There is no doubt that Oracle OpenWorld this year has drawn extra attention with the activity and speculation about the next steps in Oracle’s pending acquisition of Sun Microsystems. With the breadth of applications based upon Oracle’s premier database, Oracle OpenWorld has also set the scene for a number of announcements around industry-leading benchmarks from the technology leaders at the event, including Red Hat.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux was the operating system used to establish several new benchmarks announced this week that demonstrate the performance and scalability of current x86 systems. Getting the most from multi-core systems requires an operating system, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, that can manage large thread counts and I/O throughput to deliver real application performance.

IBM announced three new results running different benchmarks in Oracle Application Standard Benchmarks. The benchmarks, which were developed by Oracle, represent typical user workloads on the E-Business Suite ERP deployment. The different scenarios focus on different types of ERP transactions such as payroll processing, or order transactions. In each case the benchmark combines batch processing and transactional workloads in a single test. Some of these steps are CPU intensive, while others stress I/O access. Data sizes and the number of users is defined as small, medium or large to assist Oracle customers in sizing their deployment.

The results are measured in transactions per hour, or throughput. IBM’s results were over 143,000 lines per hour on the order-to-cash benchmark, an increase of almost 40 percent over previous results. For the Payroll benchmarks, hourly employee throughput was measured at 207,612 on the medium database model and 364,786 on the large benchmark. The tests were performed using a single IBM System x3550 M2 with dual 4-core Intel Xeon 5500 processors on which the application server and the database instance were both deployed. The tests were run on 10 threads, oversubscribing the eight cores on the server.

The purpose of these benchmarks is to guide an Oracle customer in understanding their workload. With its broad hardware and software support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux was the operating system chosen to test these application workloads.

Also announced at Oracle OpenWorld by Oracle is a new SpecJappServer2004 result. Similar to Oracle’s application benchmarks, this industry-standard benchmark combines different activities to emulate data flow through an enterprise. Unlike Oracle Application Standards, the SpecJappServer2004 has a single size of data and results are reported in Java Operations per Second.

The tests were conducted using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 on HP DL785 with AMD 8439 processors. Deploying Oracle’s WebLogic server across 48 cores returned tremendous results. With a performance of 9,455.17 jopps/s, Oracle and HP set a new single node record, which was over 20 percent faster than the Sun Solaris on SPARC results published earlier this year.

As these benchmark results reinforce, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is an operating system leader with broad application support and the ability to contribute to record-setting performance on the workloads that our customers’ businesses rely upon.

For more information about Red Hat Enterprise Linux, visit here.

Earlier this month at the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) Summit, Red Hat received the Gold Rising Star award. This award is based on the highest year-over-year revenue growth. Red Hat was awarded the Gold Rising Star in the $15 Million+ Software Vendor Category for 2009, ahead of IBM and VMware.

This is no small honor, given that the GTDC is comprised of the largest distributors in the industry. Members represent more than $100 billion in annual worldwide sales to IT resellers and solution providers that serve end customers of all sizes.

Recipients of the Rising Star Awards are recognized for their outstanding revenue growth through GTDC member distributors. The award, coupled with more than five consecutive quarters of growth in Red Hat’s channel bookings, is testament to the company’s channel investment and focus.

Additionally, this year alone, Red Hat has been ranked as the #1 channel program in The VAR Guy’s Open Source 50, revamped its North American Partner Program , led a group of open source ISV partners into a major distribution relationship through the Open Source Channel Alliance and increased the number of partners that the company is working with.

The GTDC Rising Star award, coupled with these proof points, serves as validation that: Red Hat’s channel program is growing; the company is continuously investing in its partners and programs to enable channel sales and success; and the investments it is making in the Channel Program are paying off and being recognized by the IT industry.

For more information on Red Hat’s channel programs please visit our program pages at http://www.redhat.com/partners/.

Last month at Everything Channel’s Xchange event we launched several key enhancements to the North American Partner Program. In order to better serve our partners and enable them to start and maintain a successful open source business practice we added a classification tier and three specialization areas.

The program will now include three product specializations; Infrastructure, Middleware and Virtualization. The goal of these additions is to benefit our partners and provide a deeper and more focused knowledge base for these three solution sets. Each specialization requires partners to maintain at least two Channel Sales Certified employees in the area of expertise and either a Red Hat Certified Technician or a JBoss Certified Application Administrator.

As part of our focus and investment in our partner ecosystem we have enhanced the online training courses for our partners that are designed to help them achieve and maintain the new specialization designations. We are proud to announce that since July 1st our partners have already completed over 2300 hours of online training as part of our new online Partner Sales College .

