Bonum Certa Men Certa

Do-No-Evil Saturday - Part II: SUSE (SLES|SLED) Deployments

Eventful lizard

FOR SUSE, unlike OpenSUSE, this has been an events-packed week. Here is a quick rundown.

SLES



Rodney Gedda reports from Australia, claiming that a fire brigade has adopted SLES. Gedda himself is (or was) a SLED user.



The NSW Fire Brigades' has adopted virtualisation for its new disaster recovery strategy and in the process moved its core services from Windows to SUSE Linux.

NSW Fire Brigades’ IT infrastructure operations manager, Matthew Robey, said with 60 physical servers in a single production data centre there were increasing server costs, no more “real estate” to accommodate servers and a limited DR capacity.

“We consolidated servers using Oracle RAC and VMware, and moved from Windows to SLES 10,” Robey said.

Servicing more than 140,000 incidents per year, NSW Fire Brigades is a $500 million a year organisation with 7000 employees, 340 fire stations and some 900 fire trucks. To improve its level of DR, Fire Brigades built a new production data centre and used its existing Sydney city data centre as the DR site.


Matt Asay offers a glimpse at this current discussion about Novell's mixture of its past and future (SUSE) business.

NetworkWorld nails it with an article describing how proprietary licensing encourages companies to spend time protecting their past investments, rather than focusing on the future. While the article deals with Microsoft's ongoing legal battles with Novell over WordPerfect (Remember that?),

[...]

Red Hat and other open-source companies, in other words, are focused on the future, because that's what their model requires in order to earn renewals from customers.


SplendidCRM clearly seems like a lover of Mono, being the .NET-oriented company which it is. It's likely that some of its deployments are set up on SLES.

This release takes advantage of a number of advances in Mono, including support for Master Pages and AJAX. “We are grateful to Novell and the Mono team as they make it incredibly easy to create a cross-platform application using Microsoft .NET and C#,” said Mr. Rony.


Jason Perlow (of IBM) has apparently pressured Novell regarding SLES and OpenSUSE.

Look, I like openSUSE. A lot. I fought to get SuSE Linux Professional released into Open Source when the idea wasn’t even a twinkle in Novell’s eye. I run openSUSE on several of my personal systems, and I have it virtualized up the ying-yang on VMWare ESX 3i. And while openSUSE is stable, it’s not optimized for server use, it’s more of a end-user/developer OS, even though it could be “purposed” as a server and I frequently do this myself. However, openSUSE’s 2-year support cycle makes it viable as a server only for the most agile software development shops.


IBM's support of SLES is confirmed on POWER 6 servers, which still seem to be virtualising GNU/Linux under UNIX.

The Power systems, including the model 560 and the JS21 blades, can run IBM AIX, IBM i (formerly i5/OS and before that OS/400) or Linux. Specifically, they support AIX 5.2 up to the latest 6.1, IBM i from 5.4 up to the latest 6.1, and two Linux distributions: Novell SLES 10 SP1 or higher, or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5 upwards.


ITJungle has some more information about it.

The machine supports AIX 5.3 or 6.1, i 6.1 (but not i5/OS V5R4, which is supported on other Power6-based rack machinery), and Linux with the 2.6 kernel (Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server SP1 and SP2 and Red Hat's Enterprise Linux 4.5 or later and 5.1 or later releases are certified on the machine).


Here's a little gem about Teradata and SUSE. Teradata was mentioned a few times last month.

The Teradata Extreme Data Appliance, based on the field proven Teradata platform technologies, is an affordable, fully integrated, scalable platform with the quad-core Intel(R) Xeon(R) processor, industry standard high capacity storage, running on Novell(R) SUSE(R) Linux, and the marketing-leading Teradata 12 database and utilities. All components are pre-installed and the appliance is currently available.


SLED



SJVN is still a fan of SUSE on the desktop, despite his frustration about Novell's patent deal with Microsoft.

My answer is that those requirements pretty much narrow it down to Novell and SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop). Novell, and its resellers, knows support and SMB.


The following article about OpenOffice.org 3.0 offers some special treatment to Novell and SUSE.

"For 95 percent of the users out there, we believe OpenOffice.org can fully replace Microsoft Office," Grant Ho, senior product marketing manager of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, told InternetNews.com. Novell is a major contributor to OOo and includes the office suite as part of its SUSE Linux distributions.


Here are some SUSE revenue figures.

For those wondering how big Red Hat and Novell can become on operating-system revenue alone, keep that $61 billion number in mind. Most of that $61 billion is hardware-related, but it meant approximately $650 million in Linux server sales for Red Hat and Novell over the past year. As Linux eats into Unix, Red Hat and Novell can expect to grow linearly with it.


