usr/local/bin and maintain/update such using our own package manager.

I am assuming GPLv2 for the kernel. Regarding the boot loader, I think it’s u-boot and not sure about the bloobs? I’d imagine they are all already part of the ARMv7 package: http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7 for example, AllWinner Cubieboard 2, and the Samsung Odroid U3 would interest us for our appliance -- looks like there's an ALARM image. I will try and build a test box to show my boss and to take a deeper look at these packages. Thanks again :D
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Re: Can ArchLinux ARM be packaged with non-free?

Postby WarheadsSE » Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:56 pm

Several of the developers are also available as independent contractors for consultation on varying levels.
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