Red Hat says 29 ISVs (independent software vendors) have joined its Telecommunications Partner Program during the last six months. Additionally, the company says it is working with leading NEPs (network equipment providers), ISVs, and operators to define requirements and ensure that RHEL can be deployed in carrier-grade settings.

Presumably, Red Hat's purchase of JBoss six months ago resulted in the windfall of partner registrations, although Red Hat itself did not draw that connection, in a press statement issued today. The company officially announced its Telecommunications Partner Program only three months ago.

Altogether, Red Hat lists more than 1,100 partners in its various ISV partner programs. However it does not publish partner rosters for specific vertical market partner programs.

Similarly, Red Hat does not offer distinct vertical market versions of RHEL, instead maintaining a single distribution said to be capable of serving multiple vertical markets, an approach it says “makes the entire marketplace more efficient.”

Red Hat says it does not register RHEL with the OSDL's CGL specifications, because “the distinction and value of being 'registered' is unclear.” Instead, the company works with leading NEPs, ISVs, and operators to define requirements and ensure that RHEL can be deployed in carrier-grade settings.

Still, RHEL is said to incorporate 85 percent of Priority 1 requirements defined in the CGL specification, with the remaining 15 percent primarily said to represent technology planned for future releases, or else “immature technologies that have not been accepted upstream or whose future is not clear.” Supporting immature technologies is not a sound strategy given the company's commitment to support each RHEL release for seven years, it says.

Red Hat says it will use the Linux Profile published by the SCOPE Alliance as its guideline for defining future telecommunications requirements. And, the company is also participating in OPUCE, a European Community project aimed at defining a next-generation telecommunication service delivery platform (SDP), as reported last week.

Additionally, Red Hat offers gap analysis reports on request that compare RHEL capabilities with those defined by both the Scope Alliance's Linux Profile and the OSDL's CGL specification.

Red Hat SVP Tim Yeaton stated, “Hundreds of telecommunications software providers now support Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Through Red Hat's Telecommunications Partner Program, telecommunications software providers are able to formally certify their products on Red Hat software, and can collaborate with us to promote and validate open platforms for telecommunications.”

 
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