The Partner Sales College is intended to streamline the process for partners to gain certification and valuable knowledge in any one of the three specialization areas, and the online courses map to the newly launched North American Partner Program, including tiers and specializations. The new, standardized partner sales training applies worldwide to any partner at any level, anywhere in the world.

This training aims to help our partners easily and accurately articulate the Red Hat value proposition. The course curriculum includes enhanced content to provide more robust middleware and platform training for our partners. Through the Partners Sales College participants will get an in-depth overview of Red Hat’s entire solution portfolio, enhancing their ability to better serve their customers, drive additional margins, services, and opportunities.

Currently, the new Partner Sales College program has two paths and corresponding certifications:

• Platform / Infrastructure: Red Hat Partner Platform Certified Sales Person (RHPPCS)

• Middleware: Red Hat Partner Middleware Certified Sales Person (RHPMCS)

• And the virtualization path is coming soon.

To sign up today for the Red Hat Partner Sales College, visit the Partner Center. Stay tuned for more information about how we are increasing our investment in our partner ecosystem and helping our partners to succeed with open source.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company that advises C-level executives throughout the enterprise on how to build high-performance businesses. They are a leader in consulting and we are pleased to welcome Accenture’s Executive Director of Innovation and Emerging Technologies, Technology Architecture, Anthony Roby as a featured keynote at JBoss World 2009. Roby will deliver his keynote address on Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 1:00 pm.

Roby is currently responsible for Innovation and Emerging Technologies within Accenture’s Technology Architecture organization. He has worked in the technology consulting field for all of his career, 18 years of which have been with Accenture. He has a background in large complex systems implementations spanning all of the technology genres of the past 25 years. Within his current role, Tony is also responsible for Accenture’s Innovation Center for Open Source.

JBoss Enterprise Middleware plays a significant role within Accenture’s Innovation Center for Open Source. The Center is meant to enable Accenture’s clients to take full advantage of their open source deployments. Working with Accenture helps us grow open source middleware awareness and adoption, and it serves as further evidence that JBoss Enterprise Middleware has reached a tipping point. Critical support from industry leaders like Accenture help to move open source middleware adoption beyond niche deployments.

Most recently, Red Hat and Accenture have partnered to help KLM-Air France migrate from proprietary platforms to Red Hat Enterprise Linux and JBoss Enterprise Middleware for their mission critical web applications. Ultimately, driving down costs and improving operational efficiency, KLM’s goal is to standardize their entire datacenter on a Red Hat and JBoss combination.

For more information about Accenture’s keynote address, please visit www.jbossworld.com.
For more news, more often, visit www.press.redhat.com.

Partners are very important to Red Hat and JBoss’ continued momentum in the IT market.
We have a long history of partnering with technology leaders like IBM, Intel and Cisco. We even have a history of forming relationships with unlikely partners. One common thread that links these partners to us is their desire to align themselves with the open standards and the organic growth that has carried Red Hat to where we are today.

One partner that has embraced open standards since its inception has been Dell. In fact Dell’s principal Linux architect, Matt Domsch, continues to be an elected member of the Fedora Board. Dell and Red Hat are both committed to open standards which allow customers to free themselves from proprietary lock-in. It is what brings customer choice IN and ushers OUT the stranglehold that IT vendors can have on their customers—ultimately, in our opinion, keeping them from innovating and carving out their competitive advantage in the marketplace.

This is where Dell and Red Hat continue to find common ground. Both companies embrace open standards and have built their businesses on providing non-proprietary solutions to drive value in the data center.

One area in particular where we are deepening our partnership is with our JBoss division. We are seeing momentum in the adoption of the JBoss Enterprise Middleware portfolio which we expect to continue to strengthen. And our customers are asking us for a complete enterprise solution stack, including an integrated hardware set that plays to the strengths of the JBoss product portfolio. So it is no surprise that we’ve turned to Dell to deliver the value that our customers have come to expect.

Dell has built their empire on delivering high-value, customizable hardware, selling directly to their customers at an attractive price point. Our customers have already taken advantage of the combination of JBoss Enterprise Middleware running on Dell.

Over 40 joint customers have successfully deployed JBoss on Dell PowerEdge Servers. From financial services, healthcare and manufacturing companies to the public sector and retail organizations, customers are embracing this partnership. We believe that combining JBoss and Dell lets customers simplify IT by improving application performance, lowering security risks and easing operational complexity. The Travel Channel and Booz Allen Hamilton are just two of our customers that are taking advantage of the value and performance offered through this hardware and middleware combination.

