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Red Hat Runtime Partner Program

At its simplest, Red Hat Runtime is a partner program and business model that can offer more selling opportunities for you and better software solutions your customers. Runtime enables solution and product vendors to incorporate commercial Red Hat technology into their products. With Runtime, vendors replace UNIX variants such as Solaris, Windows XP Embedded, proprietary Embedded, unsupported Linux variants, and internally developed operating systems with Red Hat Enterprise Linux as the foundation for integrated technology solutions. Runtime partners are backed by Red Hat technology, support, and maintenance services.

Product and solution vendors -- if you ship standalone systems/devices with hardware, operating system, and software all packaged as single bundle, then consider becoming a Red Hat Runtime partner. The program works from the understanding that, once a device is deployed in a production environment, the underlying operating system remains static. So updates, bug fixes, and security errata are very rarely or never applied.

The Runtime business model requires vendors to pay a one-time fee for each system/device unit that is shipped--but there are no other recurring charges or fees associated with shipped units, regardless of their useful life. If for any reason a vendor requires the use of operating system updates, bug fixes or security errata, an additional Field Update fee will be charged per unit when the updates are applied.

Runtime Qualification Checklist

In order to participate in the Red Hat Runtime program, vendors must meet the following requirements:

  1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux must be packaged as an integrated component of the Red Hat Runtime partner's product. The application, operating system, and hardware must all be bundled as a single product, and it must be done by the partner.
  2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux must either be installed and configured prior to shipment to the end customer, or be seamlessly installed and configured as an integrated component of the solution's installation routine.
  3. End users must not be permitted to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux separately and independently from the Runtime partner's software/hardware product.
  4. The end user may not install additional third-party applications on the system.
  5. Upgrades must be certified and distributed as a component of the solution and the end user shall be unable to upgrade the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system as a separate component.
  6. The Runtime partner will provide support, customer service and education for all solution operations to the end user or channel.
  7. Red Hat is not responsible for any direct support to the end users.
  8. Runtime partners must subscribe to the Red Hat Developer Connection, which includes five copies of Red Hat Enterprise Linux for development, testing, quality assurance, and support purposes.
  9. To ensure a baseline level of proficiency with Red Hat solutions, a Runtime partner must have Red Hat Certified Engineers (RHCEs) on their customer-facing support team.

To learn more, please email telco@redhat.com