The new bundling, called the Red Hat Application Stack, will be targeted at Java and LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and any of the Perl, Python, or PHP scripting languages) developers.
It starts at the obvious place, with the JBoss JEMS appserver. And it includes the goodies that JBoss has supported.
Among them is the Hibernate framework, a popular open source project for providing a simpler alternative to J2EE object/relational mapping that is led by a principal at JBoss. Other well-known elements such as the Apache framework (including the HTTP server and TomCat servlet container), and the PHP application framework are also part of the stack.
Completing Red Hat’s bundling of the LAMP stack, you’ll also get your choice of the MySQL or Postgres open source relational databases.
The strategy, announced roughly 90 days after the acquisition was completed, echoes similar moves by Sun and Microsoft in the past. Sun has traditionally bundled the Java Enterprise System with Solaris, while Microsoft continues to embed the IIS webserver and its equivalent of an appserver directly inside Windows.
But there are subtle and not-so-subtle differences. Unlike Microsoft, Red Hat is not embedding JBoss as an extension to the operating system. Unlike Sun, Red Hat is offering JBoss as an option. You can still get Red Hat Enterprise Linux or the free downloads a la carte. And JBoss will continue testing its stack on other platforms such as Windows and Unix, and says it won’t specially optimize it for Red Hat.
But it’s clear that JBoss is becoming just a bit more equal than other middleware platforms for Red Hat in that the bundle is fully certified, tested, and formally supported by Red Hat. That’s obviously not the case for JBoss on other platforms.
According to Todd Barr, director of enterprise marketing, the goal is simplifying and providing a single throat to choke when it comes to Red Hat’s implementation of the LAMP stack. The technology won’t be monolithic, but the management of it will be integrated, he said.
Although the Red Hat/JBoss stack will come with a variety of support options, Barr expects that the sweet spot will be for smaller deployments such as pilots or modest installs where the database and middleware reside in the same box.
The bundling also marks a dramatic expansion of JBoss’s go-to-market strategy. Previously, annual subscriptions were available only through online or direct sales. The new bundle will now be sold through Red Hat’s channel network.
But in this age of online distribution, channels don’t carry the same benefits as they used to. Given that JBoss is already well known online, the advantage of channel distribution is not visibility. Instead, it’s the ability for customers to now get JBoss from local Red Hat suppliers who could help them put the pieces together.
The starting price, which includes web (but not phone) support, lists at $1999 per server, annually.
