Microsoft is offering Red Hat Enterprise Linux on its Azure enterprise-grade cloud computing platform.
The move is part of a partnership formed by Microsoft and Red Hat to deliver new standard for enterprise cloud experiences.
The companies will work together to address common enterprise, ISV and developer needs for building, deploying and managing applications on Red Hat software across private and public clouds.
Red Hat’s Enterprise Linux will now become the preferred choice for enterprise Linux workloads on Microsoft Azure.
Azure customers will be allowed to install their own Red Hat virtual machines and run applications like JBoss Web Server, Gluster Storage and OpenShift. There will be pay-as-you-go Red Hat Linux images available.
The companies will have support teams on the same premises to allow integrated support.
Red Hat’s virtual machine and cloud management system, CloudForms, will add support for Azure deployments. Integration with Microsoft’s System Center allows customers to manage Red Hat Linux on Hyper-V and Azure.
Developers will also have access to .NET technologies across Red Hat offerings, including Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Microsoft cloud and enterprise division executive vice president Scott Guthrie said: ""With this partnership, we are expanding our commitment to offering unmatched choice and flexibility in the cloud today, meeting customers where they are so they can do more with their hybrid cloud deployments — all while fulfilling the rigorous security and scalability requirements that enterprises demand."