Novell's business, and particularly its revenue, are still barely touched or affected by the SUSE component, which probably accounts for less than 10%, depending on the criterion one chooses for measuring it.

Sub-notebooks



Another new sub-notebook called "PicoBook" hits the market and it comes with SUSE.

It also has an in-built webcam and a 4-in-1 card reader. The machine will come in two versions, one sporting the traditional Windows XP Home (the OS that refuses to die!) and also one with user-friendly Suse Linux. While the Linux one cost €£279, the XP version costs extra.


There is still some chatter about that IDG article which was mentioned last week. It was about SUSE and sub-notebooks. Here is some more commentary about it:

Use of open source OS in 'web-devices' is increasing exposure to alternatives to Windows claims Novell


OES2



Open Enterprise Server 2 SP1 is now a public beta.

Novell today announced the public beta of Open Enterprise Server 2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), which brings interoperability between Linux, Windows, Macintosh and NetWare to the next level. Built on the SUSE Linux Enterprise platform, Open Enterprise Server 2 is the only secure, reliable and scalable alternative to Microsoft that is backed by the best services and support of any commercial Linux distribution on the market.


Here is some more information:

Novell, a company offering Linux based virtualisation products, today (15 October) announced the public beta version of its Open Enterprise Server 2 with Service Pack 1.


The press from the east covered this as well.

Novell today announced the public beta of Open Enterprise Server 2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), which brings interoperability between Linux, Windows, Macintosh, and NetWare to the next level.


OES2 is based on SUSE.

Recent Techrights' Posts

With Workers Back From a Holiday Weekend, Microsoft Layoffs Carry on, More Waves to Come
Now it's Monday and people are bad to work, even some journalists
You Need Not Wave a Rainbow Flag This Month to Basically Oppose Arseholes Looking to Disrupt and Divide the Community
Don't fall for it
What Miguel de Icaza and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
Similar aims, different methods
The 'Corporate Neckbeard' is Not the "Good Guy"
Works for IBM
Microsoft's Nat Friedman Became Unemployed the Same Time the SLAPPs Against Techrights Started Coming From His Friends (Weeks After We Had Exposed Scandals About Him and the Serial Strangler, His Best Friend, Who Got Arrested a Few Days Later)
Nat Friedman is not "Investor, entrepreneur"
Weeding Out Extremism in Our Community
To me it seems like Microsoft Lunduke is rapidly becoming like a "hate preacher" who operates online, breeding an extremist ideology or trying to soften its image
Censorship Versus Fact-Checking and Quality Control
It's not censorship but a matter of quality control
Gemini Links 07/07/2025: BaseLibre Numerical System and TUI Rant
Links for the day
 
