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Anyways, let us examine the different components and see how far OSS can take us. Maybe it can't go the whole journey, but if it can do some, then a hybrid solution will work.

Open Groupware, SuSE's Open Exchange and OSER will handle the Exchange part, including support for all those MS Exchange clients, such as Outlook.

That just leaves the Active Directories part. ISC's DHCP supports Dynamic DNS. However, you may want to add in DHCP2LDAP to get a good link between DHCP and BIND. OpenLDAP provides the LDAP implementation part. Kerberos and DNS are easy (although some may quibble with my choice of Kerberos version!)

Provided you're not planning on having both MS Active Directory and the above amalgam running, you should then be set to go with a comprehensive Active Directory lookalike which will interact with client systems in the same way Microsoft's software will.

The problem I found is that there's almost no way of getting from a Linux solution -to- Active Directory. If AD is present, it must be a root server, which Linux CAN pull from.

Do I recommend this kind of a setup? Probably not. The Exchange and Groupware stuff should be fine, but the Active Directory stuff isn't as coherent as it could be and I've heard of nobody who has completely replace AD with an Open Source solution, even though from a purely technical perspective it should be possible.

Precision : NDS (Novell Directory Services) is no longer existing. It was part of Netware, and has been seperate from it's core to be eDirectory. eDirectory runs on Windows, Linux, Netware, Unix, Solaris

I would definitivly say Novell eDirectory They are doing directory services for so many years, and eDirectory is fully cross-platform, full-replication, etc.etc.. Linux Small Business is not suitable here, because it is for less than 50 employees.... But an OpenEnterprise server would be good for them. It can run ZENworks 7, and Groupwise 7 (full linux/windows/mac support)

2. A cobbled-together solution based as much as possible on OSS (as no direct equivalent exists).

Novell GroupWise is a complete collaboration software solution that provides information workers with e-mail, calendaring, instant messaging, task management, and contact and document management functions. The leading alternative to Microsoft Exchange, GroupWise has long been praised by customers and industry watchers for its security and reliability

• GroupWise Migration Utility 2.0.1 for Microsoft Exchange
• GroupWise PDA Connect 1.0 SP1 Multi Lingual
• GroupWise Import Utility 2.0 for Microsoft Outlook
• GroupWise Gateway 2.0 for Async Connections
• GroupWise Gateway 3.0 for Lotus Notes

Also, there are some really great LDAP/IMAP type solutions you can put together under Linux for zero cost. Obviously this option requires someone more capable than your typical point-n-click "MS-Admin". It would take one employee with the ability to read a book or some docs. Though, I know your typical point-n-click "MS-Admin" wants to be able to just put in a CD and let AUTO-RUN do all the "hard" work for them.

If I personally owned a small company with ~100 employees, I would rather have one talented admin that could handle *nix/Win than 2-3 point-n-click MS "admins". If you added up the salaries, that one guy would cost you less than the 2-3 less capable point-n-click MS "admins". TIJMO (This is just my opinion).

2. A cobbled-together solution based as much as possible on OSS (as no direct equivalent exists).

Novell GroupWise is a complete collaboration software solution that provides information workers with e-mail, calendaring, instant messaging, task management, and contact and document management functions. The leading alternative to Microsoft Exchange, GroupWise has long been praised by customers and industry watchers for its security and reliability

• GroupWise Migration Utility 2.0.1 for Microsoft Exchange
• GroupWise PDA Connect 1.0 SP1 Multi Lingual
• GroupWise Import Utility 2.0 for Microsoft Outlook
• GroupWise Gateway 2.0 for Async Connections
• GroupWise Gateway 3.0 for Lotus Notes

Also, there are some really great LDAP/IMAP type solutions you can put together under Linux for zero cost. Obviously this option requires someone more capable than your typical point-n-click "MS-Admin". It would take one employee with the ability to read a book or some docs. Though, I know your typical point-n-click "MS-Admin" wants to be able to just put in a CD and let AUTO-RUN do all the "hard" work for them.

If I personally owned a small company with ~100 employees, I would rather have one talented admin that could handle *nix/Win than 2-3 point-n-click MS "admins". If you added up the salaries, that one guy would cost you less than the 2-3 less capable point-n-click MS "admins". TIJMO (This is just my opinion).

Other Options to Consider:

Novell:
Linux Small Business Suite
http://www.novell.com/products/linuxsmallbiz/
It includes edirectory, groupwise for email, suse enterprise server,Novell ZENworks Linux Management Client

IBM (Lotus)
http://www.lotus.com/lotus/general.nsf/wdocs/nd7co ntent
You can use Domino as an ldap server.
Other IBM Software on Linux:
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/os/linux/software/
or
http://www-1.ibm.com/linux/matrix/

But when the guy essentially works for Novell, what the fuck did he expect? They didn't let the Oracle folks in either, eh?

