Has anyone information about how Sun proceeds with the BlueLinq service on the RaQ since the RaQs have reached their EOL ? Is there an alternative server from a successor or do they post important security updates also after EOL ?

Since I use a RaQ3 with RaQ550 OS (kernel from raqtweak, as far as I know), is it save to install all updates BlueLinq shows or can I destroy anything custom ?

Somewhere I read that all updates can be installed, except of kernel updates (since the kernel is a custom one). Are kernel updates explicitly marked at the BlueLinq package description ?

Now Osoffice has ported the Cobalts to the CentOS system.
Have a look at their site www.osoffice.co.uk

Others have used CentOs and BlueQuartz on Whitebox machines like Nuonce where we can update things like Kernel from their YUM updater on the BlueLinq :)

Also there are simple how-tos to upgrade php, mysql and your OS with some third party scripts. http://www.galacnet.com/faq/faq-centos-bluequartz-upgrade.php

BlueLinq Lives on :) But as BlueQuartz

I cannot become very warm with the other OS alternatives for the RaQs, since I feel that they are only suited for a RaQ550 with large amount of memory and a fast processor.

When using a RaQ3 with CPU upgrade, you even have "just" 500 MHz. Although this is fully sufficient for serving several dozens of websites (also with the RaQ550 OS), I think that the server runs into performance problems when needing to deal with a more complex OS.

Although... a new OS could solve some of my main issues I currently deal with (Belkin UPS config., SMTP auth.),

I guess you have not seen the BlueQuartz. Its the Cloning of the Cobalts to be used in both the original Cobalt hardware and on whitebox machines.

Basically its a RaQ550 on a better and more secure OS.

Currently I am testing out CentOS4.4 on my cobalt servers and to date they are out preforming the pervious OS and are still in the same good old blue box.

Just to answer my second question: It is save to install the Apache and PHP updates from Sun. I got this note from the raqtweak.com support.

Sun will not release any patches for Cobalt; there is nobody left there working on the project. The newest server was EOLd 4 years ago; at the longest, Sun Support said they would provide 5 years of support. BlueLinQ is dead (I don't even think the URL is alive anymore).

Look into migrating to BlueQuartz on a generic server.

No, it isn't dead. I have downloaded two security patches yesterday :-)

Personally I think the releases are long over due... The patches from cobaltsupport should be far more updated than those from Sun.