Cloud computing is the use of networked infrastructure software and capacity to provide resources to users in an on-demand environment. Sometimes known as utility computing, clouds provide a set of typically virtualized computers which can provide users with the ability to start and stop servers or use compute cycles only when needed, often paying only for the use of those services.

Cloud computing with Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the certified and supported operating platform purchasable by the hour - delivered by Amazon and supported by Red Hat. It gives you everything you need to immediately start developing and hosting your applications: One or more cloud hosted servers, bandwidth, storage, and the leading open source operating system, Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The combination of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Amazon EC2 changes the economics of computing by allowing you to pay only for the infrastructure software and capacity that you actually use.

See: http://www.amazon.com/ec2

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is a web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make web-scale computing easier for developers. The EC2 web service is included as part of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux cloud computing service.

Cloud computing with Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a new service that combines the features of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux software subscription with web scale compute services from Amazon. Because the software instances are running standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux software, they feature the same enterprise-ready operating platform, leading support, and third party application certification.

"On-premise" deployments typically refer to installations of software on hardware owned or leased by an end-user. The majority of offerings Red Hat provides to end-users today are utilized in "on-premise" deployments. Cloud computing with Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides an alternative for users seeking an alternative to purchasing or leasing their own hardware and facilities or committing to fixed hosting contracts. As the offering provides "cloud"-based web services, customers can very easily scale up and down their compute power as the demands on a business fluctuate.

Red Hat will support Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and later versions as part of this service.

Support, Maintenance, Operating System Images, CPU, Bandwidth, Storage - everything you need to get a service up and running.

• Support: Red Hat Enterprise Linux for cloud computing comes with a Red Hat BASIC SLA including 2 business day response and unlimited incidents. (Note that support incidents under this model are only for issues with Red Hat Enterprise Linux cloud based deployments and cannot be used for annual Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions.)
• Maintenance: One Red Hat Network update entitlement is included with each subscription, providing access to software updates and services to remotely manage running instances of Red Hat Enterprise Linux hosted in the cloud.
• Access to Red Hat Enterprise Linux AMIs: Red Hat provides Amazon Machine Images (AMI's) which are preconfigured virtual machines for the EC2 environment. When instantiated, these images will run as paravirtualized instances with the Amazon EC2 web service.
• CPU, Storage, Bandwidth: From Server to Bandwidth, Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes the necessary components for hosting and managing a public-facing server.

For Technical questions: Red Hat provides support for end-customer questions about the services. Technical issues will be addressed by Red Hat associates working in concert with Amazon support and engineering in the event of issues with the EC2 infrastructure.

For Customer Service issues: All customer service issues (Billing, EC2 Account Activation, etc.) should be forwarded directly to Amazon via application-payments@amazon.com.

Red Hat and Amazon will continuously evaluate the performance and service levels of this offering. There is no identified target date for the end of this beta.

While Red Hat Enterprise Linux cloud services include access to the same technology as other subscriptions from Red Hat, the on-demand nature of this offering includes some key differences in the subscription model.

• Monthly Subscription: Customers who subscribe will be charged a monthly fee for access to the maintenance and support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This subscription provides customers with access to Red Hat Network as well as access to AMI's within the EC2 infrastructure. As long as a monthly subscription is maintained, customers will have access to the services and will be able to start and stop servers on the Amazon EC2 web service.
• Hourly use fees: Upon instantiation of one or more servers at EC2, customers will be charged on a per-compute-hour model based on the type of server (Small, Large, Extra-Large) specified when the instance was started. For every server that is started, the customer's account will be billed individually for the use of that server by the hour.
• Bandwidth fees: Charges for actual bandwidth used into and out-of the EC2 web service.
• Storage fees: While there is no charge for use of the included storage with the instances (see below), there are additional fees for the use of persistent storage at Amazon's S3 service, which is highly recommended during the beta period.
• One Subscription per Account: Amazon Web Service (AWS) user accounts are required for all users who purchase this offering. As the product is providing access to an AMI - each AWS user account will only be permitted to purchase one (1) subscription to cloud computing Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Once purchased, each account can instantiate multiple servers on EC2 and can easily scale the service to meet the needs of the business.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux may be instantiated on cloud services for both 32- and 64-bit servers. The beta versions may be instantiated on the following servers:

