The thing is not about calling support, but having a contractual agreement so you got somebody to sue in case something goes wrong. That makes lawyers happy. And is useful when offering your own services as you can state that potential liabilities at covered by the vendor. How well that would play out in reality is a different story, but gives people some better rest at night.

Absolutely. That's why I said it was more a CYA thing.

It does get used, though. There are some very intractable issues with modern software implementations, especially with OpenShift container storage. Unless you've worked with it tons, it's not exactly something a first-year sysadmin can solve. Personally, I tend towards Debian for infrastructure because while I have experience with RHEL, I prefer the Debian layout, package management, and freely-available help from very knowledgeable people. Not saying that RHEL are pillars of intransigence, they're not, but I've found it easier to solve my own issues. As an almost 3-decade senior sysadmin/devops guy, I know where to go and who to speak with if I run into something really odd. Fortunately, that's rare. Once you've used Linux from a sysadmin POV for a few years, things begin to make sense from a file system, maintenance, and overall "keeping everything alive" approach. I was mentored back in the 90s by a Debian guru at our local LUG. He's since passed into eternity, but much of what he taught me and others still applies. The beauty of POSIX systems. Now... when systemd got released, I didn't know what to make of it, but now after many years, I've gotten used to it. I still prefer the old BSD-style init files and non-binary approach, but what to do with modernity? It will pass you by if you don't embrace it.