back to article Red Hat snuggles up to Dell with 'enterprise grade' OpenStack offer

Dell and Red Hat will work together to propagate OpenStack clouds running the Linux distro, in what the PC maker claims is a first. The pair have announced they will jointly develop "enterprise grade" private clouds that are based on Dell hardware and Red Hat's Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform. The first fruits are due next …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. JohnMurray

    ¨came on the heals¨

    Or even on the ¨heels¨....

  2. W. Anderson

    Dell Trojan in OpenStack Cloud Services

    Dell has always been a pariah in regard any "real" Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) support, particularly in regard to Linux which the company only accommodates on 'one' laptop (no desktops or pre-install servers) , and for which information on their website is many layers deep, if can be found at all. Several small businesses and organizations attempting to successfully implement a Dell/ Linux solution have been frustrated at the apathy and ambivalence expressed toward them from Dell for any support services , including "paid" technical support programs.

    It therefore behooves RedHat to be very cautious, even suspicious of Dell's outreach for joint OpenStack Cloud Services, particularly since Dell's very close, almost incestuous relationship with Microsoft could incite them to pass along any technical knowledge or innovative practices gained to their Redmond partners, and probably even attempt to move their RedHat-OpenStack clients to the Microsoft Azure Cloud Services as a planned intention.

    1. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: Dell Trojan in OpenStack Cloud Services

      >probably even attempt to move their RedHat-OpenStack clients to the Microsoft Azure Cloud Services as a planned intention.

      That would only make sense if Azure was practically exclusively run on Dell kit with little real chance of migrating on to third-party commodity server infrastructure, or if MS were reselling Azure to partners, such as Dell, to re-badge.

      No I suspect this is more about Dell wanting and needing to have an offer in the cloud datacenter space. Whilst many may think of Azure, Amazon and Google, it shouldn't be forgotten that datacenter server virtualisation initiatives (private cloud) such as the Facebook OpenCompute, are also major consumers of servers, a major market for Dell (and others).

    2. Lars Silver badge
      Linux

      Re: Dell Trojan in OpenStack Cloud Services

      "Dell has always been a pariah in regard any "real" Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) support, particularly in regard to Linux". Yes I have seen the same, but lets try to be a bit realistic about it. Dell without Windows would not exist. And Microsoft is the one making the rules. The fact that Dell has had some tries to reach the Linux market could indicate at least some interest from Dell. But the Linux market is difficult, big users prefer bare bone hardware and load what ever they prefer on it. Small users will argue about which desktop they want. There are as far as I know some smaller companies who will deliver a preloaded Linux desktop or server.

      But there has never been a mass market for that, the chain to customers does not exist. Perhaps Dell as a private company will find more "freedom" regarding Linux. I doubt it, but I cannot see anything wrong on the part of Dell to work with Red Hat. As for copying something from open source, that is, and has been possible from the start. Microsoft could choose Linux as the kernel for their next version of Windows, or why not BSD as Apple did. What I would like Dell to do is to start delivering multiboot Windows/Linux into the chain.

      Will that happen, probably not. but suppose there where some DVDs included to make it possible. Anyway, still, you cannot survive without Windows on the desktop PC. I do hope Dell, the man, has something in his sleeve. In a way I think it is rather funny to shout about Dell regarding Linux while IBM making billions on Linux has done nothing (for us consumers) and PC users.

    3. Anonymous Crowbar

      Re: Dell Trojan in OpenStack Cloud Services

      >particularly in regard to Linux which the company only accommodates on 'one' laptop (no desktops or pre-install servers)

      Ill disagree with this. In previous jobs [we don't use Dell here], I firmly remember being able to get them with RedHat, as far back [and probably further] as the 2650 circa 2004. From what I remember the 2550 was available in 2001 with RedHat also, but may be wrong on that one.

      A quick look at a R415 shows various licensing options for SLES 10&11 RHEL for HPC and RHEL 6.3

  3. W. Anderson

    Those responses to my comment titled "Dell Trojan in OpenStack Cloud Services " did not address my main premise - that Dell could not survive with Microsoft, and is also "beholden" to Microsoft for several billions of $$dollars the Redmond firm invested in a "private" Dell corporation with several 'exclusive' technology services agreements to boot.

    Even when Dell was selling tens of millions of $$dollars of Servers in an Oracle-Dell arrangement for enterprise Oracle Database clients - which was steadily growing, Dell contemplated and announced possible severing that connection, unsaid - at the behest of Microsoft with 'some' compensation. Any other hardware manufacturer, would have told Ballmer to go fly a kite.

    While I mentioned Dell poor and erratic support for Linux 'desktops and small servers', their behavior in enterprise technologies like the Oracle business deal was equally bizarre, and there is no reason for any astute professional analysis to not consider a possible Dell sabotage of their RedHat-OpenStack cooperative to satisfy Microsoft, especially when Dell jointly advertises and promotes the Microsoft Azure cloud Services every day in many types of media and technology presentations to tune of tens of millions if $$dollars so far this year 2013.

    Their actions do not engender any trust or credibility from the open source community, or even in their moves within the Linux Foundation for Enterprise Open Source technology , as hinted by several member corporations..

    A snake cannot become a butterfly.

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like