Frequently Asked Questions

This document is for users of Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation, Red Hat Ceph Storage or Red Hat Gluster. It will address commonly asked questions about the October 4, 2022 announcement regarding the strategic enhancements to the Red Hat and IBM Storage offerings.

What was announced?

Today, IBM announced the Red Hat Storage and IBM Storage businesses are coming together as a single group within IBM. By combining our storage missions, teams and technologies, we will be able to more fully harness our strengths to grow this business further and faster, accelerate innovation in cloud-native software-defined storage, drive new capabilities for IBM and Red Hat customers, and position IBM to compete as a leader in the Enterprise Storage System & Storage Software market.

The fastest way to understand this change, when it comes to deeper product specific questions, is to realize the announcement is a change to how Red Hat supplies its technologies. Prior to this announcement, Red Hat employed storage related resources that will now be employed by IBM. The change was specifically designed so that no disruptions would occur with Red Hat customers’ purchase or use of Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation (ODF) and Red Hat Ceph Storage (RHCS) with Red Hat OpenShift (RHOCP) or Red Hat OpenStack (RHOSP) offerings. Note that for those Red Hat Ceph deployments not associated with RHOCP nor RHOSP, the customer experience will remain the same until the Red Hat Ceph Storage Subscription renewal, at which point, Red Hat and IBM will work with you to transition to an IBM-based Ceph offering. With that in mind, let’s get to the Q&A!

Where will I download the product(s) now or get my patches?

Nothing has changed in this regard. You will still receive the Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation and Red Hat Ceph Storage offerings from the same Red Hat download properties such as access.redhat.com, catalog.redhat.com, and the OpenShift Operator Hub located within Red Hat OpenShift.

Will the color, product logo, brand related look and feel change?

No. The Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation and Red Hat Ceph Storage that you obtain through your Red Hat subscription will be branded as Red Hat products.

Is my Red Hat service level of standard or premium still the same?

Yes, your existing subscription level and services have not changed. The Red Hat Production Support Terms of Service and other subscription terms are the same.

Is the product life cycle changing because of this?

No. The Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation and Red Hat Ceph Storage product life cycles will remain the same.

Is IBM/Red Hat going to continue to develop open source code?

Yes. IBM plans to make Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation and Ceph Storage important pieces of their hybrid cloud software storage strategy. Storage products developed by IBM that are sold by Red Hat will remain 100% open source.

Are the Enterprise Agreements and Product Appendices I agreed to related to the Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation and Red Hat Ceph Storage offerings still active?

There have been no changes made to these Enterprise Agreements and Product Appendices as a result of this announcement. Everything remains the same on your purchasing agreements and no changes are needed.

Am I still protected under the Red Hat Open Source Assurance offering?

Yes. Policies and Guidelines of the Red Hat Open Assurance offering remain the same regarding Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation and Red Hat Ceph Storage.

How will I open support cases, open bugs and requests for enhancements, and generally work support issues?

Nothing is changing in this regard. You will continue to work through the same Red Hat web portals and processes you have always used ranging from access.redhat.com to bugzilla.redhat.com while you have an active Red Hat Storage Subscriptions.

What about Red Hat Gluster and the Gluster that is embedded inside the Red Hat Hyperconverged Infrastructure for Virtualization? Are they part of this announcement?

Yes. Red Hat Gluster and its uses are also included in this change, but please note Red Hat’s previous end of life announcements for Red Hat Gluster and its related product offerings has not changed. They will continue to move towards their existing and public end of life dates for Gluster and for Hyperconverged Infrastructure for Virtualization.

Do I need to get an IBM.com portal identity or IBM support login?

Customers of Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation with OpenShift and Red Hat Ceph Storage with OpenStack will continue to work directly with Red Hat. Red Hat’s support teams will work with IBM’s storage engineering resources. You as the end user or consumer of the Red Hat subscription for Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation with OpenShift and Red Hat Ceph Storage with OpenStack will not be impacted. You will work with Red Hat as you always have and not require IBM portal identities.

What happens to my subscriptions for Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation and Red Hat Ceph Storage?

Current active subscriptions for Red Hat Storage solutions remain the same for the remaining term of the subscription. You will continue to work with your Red Hat local sales team and Red Hat support as you always have on these products while your subscription is active.

How will renewals for Red Hat Storage products be managed?

Customers who have purchased and deployed Red Hat storage subscriptions as part of a Red Hat platform deployment (i.e. Red Hat Ceph with OpenStack, OpenShift Data Foundation with OpenShift) will be able to renew those subscriptions with Red Hat as part of their normal renewal. Customers deploying Red Hat Ceph as a standalone storage solution will receive more information about transitioning to the replacement IBM Ceph offerings at the time of their renewal. Red Hat and IBM will work to make this transition seamless for all customers.

Is there any benefit to me out of all of this?

Yes. In the recent two years, Red Hat focused much of its R&D for Red Hat Storage solutions towards their use with Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat OpenStack Platform. That meant Red Hat was not aggressively developing towards generic or standalone storage use cases. IBM Storage is a leader in the global storage market. IBM is prepared to invest in and continue to innovate for Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation and Red Hat Ceph Storage offerings. Customers will experience a faster delivery of these innovations.

What about Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus and its use of Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation Essentials?

Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus will continue to include Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation Essentials as part of its subscription coverage. Nothing is changing regarding how we offer Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation Essentials to our Platform Plus customers.