Stay tuned for more information on our expanding partnership with Dell. In the meantime be sure to check out our Dell partner page with links to whitepapers, webinars and email alerts.

We’ve already established that you can grow revenues by investing in an open source practice. Take a look at our most recent earnings which happen to be a bright spot in the down economy. Our message is resonating with customers: carve costs out of the datacenter and bring value in. Our channel partners appear to have gotten the message too.

We’ve seen our reseller partner program grow substantially in FY09 and as we set out to tackle FY10 we are committed to bringing additional value to our partners in an effort to help them realize a profit by selling Red Hat and JBoss to their customers. Just one of the many ways we are doing this is through training.

This Spring Red Hat is going on a road tour and bringing our world-class Sales Training directly to partners across North America. Targeted at Red Hat Advanced Business Partners, the training sessions are the same that we provide to our own sales reps at the start of their career. The sessions are product training from the “How do you sell it” point of view—which we believe is the most important training there is for our partners. The two day session will equip our partners with The Red Hat Value Proposition, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Global File System and Virtualization information, as well as training on Red Hat’s middleware products such as JBoss, MetaMatrix and our SOA strategy. Upon completion participants will earn the Red Hat Sales Certified Partner classification.

Check out the schedule and visit The Red Hat Partner Center for more information.

Dallas, TX – May 5-6, 2009
North East – Fall 2009

We are committed to empowering resellers of open source solutions so they can provide the highest levels of service, support and value to their customers. For more information on how you can join the Red Hat Partner Program and take advantage of Red Hat’s training, click here or for general inquiries feel free to email us at na-partner helpdesk@redhat.com.

It’s certainly not news to anyone that Red Hat and Intel have been closely working hand-in-hand for many years to offer high-performance, low-cost alternatives to proprietary IT solutions. Red Hat Enterprise Linux combined with Intel processors and system components have essentially redefined the meaning of “commodity computing.”

The most recent result of this partnership centers around today’s announcement of the availability of Intel’s latest Xeon (Nehalem) processor. This processor provides significant new capabilities that, as a result of our collaboration during its development, are fully supported by Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3, which was released in January. We believe that the combination surpasses the capabilities of proprietary high-end systems, while offering true affordability.

There are two primary areas where Intel’s new Xeon processor, combined with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3, offers customers the opportunity to meet their computing needs while reducing costs:

• Scalability/Performance. Virtualization enhancements provide greater scalability and performance, and allow for the virtualization of a wide range of workloads, even those that are I/O intensive.
• Energy efficiency. Support for Greener IT features result in lower power consumption and cooling requirements.

In short, this is really all about doing more at a lower price-point. Let’s dig into a few technical details around scalability/performance and power efficiency enhancements.

Until recently, system performance was primarily driven by new processors operating at increasingly high frequencies — that is the good news. The bad news was a seemingly insatiable appetite for power and cooling — all driving up datacenter costs. A common solution to this problem has been to use virtualization to consolidate workloads. So, Red Hat and Intel worked closely together to deliver enterprise-caliber virtualization in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, which customers have been successfully deploying since the product was released in early 2007.

Enhancements provided by the new Intel Xeon processor take both virtualization and power efficiency to a new level. The virtualization capabilities provided in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 are highly optimized to utilize the latest features of Intel Virtualization hardware, including “extended page table” memory access optimization. Extended page table support enables the hypervisor to directly access memory maps of virtual guest instances, thereby bypassing previously necessary kernel software codepaths – the net result is significant speedup in data access for I/O intensive workloads. Scalability enhancements provide support for up to 126 processors and 1TB of memory in virtualized deployments – significantly larger than competing products.

Additionally, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 enhancements to utilize Intel’s QuickPath memory technology can more than double the performance of memory intensive workloads – both in non-virtualized and virtualized deployments. This increased performance and scalability of virtualized infrastructure opens the door for deployments of entirely new categories of workloads. For example, it was previously uncommon to virtualize I/O intensive workloads such as database and network file serving. Today, Red Hat’s performance analysis of industry-standard database benchmarks running on the new Intel Xeon processor with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3’s optimized virtualization show that I/O intensive workloads can achieve 85 percent of the performance of non-virtualized deployments. As a result, the combination of the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux release and Intel Xeon processor yields substantial performance benefits over the prior generation, while providing the efficiency and flexibility of virtualization for consolidation and workload migration.

Of equal importance are the power management enhancements, which can be summarized as dynamically adaptable. There’s a lot more to it than the typical control of basic processor speed. Rather, the new Intel Xeon processor is able to dynamically adapt not only processor speed, but also interconnect speeds to both memory and I/O devices, as well as adapting the number of active cores and threads on each processor. Of course, the hardware is only half of the power efficiency story because without the corresponding operating system optimizations, from scheduling to virtualization, the full benefits could not be realized.

