Red Hat Partners Champion Image Mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux to Accelerate AI Innovation

May 07, 2024 at 10:00 AM EDT

Software and hardware ecosystem rallies behind the simplicity and speed of container-native deployments for the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform

Red Hat, Inc., the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced support across its partner ecosystem for image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, a new deployment method that places containers at the core of the enterprise operating system. With image mode, Red Hat partners across the hardware and software spectrums have an easier, streamlined pathway for testing and deploying Red Hat Enterprise Linux-certified applications.

As technologies like AI extend traditional CI/CD and other software pipelines, image mode helps partners cut through increasingly complex and time-sensitive computing environments. With containers as the platform’s building blocks, individual components of certified applications can be updated via singular containers, rather than monolithic updates or traditional patches, helping partners and their end users move faster and with greater control.

Image mode changes the delivery paradigm for the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform. Image mode builds on the success of container-native open source projects like bootc to make the core operating system manageable like any other container application workflow. This means that the same tools partners already use in containerized CI/CD pipelines, content scanning or management can be used in updating their Red Hat-certified applications.

Containers can become significant update channels for Red Hat Enterprise Linux-certified applications, enabling vendors to push specific, targeted updates to customers depending on their unique applications or appliances. For edge deployments, partners can benefit from image-based updates and rollback to unlock faster time to value while also bolstering security and reliability, which is especially crucial for edge systems.

Image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is currently available as a Technology Preview via Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 and under evaluation by leading independent software vendors (ISVs), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and hardware vendors. In addition, all Red Hat Enterprise Linux-certified hardware is supported by image mode.

With support across its diverse and skilled partner ecosystem, Red Hat is enabling customers to tackle pressing challenges when building, deploying and managing an operating system at scale while also establishing critical workflows to build intelligent applications with integrated AI capabilities.

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Supporting Quotes

Stefanie Chiras, senior vice president, Partner Ecosystem Success, Red Hat

“Red Hat Enterprise Linux is backed by a skilled ecosystem of certified hardware providers, OEMs, software and application vendors to deliver enhanced value and capabilities for customers, wherever they choose to deploy. With image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we are further enabling the Red Hat partner ecosystem with a flexible and reliable containerized operating system, equipped with the added security capabilities and application development models that customers expect from the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform.”

Sean McGee, vice president, Compute Product Strategy & Technical Marketing, Cisco

“Effective and rapid deployment of critical system updates is a long-standing imperative for IT. Image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux allows Cisco to better support customers with driver updates that can be dynamically applied while maintaining a trusted foundation of operating system immutability. This is a significant step forward in addressing the need for rapid, consistent, and secure system updates in modern application environments.”

Gil Shneorson, senior vice president, Solution Platforms, Dell Technologies

“Dell Technologies has been a pioneer in delivering reliable and consistent lifecycle management for infrastructure; we believe that consistent, reliable and safe system updates for enterprise IT operations is imperative as systems continue to evolve. New technologies offering organizations the ability to extend code updates and reduce deployment times will be important to maintaining progress in innovation."

Naga Rayapati, co-founder and CEO, Guise AI

“Guise AI's focus is to bring the full lifecycle of AI/ML models to construct an intelligent edge for any organization. Image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux can help further accelerate the time to value, simplify the operational cost and reduce concerns to enable an agile EdgeOps platform for any skill level to create a secure edge fabric.”

Frances Guida, director, Compute Solutions and AI, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

“For over two decades, HPE has worked with Red Hat to provide our customers with a cost-effective open source operating environment option to power their modern on-premises, cloud or virtual data centers. We look forward to working with our customers managing large clusters and high volumes of servers to leverage image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux to simplify operating system lifecycle management.”

Mark Skarpness, vice president, System Software Engineering, Intel

“From real-time industrial controls to AI/ML and full IT manageability, Intel aims to provide greater choice and flexibility to customers wherever they are. This demands an operating system capable of providing consistency while still supporting fluid, versatile workloads. We see image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux as a unique answer to a widespread challenge, offering the adaptability of a containerized operating system that supports optimized security and providing a pipeline for faster innovations.”

Brian Connors, vice president and general manager, Software & Business Development, Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group

“As today’s IT landscape extends beyond the data center to include a mix of on-prem, cloud and far edge applications, customers need solutions that simplify IT while accelerating intelligence and time to value across diverse systems. Together, Lenovo and Red Hat-based solutions help customers modernize and simplify their IT infrastructure to dramatically drive down operating costs and open the door to cutting-edge innovations. With image mode for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we see a critical opportunity to enable more reliable updates for custom configurations across Lenovo’s edge-to-cloud portfolio of servers to support mission-critical intelligence from the data center to the far edge.”

Additional Resources

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Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver reliable and high-performing Linux, hybrid cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Red Hat helps customers integrate new and existing IT applications, develop cloud-native applications, standardize on our industry-leading operating system, and automate, secure, and manage complex environments. Award-winning support, training, and consulting services make Red Hat a trusted adviser to the Fortune 500. As a strategic partner to cloud providers, system integrators, application vendors, customers, and open source communities, Red Hat can help organizations prepare for the digital future.

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