• Small Instance: 1.7 GB of memory, 1 EC2 Compute Unit (1 virtual core with 1 EC2 Compute Unit), 160 GB of instance storage, 32-bit platform
• Large Instance: 7.5 GB of memory, 4 EC2 Compute Units (2 virtual cores with 2 EC2 Compute Units each), 850 GB of instance storage, 64-bit platform
• Extra Large Instance: 15 GB of memory, 8 EC2 Compute Units (4 virtual cores with 2 EC2 Compute Units each), 1690 GB of instance storage, 64-bit platform

Note that you will be billed for each instance-hour consumed at the rate for the instance size you are operating.

There are two types of fees for Red Hat Enterprise Linux in the cloud, fixed and variable.

• Fixed: US$19/month per customer account which provides access to the web service, updates, and support infrastructure. Regardless of the amount of usage of the instances, bandwidth or any other variable cost, customers must maintain an active subscription in order to instantiate and manage servers.
• Variable Costs: Depending on the extent of use, customers will be charged one or more of the following:
  • Hourly CPU/Instance:
    • Small Instance: $0.21 per instance-hour consumed (or part of an hour consumed)
    • Large Instance: $0.53 per large instance-hour consumed (or part of an hour consumed)
    • Extra-Large Instance: $0.94 per extra-large instance-hour consumed (or part of an hour consumed)
  • Data Transfer In: $0.11 per GB
  • Data Transfer Out: $0.19 per GB
  • Additional fees for any S3 storage which is used will be assessed directly by Amazon. Note that while the use of S3 is not mandatory for maintaining a working Red Hat Enterprise Linux cloud server, Red Hat recommends all customers manage their servers and maintain configurations within Amazon's S3 infrastructure. For more information on S3, see: http://amazon.com/s3

When you purchase cloud services with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you will be billed by Amazon for the monthly subscription fee, variable usage fees, and additional Amazon services that you consume which are not part of this offering.

Major Credit Cards billable to US banks are accepted by Amazon billing service.

This is a supported beta - and you will have access to one or more fully functional Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers with bandwidth and storage, backed by Red Hat technical support professionals.

Yes, Red Hat has partnered with leading hosting providers which provide a variety of solutions for customers needing a complete hosted solution. Customers who require longer-term fixed hosting solutions, are looking for strong relationship with local or regional hosting providers, and want value added services should look to these Advanced and Premier Red Hat Hosting Partners.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux for cloud computing is provided as a web service and is accessible by most regions of the world. During the beta, Red Hat is supporting customers in English-only web and email support, and hosting is provided out of datacenters located in North America.

Management of the Amazon EC2 web service is provided via commands which have been tested on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. Access to running instances is provided via SSH, preferably from a Red Hat Enterprise Linux workstation.

No. While the technology and support are in most cases identical to what is provided via comparable on-premise subscriptions from Red Hat, there are significant differences in how images (AMI's) are managed and metered. During the beta period, Red Hat will not permit the re-use of on-premise subscriptions within the EC2 web service.

No. Red Hat Enterprise Linux when hosted within the cloud is already virtualized. Subscribers are able to start new instances with a simple command and within minutes have a fully functional server accessible via the web. As this offering includes paravirtualized kernel, there are no supported mechanisms to further virtualize running instances.

Cloud based Red Hat Enterprise Linux is Red Hat Enterprise Linux and will retain the same release cycle. As a component of this service, Red Hat will publish new AMIs within the EC2 infrastructure when new kernels are released. Current subscribers will be able to instantiate and migrate data and configurations to these new AMI's. User-space updates and errata may be applied at any time to running instances via the included Red Hat Network entitlement.

Red Hat and Amazon have worked closely to ensure that the underlying hardware and infrastructure is certified for use with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Most Red Hat Certified Applications with a command line or web-based interface will perform identically in Red Hat Enterprise Linux hosted in the cloud as they would on-premise. During the beta, Red Hat will work with Red Hat Certified ISV's to identify both technical and business-related concerns that may appear.