Agrees to back use of SUSE Linux with Windows, plans joint work with Novell
For the full article by Eric Lai go to:November 06, 2006
Microsoft Corp. last week announced a deal to promote the use of Novell Inc.’s SUSE Linux operating system alongside Windows in mixed server environments  a move that came just a week after nemesis Oracle Corp. significantly tightened its embrace of Linux.
Under its deal with Novell, Microsoft doesn’t plan to sell or support SUSE Linux. Instead, it will recommend the software to Windows users who want to add Linux systems. It will also purchase from Novell and then distribute about 70,000 coupons annually that entitle users to a year’s worth of maintenance and support on SUSE Linux. The two vendors said they will do joint development work in several technology areas, including virtualization of Windows on SUSE Linux and vice versa.
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Microsoft-Novell Pact Has Red Hat Seeing Red
For the full article by Eric Lai go to:November 06, 2006
Red Hat Inc. Friday called the new alliance between rivals Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. "unthinkable" -- but still spun it as a victory for all Linux vendors.
Following on the heels of its "Unfakeable Linux" rebuttal to last week's incursion by Oracle Corp. into its core Linux support business, Red Hat Inc. Friday called the new alliance between rivals Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. "unthinkable" -- but still spun it as a victory for all Linux vendors.
"The best technology has been acknowledged," the company said in a statement posted on Red Hat's website overnight. "It means Linux has won."
A long-time foe of open source, Microsoft announced yesterday that it would work with No. 2 Linux distributor Novell Inc. to make Windows interoperate with Suse Linux in the data center in areas such as virtualization and web services. Microsoft will also help market Suse to its customers.
While both Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian said the two companies will continue to compete, they will aid each other with support to the increasing number of companies running mixed Windows-Linux environments.
The tie-up is widely perceived as the second blow to Red Hat in two weeks. Oracle said last week that it would clone Red Hat's market-leading version of Linux in order to offer discounted support to enterprise customers.
In its statement, Red Hat decried Microsoft and Novell's technical alliance. "Openly defined standards create interoperability everyone can implement. That's the real solution. It doesn't require a deal between two companies."
Red Hat also criticized Microsoft and Novell's patent cross-licensing deal. Microsoft vowed not to sue non-commercial Linux developers nor Suse Linux users for any possible patent violations, but declined to rule out suing other Linux companies or users.
In its statement, Red Hat also called that threat a looming "innovation tax." It said its Open Source Assurance program would allow customers to continue using Red Hat and JBoss software in case of a legal challenge and indemnify them against intellectual property infringement claims.
Red Hat continued to minimize the fallout from Oracle's move. In an interview yesterday before the Microsoft-Novell announcement, Red Hat's head of support said the company hasn't seen any of its 200,000-plus customers defect to Oracle yet.
"I've asked my support engineers to give me feedback. Honestly, it's been business as usual," said Iain Gray, Red Hat's senior director of global support. Most of Red Hat's customers are signed up for one- or three-year support contracts.
Jeremy Garcia, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based Linux systems administrator who also runs the LinuxQuestions.org website, said that Oracle's claim to provide support at half the price of Red Hat is less attractive than it first seems. "No enterprise customers pay anywhere near the published retail price for RHEL," Garcia said. "Having dealt with Red Hat on behalf of many companies, depending on quantity the discounts can be significant."
Gray said that Red Hat customers who run Oracle databases and/or applications and might be considered likely switchers to Oracle support, are not a huge percentage of its overall base.
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