Novells SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 Platform Goes Global

The company releases SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, products that aim to provide a secure and reliable foundation for enterprise computing.

CUPERTINO—Novells SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 platform, which includes SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, was made available worldwide on July 17.

The platform, which the company says provides a secure and reliable foundation for enterprise computing from the desktop to the data center, will be showcased at the upcoming LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco from August 15 to 17.

Novell has also simplified the pricing of SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 for enterprise customers, making SUSE Linux Enterprise Server subscriptions available for either mainframe or non-mainframe servers, letting customers choose basic, standard or priority support.

Click here to read more about Novells SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 platform.

Subscriptions start at $349 a server, with no additional cost for virtual server images. "With the new pricing, customers can save up to $1,000 over a similar Red Hat subscription for a non-mainframe server," Jeff Jaffe, the executive vice president and chief technology officer for Novell, said in a statement.

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SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop subscriptions are available for a list price of $50 per device a year or $125 for three years, and include 90 days of installation assistance, and product updates through the term of the agreement.

The SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 offerings can be downloaded here.

"We look forward to showing the world the capabilities of SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 at LinuxWorld, as we address the pressing needs of todays IT executives by being first to deliver fully supported Linux innovations such as Xen virtualization, improved performance and scalability, application-level security and improved desktop usability," Jaffe said.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server provides an open foundation for a variety of server workloads, including edge and infrastructure computing, enterprise database deployment, line-of-business applications, and mission-critical software applications.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop includes Xgl graphics, integrated search and a fully compatible office productivity suite through the Novell edition of OpenOffice.org 2.0, all at a list price significantly lower than Microsoft Office. It is initially being targeted at complete desktop replacements, retail point-of-service solutions, thin-client deployments and engineering workstations.

Click here to read an eWEEK Labs review of Novell OpenSUSE 10.1.

Nate Saunders, a product marketing manager in the open-source and Linux division of Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, Calif., said the company shares Novells vision of a Linux platform that is used "everywhere, from the desktop to the datacenter, and works across a single matrix and one code base."

In a presentation at a media event at HPs campus here July 17, Saunders said HP supports SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 across its entire ProLiant server family and its Integrity servers, along with a series of compatible management software applications.

Customers who subscribe to SUSE Linux Enterprise will get the latest software enhancements, bug fixes and security patches via regular updates through the Novell Customer Center, a centralized online portal that also provides access to technical support and is completely integrated with Novell ZENworks Linux Management.

Some customers, like Nathan Norris, the network administration supervisor for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, in Columbus, Ohio, said they welcomed the new platform. "The security, performance and reliability of SUSE Linux Enterprise provide superior service at a reasonable cost, and, with the backing of Novell, makes it the right enterprise platform for our mission-critical applications," Norris said.

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