Layoffs and Shutdowns at IBM, Not Just Microsoft
Same as Microsoft
The FSF's (Free Software Foundation, Inc.) 2025 Summer Fundraiser Already Past Halfway Line
This is where GNU/Linux actually started
Mozilla Had No Good Reason to Outsource Firefox Development to Microsoft
What does Mozilla plan to do when GitHub shuts down?
Mozilla Firefox Did Not Die, It Got Killed
To me it'll always look like Mozilla got killed by its sponsors, especially Google, which had a conflict of interest as a sponsor
Dalai Lama Succession as Evidence That Determined, Motivated People Can Reach Their Nineties
And we need to quit talking about their death all the time
Dan Neidle, Whom Brett Wilson LLP SLAPPed (on Behalf of Corrupt Rich Tax Evaders), Still Fighting the Good Fight
Neidle fights for the poor people
Wayland Should Start by Dumping Its Very Ugly Logo
Wayland wins the "ugliest logo" award every year
Stop Focusing on Hair Colours, Focus on Corporate Agenda
If someone commits a crime, it does not matter if his or her hair was mostly white or there was no hair or a wig or whatever
Links 07/07/2025: Science, Conflicts, and a Fictional K-pop Group
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2025: Being a Luddite and Announcement of Gotify
Links for the day
Links 07/07/2025: XBox Effectively 'Dead', DMCA Subpoena Versus Registrar
Links for the day
The Nasty Smear (and Stereotype) of "Neckbeard" or "Greybeard" is Ageism
This is the sort of stuff they might try to volley at critics of Wayland
Why Many of Us Use X Server and Will Continue to Use It For Many Years to Come
Don't make this about politics
Brett Wilson LLP Uses Threats to Demand Changes to Pages or Removal of Pages Without Even Revealing Which Staff Member Does That (Sometimes People From Another Firm!)
This has been in the public for years
Dan Neidle Said "It Really Then Became a Job of Tormenting" Lawyers Like Brett Wilson LLP (Who Threatened Him for Exposing Crimes, Just Like They Threatened My Wife a Few Months Later)
he and his wife decided to take on the evil people and their evil lawyers
Large Language Models (LLMs) Externalise Their Cost to the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
"The forty-sixth Free Software Bulletin is now available online!"
Reinforcing the Allegations Some More, Bryan Lunduke Digs His Own Grave
In his latest episodes he merely repeats his own lies, which I debunked using evidence right from his own mouth
Global Warming and Free Software as a Force of Mitigation
we'll need to think about Software Freedom, not just brands like "Linux"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 06, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 06, 2025
[Video] "Copyleft Isn't a Bug."
"Copyleft isn’t a bug. It’s a feature. GNU GPL forced the world to treat code like a public good."
Being in Social Control Media Means Exposing Oneself to Heckling
Richard Stallman does not (either himself or directly) post to any social control media
Links 06/07/2025: Airlines Perils, Scams, and Breaches
Links for the day
Two Risks to Companies: The Microsoft Culture and the Microsoft Tools
Novell was killed by a form of "social engineering" by Microsoft
It's Hard to Trust People Who Worked - Not Only Those Who Still Work - at Microsoft
Bryan Lunduke is just what people would call an "arsehole of a person"
For the Second Time, Bryan Lunduke From Microsoft is Siccing Racist Trolls and Vandals at Me
You're only reinforcing the point we made yesterday
Links 06/07/2025: End to End Encryption at Risk, Reuters Twitter ("X") Account Withheld in India
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/07/2025: Tinylog and Certification Rotation
Links for the day
Links 06/07/2025: Climate Change and "The Right to Criticise"
Links for the day
PCLinuxOS Sites Coming Back, Gradually
let's just be patient
Social Control Media, Even If Based on Free Software, Still Has Many Problems
a distraction from what actually mattered and still matters
IBM is Not Your Master
IBM makes friends with people who exclude the majority of the population: women
Help Fund the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
If you have some dollars to spare, go support the FSF
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 05, 2025
A Short History of Attacks on Techrights (and Boycott Novell Before That)
good opportunity to tell again the story of several (not all) attempts to silence us
The Mainstream Media Took 4 Days to Realise Microsoft Shut Down Its Operations in Pakistan and Fired Everybody
We estimate that Microsoft has had about 29,000 layoffs since January
Leadership in Free Software
Don't let IBM lead. It's a terrible flag bearer.
“Twibel” Actions Against Comedians (and Why It's a Truly Low Blow)
they try to make up in quantities for a lack of merit or quality
Linux Foundation Apparently Flirting With Slop (Marketing by LLM-Generated SPAM)
The Web is in a really bad state!
COVID-19 Sped Up Site Improvements in Techrights
A few months later we created our very own IRC network
Gemini Links 05/07/2025: Negative Questions and 'Touching Grass' (Going Outside)
Links for the day
Links 05/07/2025: Dalai Lama Succession as 90th Birthday Approaches, 40 deg C in China
Links for the day
Links 05/07/2025: Hungary and US Defecting to Russia, "Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/07/2025: 4th of July 2025 and "Zig Roadmap 2026"
Links for the day
How to Combat the Exploitation and Abuse by Microsoft GitHub
Not to mention corruption and crimes against women
Bryan Lunduke is Actually Sending His Audience to Attack People
"[Lunduke] is actually sending his audience to attack people."
Even The Right Wing is Rejecting Bryan Lunduke
no wonder he became so irrelevant and marginal
Microsoft's MSN Helps Microsoft Spread Lies About the Layoffs' Scale (Well Over 25,000 People Laid Off This Year)
There seem to be monopolies on lies and on truth
The Death of X Has Been Greatly Exaggerated (by Compromised Media)
X.Org Server is alive and well
Rewriting Things in Rust
How far would you go?
In 2025 Everything is "AI". Remember Blockchains?
Talk about what companies and things (services, products, software) actually do, not the labels they use
Julian Assange Has Been Free for a Year
Julian Assange and I disagreed on some things
Monopolies and Scalping
Monopolies gravitate towards price hikes
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 04, 2025
Microsoft's August Layoffs Wave: "August is Confirmed for Additional Performance Based Cuts"
"August is confirmed for additional performance based cuts from the recent connects along with additional organizational cuts."
What Microsoft Reputation Laundering (With a Weaponised Law Degree) Looks Like in a Foreign Continent
You would expect this in uncivilised and primitive countries
Slopwatch: LLMs 'Write' Fake or Distorted 'News' About "Linux"
LLM slop disguised as news