The close Red Hat / Intel co-development relationship makes Red Hat Enterprise Linux a highly optimized platform from both a virtualization and power management perspective. And, to make this product launch as successful as possible, we invited some of our most demanding customers to participate in early product testing. Through a joint beta program we were able to optimize the implementation of both hardware and software. Customer interest for the combination of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 and the new Intel Xeon processor was exceptionally strong, making it the one of our most highly anticipated recent product launches.

These are just a few highlights of a new wave of commoditization of formerly exotic features. Offering compelling performance, scalability and power efficiency, the combination of the new Intel Xeon processor and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 enable a best-in-class computing solution with impressive affordability.

To learn more about the combination of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the new Intel Xeon processor, check out the 5.3 announcement press release and our 5.3 blog and video.

Recent enhancements by Red Hat to its Enterprise Linux subscription services mean that systems can be supported for up to 10 years, with no requirement to upgrade. Read more in our blog on Red Hat’s Extended Update Support offering.

Back in October 2007 we announced that our ISV catalog passed the 3,000 mark . And as of last November we stated that we actually have 3,400 certified applications.

This is exciting—we point out the number of certified applications to demonstrate our firm foothold in the overall software ecosystem. Its also a validation point for the proliferation of open source, our ISV catalog has experienced impressive growth—customers want applications that work on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and JBoss Enterprise Middleware. Simply put, its a symbiotic relationship. A strong ISV catalog is good for Red Hat and Red Hat’s growing ISV catalog presents opportunities for software vendors.

So now that we’ve got all of these application vendors its time for us to look for ways to enhance the ecosystem. Already, we provide many opportunities for co-marketing and ecosystem support, but we want to do more. This is a very important stakeholder group for Red Hat and we want to reward this commitment to Red Hat. In the coming months you can expect us to look for more ways to facilitate, market and promote our application vendor community; to bring new business opportunities to these vendors; and to streamline their interactions with Red Hat.

Our ISVs need to get as much value as possible from their partnership with Red Hat. We plan to provide improved tools that will facilitate marketing, business opportunities and ISV engagement. We invite you to take a look at our partner program, participate and give us feedback.

To learn more about Red Hat’s ISV Partner Program, or the applications certified on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, click here.

Today we are celebrating a momentous occasion. Ten years ago today, Red Hat and IBM began our global collaborative partnership to expand the use of enterprise solutions on Linux. It was a small but important start to announce that IBM would run Red Hat Linux on its industry-standard systems. Back in 1999, Red Hat was on the eve of its IPO, and IBM was testing the waters of Linux. Only 10 million users ran the Linux operating system at the time, according to IDC Research quoted in our original partnership announcement.

The global partnership has broadly expanded over the years, and today delivers combined solutions driven by rich joint technology innovations. Together, Red Hat and IBM are deeply penetrating the mission-critical infrastructures of many of the world’s Fortune 500 companies, delivering value to our joint customers through the combination of open source solutions, comprehensive services, solid platforms and technology leadership. Red Hat stands as a Strategic Alliance partner for IBM — the top ranking partnership category — and IBM is a Premier OEM partner for Red Hat.

Our alliance helped spur broad-based industry Linux adoption, driving the one of the fastest growth rates for mainstream operating systems in the past decade. As of 3Q08, IDC’s Server Tracker indicated that Linux accounts for 14% of the overall server market. (rolling 4Q average). Red Hat is the top commercial contributor to the Linux kernel, and IBM is one of the world’s top Linux evangelists—the third largest contributor to the Linux kernel — and runs Red Hat Enterprise Linux across all of our servers and 500 middleware programs.

Of the milestones we’ve achieved over the length of our partnership, here are some of the highlights, including joint innovation and penetration of the enterprise:

