Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1. Introduction

This guide explains the certification process, the policies pertaining to hardware certification, and the process followed by the Red Hat Hardware Certification Team to create hardware test plans.

1.2. Audience

The Red Hat Hardware Certification Program Policy Guide is intended for hardware vendors interested in certifying hardware with Red Hat. A strong working knowledge of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is required. A Red Hat Certified Engineer accreditation is preferred and suggested before participating.

1.3. Program Overview

The Red Hat Hardware Certification Program provides a formal means for you to work with Red Hat to establish official support for your hardware. Certified hardware is supported by Red Hat’s Global Support Services (GSS) and is published in the Red Hat Certification Ecosystem Catalog.

During the certification process, Red Hat engineers create a test plan that defines the hardware criteria required to achieve certification. Red Hat engineers follow the process described in Chapter 4, Creating the Test Plan to create a test plan suitable for your hardware specifications.

A description of the hardware certification process can be found in the Hardware Certification Process Summary section of the Hardware Certification Test Suite User Guide.

1.4. Certification Prerequisites

To verify that you are eligible to join the Hardware Certification Program, a summary of the most important policies are as follows:

  • Red Hat certifies hardware models, but not specific configurations of a model. All optional hardware configurations designated as part of the same model must be tested.
  • Testing must be performed with a standard installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux without special configuration or additional software, including drivers that are not provided by Red Hat.

  • Certifications are currently available for:

    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux  6, 6.10, and 7 for 32/64-bit x86, IBM Power Big/Little-Endian, Power9 (LE), IBM System z, and ARM.

      Also, optionally for:

    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Compute 9, 10, and 11.
    • Red Hat Gluster Storage 3.
    • Red Hat Hyperconverged Infrastructure 1.
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Real Time 7.
Important

The IBM Power9 (LE) and ARM architectures require an approved collaborative partnership to have been established to be eligible for certification. Your Engineering Partner Manager (EPM) should be consulted for further details, and discussion.

Chapter 3, Hardware Certification Policies describes each of the hardware certification policies in detail.

1.5. Giving Feedback and Getting Help

We Need Feedback!

If you find a typographical error in this guide, or if you think of a way to improve the certification program or documentation, we would appreciate hearing from you!

Submit a report in the Red Hat Bugzilla system against the product Red Hat Hardware Certification Program. If you have a suggestion for improvement, try to be as specific as possible when describing it. If you have found an error in the documentation, please include the section number and some of the surrounding text so we can find it easily.

Do You Need Help?

If you experience difficulty with a procedure described in this documentation, visit the Red Hat Customer Portal at http://access.redhat.com. Through the customer portal, you can:

  • search or browse through technical support articles and solutions about Red Hat products.
  • submit a support case to Red Hat Global Support Services (GSS).
  • access product documentation.

Questions During Certification

During the certification process, you may need to ask or reply to a question about topics which affect a specific certification. These questions and responses are recorded in the Additional Comments section of the Dialog tab of the certification entry.

Note

Personal emails are not a tracked support mechanism and do not include a Service Level Agreement. Please use the correct support procedure when asking questions.

Important

The Red Hat Hardware Certification Program presumes an advanced level of hardware and Red Hat product knowledge and skills. Red Hat product support is neither offered nor covered in the Red Hat Hardware Certification Program, but is available for purchase separately.

Warning

The Red Hat Hardware Certification Program does not resolve compatibility or product defect issues that may be encountered during the certification process. These issues may block a certification and may require resolution including hardware and/or Red Hat Product update(s) before the certification can proceed.