BANGALORE: Novell has announced the availability of SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, the operating system designed for the next-generation data center. As data centers become more heterogeneous, customers are demanding a cost-effective platform that can run their applications reliably and with high performance on any hardware platform and hypervisor as well as in appliances and cloud computing infrastructures. According to the press release, with SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, Novell is delivering the leading mission-critical Linux* platform to allow customers to economically deploy workloads wherever and however they choose, with complete support from Novell and its global partner ecosystem of solution and hardware providers and independent software vendors (ISVs).

“A recent survey conducted by IDC and sponsored by Novell confirmed that around 50 percent of IT executives are planning to increase their adoption of Linux server and desktop technologies this year because of the economic downturn,” said Jeff Jaffe, chief technology officer at Novell. “With the release of SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, Novell is helping IT professionals save money while addressing other key issues identified in the survey, such as interoperability, support for mission-critical computing and the flexibility to deploy Linux in a wide range of environments.”

SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 delivers innovations across the enterprise. The platform contains major enhancements to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and delivers two new extensions – SUSE Linux Enterprise Mono Extension, the only product that enables customers to run fully supported Microsoft .NET-based applications on Linux, and SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension, a clustering product that ensures uptime for mission-critical applications while slashing the cost of ownership for high availability. As the operating system for the next-generation IT infrastructure, SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 was designed using three core themes: ubiquity, interoperability and mission-critical computing.  

“As virtualization realizes its full potential and cloud computing begins to transform the data center, operating systems need to be engineered to enable these new solutions,” said Matt Eastwood, group vice president at IDC. “By fully supporting physical, virtual, appliance and cloud computing models with SUSE Linux Enterprise, Novell can help customers at each step in the evolution of the data center. For customers seeking an operating system that works with their existing IT infrastructure while reducing the cost of enterprise computing, Novell has delivered SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 and a comprehensive set of solutions for identity, security and systems management.”

As part of a complete solution, SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 will be supported byNovell's global strategic partners – including Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC, Oracle and SAP AG – and its entire ecosystem of solution, integration, hardware and software partners.

Availability
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11, SUSE Linux Enterprise Mono Extension and Novell ZENworks Linux Management 7.3 are available now. SUSE Linux Enterprise JeOS will be available in April and SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension will be available in the second quarter of this year. Later in 2009, Novell plans to release updates to SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Service, SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time Extension and SUSE Linux Enterprise Thin Client.

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