Is it really free?
 

I know this is a n00b question but I figured I'd double check. Are the free RHEL clones really free for business use? I'm building a CentOS 4.2 server for my new business and I just want to make sure there aren't any license fees if I use the server in a business environment.

Also, If i wanted to do free-lance work on the side, and I offered servers with linux installed to my clients, would I be able to charge them of the software? Obviously I wouldn't charge them for CentOS but rather the work I put in to getting everything installed and configured.

Let me know. Thanks.

CentOS is freely distributable and stripped of all non-free packages.

As for youre freelancing--
i guess you could charge them for labor?

$25 per key?

rpm -i <--$150 right there! *Bling*

Is your time not worth money? You can the server work for them, they can't. That's why they pay you. Right?

Yeah, most distros are free for whatever use. You can just as well use them for business, desktop or you toaster's firmware. (Yes, it's true! Go to NetBSD's homepage!)

as long as the software you are using is licensed under the GPL, you can freely distribute it and even sell it (as does Red Hat), provided you follow the guidelines of the GPL. different distros have different levels of commitment to the "free" software ideal - debian and gentoo come to mind as strong supporters.

here are some good resources:
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html
http://www.debian.org/intro/free