Support Options | Product support is a key component of a comprehensive software solution.
For mission critical systems, customers rely on the vendor to provide timely, expert-level support to resolve crisis situations. Microsoft and Red Hat both offer a range of free and paid support options for the server operating systems they sell / distribute. While the Microsoft approach is a "pay for what you need" model, the Red Hat approach can be best characterized as a "pay for what you might need" model. |
FREE SUPPORT
(  Show all
)
| Microsoft Windows Enterprise Support |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Support
| Knowledge Base / Documentation | |
| | -
Official site: http://kbase.redhat.com/
-
17,000+ results in documentation search for 'Linux' at RedHat.com
-
480+ guides, FAQs, and HOWTO documents on Linux (not specific to Red Hat) at independent Linux Documentation Project (http://en.tldp.org)
|
| - Knowledgebase machine translated into 9 languages
- Knowledgebase partially localized into 37 languages
-
Support sites in 41 languages
| - Documentation guides available in 24 languages
- Advanced topics such as cluster administration and Global File System in English only
|
| - 16 Microsoft hosted forums specifically for Windows Server
- 330,000+ posts in Microsoft hosted forums
| -
180+ mailing lists hosted by Red Hat (topics related to Linux)
- 74 lists are for Fedora (noncommercial distribution derived from RHEL but not supported by Red Hat: http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo)
|
| - 100 employee blogs on Windows Server
| - 29 employee blogs at blogs.redhat.com
|
| -
313 newsgroups in 12 languages on "Windows Server"
- 3266 newsgroups in 19 languages on 'Windows'
| -
174 newsgroups in 10 languages on "Red Hat" / "RedHat"
- 4365 newsgroups in 19 languages on 'Linux'
|
| - 39 community sites promoted at Microsoft.com
| - 2 community sites promoted at RedHat.com:
- LinuxQuestions.org (not exclusively RHEL)
- Fedoraforum.org (covers Fedora, the noncommercial variant of Red Hat Linux)
|
| PAID SUPPORT
( Show all
)
| Microsoft Windows Enterprise Support |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Support
| Support Programs | |
| Essential:
10-20 hours of proactive support / guidance
15-30 hours of 24x7 problem resolution support
Support account management, Planning/Resource Facilitation
| Basic Subscription:
1 year web support, 2 business day response, unlimited incidents
Standard Subscription:
1 year 12x5 phone support, 1 year web, unlimited incidents
| Foundation:
10 hours of proactive support / guidance
30-60 hours of 24x7 problem resolution support
Support account management, Planning/Resource Facilitation
Global and regional workshops
IT Health Check programs
| Premium Subscription:
1 year 24x7 phone support, 1 year web, unlimited incidents
| Standard:
Builds on Foundation support program
Designated Technical Account Manager
Orientation and Planning Session
40-140 hours of proactive support / guidance
120-200 hours of 24x7 problem resolution support
Reactive On-Site Support
| Technical Account Management:
Additional subscription program
Provides a consistent primary technical contact at Red Hat
Proactive support / guidance
Two on-site technical review visits per year
| Plus:
Builds on Foundation support program
Designated Technical Account Manager
Orientation and Planning Session
100-400 hours of proactive support / guidance
200-400 hours of 24x7 problem resolution support
Reactive On-Site Support | |
|
Support and Subscription Options | |
| -
Patches, minor updates, and service packs
| |
| -
Volume license customers with Software Assurance receive unlimited web-based problem resolution support plus a number of phone incidents based on the amount spent
| |
| -
Additional email and phone incidents purchased on a per-incident basis
- After-hours support also available on per-incident basis
| |
| - Available to Premier support customers
| -
No (only onsite service is the Technical Account Manager program)
- TAM is not rapid onsite support for critical problem resolution.
|
| Premier Support customers have 24x7 access to phone support for their incidents and are guaranteed response times that align with the severity of their problem. Critical problems, for example, receive a response from Microsoft in one hour or less. The customers themselves define the severity of the incident, i.e., if the customer feels the incident is critical, it gets one hour (or less) response time. | Red Hat support is provided in the form of annual subscriptions that are purchased on a per-server basis. Customers can buy a mix of support options but a specific server must have an activated subscription to receive support and software updates. (Each server must be activated using an installation number.) |
| -
3200 support engineers around the world (plus 1000 field engineers)
| - 200+ Red Hat Certified Engineers
|
| -
Average 2m calls a year
- 5 main support centers + 30 local support centers
| -
3 tiers of support
-
80% of issues resolved at tier 1 or 2
- Approx. 7000 issues per month (as of Nov 2006)
|
Other Services / Offerings | |
| -
Available in Premier and Essential support packages
| - Available via Technical Account Manager (TAM) services
|
| - Available for assistance with TechNet database (TechNet Concierge)
| |
| - Public Windows Update service and Windows Server Update Services
| - Basic subscription required for any updates
|
| - Extended support for hotfixes that can be purchased only when needed
| - Basic subscription required for any updates
|
| - TechNet Plus (access to solutions, best practices and installation advice)
| |
| -
450,000 Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MCSEs) worldwide
- Partnerships with a range of service providers, such as system integrators, in various programs
| |
| | -
Red Hat Exchange: updates and product support for more than a dozen applications from partner ISVs including MySQL, Zimbra, and SugarCRM
|
Back To Top |
