REDMOND, Wash., and WALTHAM, Mass. — Sept. 10, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. are announcing the availability of a joint virtualization solution optimized for customers running mixed-source environments. The joint offering includes SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server from Novell® configured and tested as an optimized guest operating system running on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, and is fully supported by both companies’ channel partners, including Dell Inc., which will test and validate this offering at the Microsoft and Novell joint Interoperability Lab in Cambridge, Mass. The offering provides customers with the first complete, fully supported and optimized virtualization solution to span Windows and Linux* environments.
The new offering represents significant progress in the Microsoft-Novell collaboration and business model first announced in November 2006, which delivers seamless integration of SUSE Linux Enterprise and Microsoft Windows, providing a bridge between proprietary software and open source software. The virtualization solution is the first to include technology developed by both companies at their joint Interoperability Lab, including virtual machine adapters built to optimize SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as an optimized, or often referred to as enlightened, guest operating system on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, providing optimized performance to SUSE Linux guests.
“The collaboration between Microsoft and Novell has been built by our desire to meet our customers’ and partners’ IT needs, and to deliver solutions that support customers’ mixed-source environments,” said Bob Kelly, corporate vice president of infrastructure server marketing within the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. “For customers standardizing on Microsoft’s hypervisor who also have a mixed-source IT environment, this virtualization solution gives that choice. For channel partners who need a cross-platform hypervisor offering, our work with Novell gives them an easy starting point.”
The new offering represents more than 18 months of technical collaboration undertaken between Microsoft and Novell in response to customer demand for a virtualization solution that provides high performance and ease of deployment, and is tested and supported. The joint solution is fully supported by Microsoft, Novell and participating channel partners, including Computer Integrated Services Company of New York LLC (CIS), Continental Resources Inc., Dell, Insight, Total Tec Systems Inc., and 21Vianet. Dell is the only major systems vendor to participate in the program and will provide updates on its Web site — http://www.dell.com/novell — that references the validation conducted on Dell PowerEdge server blades and rack-mounted systems.
“Virtualization radically simplifies IT, providing greater flexibility and helping our customers focus their resources on innovation instead of maintenance,” said Rick Becker, vice president of Software and Solutions, Dell Product Group. “By supporting this new solution from Microsoft and Novell, we can provide our customers running mixed Linux and Windows environments with an optimized solution that is quick and simple to deploy.”
“We’re very pleased to be offering this new virtualization solution with Microsoft and our channel partners, which demonstrates the success of our ongoing technical and business relationship and the unique, high-value solutions we can deliver for our customers,” said Roger Levy, general manager and senior vice president, Open Platform Solutions, Novell. “Together, we offer our customers dramatic cost savings and greatly enhance overall business agility, allowing them to leverage SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as the best virtualized guest for those who are using Hyper-V. Novell has worked closely with Microsoft on virtualization solutions, and was a charter member of its Server Virtualization Validation Program, with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server a fully supported and validated operating system on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.”
“The availability of this virtualization solution from Novell and Microsoft further proves that the two companies can and are continuing to deliver on the promises of their collaboration,” said Janet Waxman, vice president for Hardware Channels and Alliances at IDC. “This offering is a net win for the channel partners who now can offer their customers a fully supported and optimized virtualization solution for mixed Windows and Linux environments.”
The original November 2006 Microsoft-Novell agreement included four areas of technical collaboration: virtualization, standards-based systems management, identity federation and document format compatibility. Since then, the companies have announced three other areas of collaboration: Moonlight, accessibility and a new SUSE Linux Enterprise Server management pack for Microsoft System Center product. With the new Linux Enterprise Server management pack, Microsoft System Center customers can manage Windows and Linux environments, both physical and virtual, from one common tool. Novell is also a charter member of Microsoft’s Server Virtualization Validation Program, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a validated operating system in the program.
More information about the Microsoft and Novell agreement can be found at http://www.moreinterop.com.
Industry Partner Quotes
“Continental Resources Inc. is excited about the launch of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and Microsoft Corp.’s ongoing technical work with Novell Inc. This collaboration around virtualization technologies extends both Windows Server 2008 and SUSE Linux Enterprise functionality and competitiveness in the marketplace. As a systems and network integrator, Continental Resources focuses on key vertical industries and will be offering this joint virtualization solution because it addresses the needs of the heterogeneousness data center. With our large profile of industry-leading customers, the ability to have SUSE Linux Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 coexist in a virtual environment will extend Continental Resources’ ability to provide the products and services that make our end users more competitive and responsive to business needs.”
— Ken Simon, Vice President of Sales, Enterico Division, Continental Resources Inc.
“Total Tec Systems Inc. (Total Tec) is pleased to give customers the ability to run a virtualization solution of the Microsoft Hyper-V platform with SUSE Linux Enterprise as an optimized guest. Total Tec is committed to helping businesses adapt to continuous change and enabling them to gain a competitive advantage. A primary component of the adaptive enterprise is virtualization, and we are excited to offer a solution that gives customers the confidence to run SUSE Linux Enterprise Server optimized and tested as a guest on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. When coupled with Total Tec’s class-leading assessment and infrastructure optimization services, customers will be able to get the IT agility they need to respond to changing business priorities.”
— Paul Collins, CTO, Total Tec Systems Inc.
“Computer Integrated Services Company of New York LLC is a systems integrator with long and successful Microsoft, Novell and Open Source Linux practices. We provide integration and support at our clients’ data centers as well as at our own data center. Until now, there has been no viable approach to provide all required data center server-based functionality in one common platform. The announcement of the Microsoft Hyper-V solution with full interoperability with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server changes everything. Computer Integrated Services is now enabled to provide the best available solutions for host, application and server consolidation all aboard one common platform. The configurations of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Hyper-V seamlessly virtualizing SUSE Linux Enterprise servers will provide new levels of flexibility without sacrificing the stability and support data centers require. Together, this virtualization solution from Microsoft and Novell has solved the problems of the heterogeneous data center and delivers the cost savings that virtualization provides. Computer Integrated Services will support this with a variety of value-added services including readiness assessments, virtualization implementations, Linux platform conversions and server migrations.”
— Michael Zepernick, President, Computer Integrated Services
“We are very pleased to be a partner of Microsoft and Novell’s in bringing the leading virtualization technology to the Chinese market. The solution of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V hosting both Windows and SUSE Linux Enterprise meets our customers’ needs for best-in-class virtualization solutions for a heterogeneous infrastructure. We anticipate much success in our relationship concerning this innovative solution for virtualization interoperability and intellectual property peace of mind.”
— Ren Jiang, Market and Business Development Director and Chairman Assistant, 21Vianet
About Novell
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers the best engineered, most interoperable Linux platform and a portfolio of integrated IT management software that helps customers around the world reduce cost, complexity and risk. With our infrastructure software and ecosystem of partnerships, Novell harmoniously integrates mixed IT environments, allowing people and technology to work as one. For more information, visit www.novell.com.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Novell and SUSE are registered trademarks of Novell Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.
* Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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