• Advancing open source solutions and open standards
  Red Hat and IBM were founding members of the Open Invention Network (OIN), which promotes Linux by using patents to create a collaborative ecosystem, and were instrumental in supporting the Open Document Format (ODF), to ensure that state documents will be accessible to the public.
• Delivering record-setting price/performance solutions
  We’ve produced world-record performance with the combination of Red Hat Enterprise Linux on IBM System x and POWER servers, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 on an IBM System x 3950 M2 with the new Intel X7460 Xeon processor achieving a record-setting TPC-C benchmark offering record-breaking price/performance results – half as fast as the next x86 system on tpc.org.
• Expanding Linux-on-Mainframe
  Formally announced in May 2007, Red Hat’s Linux-on-Mainframe Program has grown the use of Red Hat Enterprise Linux on IBM System z mainframes.
• Rethinking desktop management
  IBM and Red Hat have teamed to simplify desktop management and lower costs with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux-based IBM Open Collaboration Client Solution (OCCS).
• Enhancing security
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 provides security in a mainstream, open-source operating system, and IBM mainframes have long been known for secure computing. Together, IBM and Red Hat have created a top-of-the-line compelling solution for security – Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 on IBM System z. Red Hat has achieved the highest Linux-on-System z certification available on the market today.
• Developing the realtime Linux kernel
  Red Hat and IBM worked closely throughout the development of the Linux kernel’s realtime capabilities to set the mark for predictable, low-latency computing. Red Hat announced Red Hat Enterprise MRG 1.0 availability at the Red Hat Summit in June 2008, with backing from IBM. IBM WebSphere Real Time on MRG Realtime extends the business benefits of Java to time-critical applications and provides realtime Linux extensions in Red Hat Enterprise MRG.

What’s next for the future of our alliance? Together, we will continue the rapid innovation that has come to define our relationship. Red Hat and IBM believe that in 2009, more clients that ever will adopt Linux. We think that Linux adoption is on the rise as companies are forced to find efficiencies, carve out costs, adopt a different cost structure and integrate infrastructures when companies merge. We’re seeing Linux and consolidation projects reducing energy consumption.

In 2009, you’ll see us focusing on key growth initiatives such as:

• Big Green Linux
  Just this month, we announced that Bank of New Zealand reduced its carbon footprint with Red Hat Enterprise Linux on IBM System z mainframes.
• Emerging technologies
  The combination o f Red Hat Enterprise Linux on IBM systems is behind some of the world’s most innovative solutions, such as the world’s fastest computer Roadrunner and a cloud computer center in Wuxi China.
• Virtualization
  Our teams are working closely together today on virtualization that will enable our customers to continue leveraging our deep joint value.
• Business-critical Linux
  IBM and Raytheon were voted a Red Hat Innovation Award winner at the Red Hat Summit for their realtime development for the US Navy, and we continue our work to deliver true business-critical value to customers.

We’ve enjoyed 10 years of great success as partners, but the true proof points of our strong partnership lie on our joint customer successes – see some of them here.

We asked Linux Foundation’s Jim Zemlin what he thought, and here’s what he told us:

IBM and Red Hat together have been instrumental in the global adoption of Linux and in the development of the operating system. As leading participants in the massive collaboration that drives Linux to give birth to new technologies, IBM and Red Hat should be applauded. Today is an important day as we look 10 years back and 10 years into the future. Linux is fueling a new software economy, and IBM and Red Hat will surely be as instrumental in its future as they have been in its history.

To learn more about the Red Hat-IBM alliance, visit here.

One of the stated goals for Red Hat’s channel team is to move more business through our channel ecosystem. We are working everyday to make that happen and to ensure that our partners and by extension their customers are successful with our full portfolio of open source solutions. One of the ways we are accomplishing that is by working with valued partners like Vizuri.

Earlier this month Vizuri launched their JBoss 30-Day Challenge to prove to prospective customers that switching from proprietary middleware is quick and easy. Vizuri, a Red Hat Advanced Business Partner, is challenging any enterprise that has a BEA WebLogic or IBM WebSphere Java application server deployment to see how easy and cost-effective a switch to JBoss Enterprise Application Platform can be.

To meet business objectives, organizations are always looking to become more efficient with less resources. Software capital expenditures for proprietary software licenses are escalating and enterprises are faced with reducing current and future expenditures especially in today’s economic market. Enter Vizuri and JBoss Enterprise Middleware.

During the JBoss 30-Day Challenge, Vizuri will provide the consulting resources needed to deploy a bundle of JBoss Enterprise Middleware solutions. Customers participating in the challenge will gain access to JBoss Developer Studio to develop Web 2.0 Rich Applications, JBoss Enterprise Application Platform to build, deploy, and host enterprise Java applications and services, and JBoss Operations Network, an advanced management platform for inventorying, administering, monitoring, and updating JBoss Enterprise Platform deployments. Three powerful tools that will enable any business to continue to innovate while cutting costs.

Vizuri and Red Hat are confident that by the end of the challenge our customers will find the switch to JBoss Enterprise Application Platform quick and easy. To encourage customers to see for themselves, Vizuri is offering the bundled solutions along with 10 Red Hat training credits at a drastically reduced price point.

Let us prove how easy it is to switch from proprietary software to open source solutions.