FRANKFURT: Dell, the world's largest personal computer maker, is teaming up with software maker Novell Inc. to offer computer servers that run Novell's version of open-source Linux operating system software.
Dell, which already has a similar agreement with top Linux distributor Red Hat, said that they wanted to give their clients a choice as Linux becomes a more popular alternative to Microsoft's Windows operating system.
All the major computer makers -- including IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems -- offer at least one Linux server version. Linux software code is collectively written and freely shared by tens of thousands of volunteer developers, with distributors such as Novell selecting, testing and adding code for customers.
Linux source code is also passed on to users, leaving them free to modify it to their own particular requirements -- one of Linux's main attractions over proprietary systems such as Microsoft's, whose code is secret. Its other perceived advantages are cost savings and higher security.
"SuSE Linux Enterprise on Dell PowerEdge servers provides customers another robust and scalable enterprise platform to replace costly proprietary Unix-based systems or to deploy Linux for the first time," Dell and Novell said in a joint statement.
Many large corporations have already switched to Linux for their servers, which manage network resources such as databases, printers or Web pages. Dell hopes its competitively priced offering of the Novell SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 will tempt more smaller firms to follow suit.
It will charge an annual subscription of 150 euros, 110 pounds or $175 for a single processor and 230 euros, 160 pounds or $269 for a dual processor, compared with a flat rate of $349 for its Red Hat alternative.
"It's the small and medium-sized business customer that we're going to attack now with this price point," Judy Chavis, Dell business alliance director, told a news conference at the LinuxWorld trade fair in Frankfurt.
Novell acquired SuSE, Europe's biggest Linux software distributor, at the beginning of this year to push into the growing Linux market.
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