The zealotosphere will of course take this personally and another round of "OMFG TEH M$ IS TEH EVIL!!1!" is forthcoming. That's fine. Just remember that Microsoft is not into giving competitors slots on their conferences just so they can come across as being nice. The PDC is not an all-access proletarian gig. If Icaza was still independent I'd put good money on him getting into the PDC to demo his stuff. With the Novell t-shirt however, things are a little different.

Oh, and BTW... OS News and every two-bit blog out there had this days ago. Slashdot is late to the party - again.

Btw, did anyone hear of Linus's attempt to copyright Linux? Does anyone even make a second glance at that incident? Or are you trolls too busy bashing Microsoft to notice or care? Because after all, you can be a hypocrite as long as you are doing it against Microsoft.

I thought it was stupid, and bitched about it in my journal here, and gloated about the ruling earlier this morning here.

I also notice that they tried to spin the ruling, but that it doesn't work. One of the original "talking points" was to prevent people from using the term linux in connection with, for example, porn, a la "linuxporn". Now they're pointedly ignoring that one of the consequences of this ruling is that anyone can go and make a "linuxporn" (whatever that would be - I'm sure it would be at least as popular as Lesbian GNU/Linux).

This was a dumb move, and it failed. But back to your problem - have you tried a copy of the knoppix 4.0 dvd? Or SuSE 9.3? It's neat watching it boot off an external usb dvd.

The entire "proposal" seems to me is an attempt bump the stock price up so they can sell off. I seriously doubt they have the best interests of the corporation in mind. Their proposal has shades of recent HP management -- hitting short term goals (Profit!!), while ignoring the long term health of the company.

As for Novell R&D, they've got iFolder, Hula mail and calendar server, and Mono. There's a few other things on Novell's Forge site, but they're not as "sexy" or even as useful as those other projects.

Jack Messman was CEO at the old Cambridge Technology Partners (CTP) before it merged with Novell. Somehow, he became CEO at Novell and has held the position for 5'ish years.
During his time on the board at CTP, then as its CEO and now as CEO at Novell, company value and performance has gone down. Way down.
I'm doubt his pay has. Though, his stock options must be underwater.
Somehow he weathers these storms as he drives these companies into the ground.

His previous experience was with Union Pacific Railroad, which seems quite different from these here technology companies. If he's in charge of a company then I'd short it. http://www.novell.com/company/bios/jmessman.html

What do you mean, fully released? eDirectory has been running on Linux for like 5 years now...

First, to all you Slashdotters out there - I'm not trying to feed the trolls - this post looks legit to me - I'm just trying to help someone navigate what I'm sure you realize is very confusing - the Open Source world.

I'm posting anonymously because this isn't really the proper place to discuss this (don't ask me what the proper forum is - it probably isn't on Slashdot, although you might try the Ask Slashdot section), so this will very likely get modded down. Also, let me say from the beginning that I am still learning Linux myself, but I know several people who are bona fide experts, and am fairly familiar with the basics of the open source community. A full primer on open source and Linux is far beyond the scope of this post - I suggest spending some time with Google and perhaps Wikipedia for more in-depth information. Your IT consultant may also be a good resource since he or she installed Firefox on your computer.

First, let me say that - in my opinion, others would disagree - Linux is going to be more complicated for a non-technical user than Windows. My experience has been that Linux is more complicated and harder to install and operate. I would venture to say that to run Linux, you will need an expert of some sort - either you must become an expert yourself, or you must get an expert to help you. You can do this by hiring an expert, or by purchasing support for the version of Linux you use. Be sure, however, not to confuse software with support. There is such a thing as software that you don't have to pay for. You will probably always have to pay for support for that software, no matter what operating system you use. Everyone has their own opinion on what operating systems require the most support (my personal opinion is that Linux requires more support than Windows); many people will agree that if you want to minimize the the amount of support that you need, you would be well advised to look at Apple's OS X.

I'm not familiar with Redhat's business plan, but I do know that they cannot (legally) charge for the portion of Linux that is licensed under a legal contract called the GPL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gpl/, http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html). I think (but don't quote me) that what they charge for is their add-ons to the core Linux operating system and for support of the operating system. Novell does a similar thing with SUSE Linux - although I know for a fact that you can download SUSE Linux for free - remember, that's just the actual software you get for free, no support is included (http://www.novell.com/products/linuxprofessional/ downloads/suse_linux/index.html). The bottom line is that you can get good, stable, production-ready versions of Linux that are totally free, and not maintained by any commercial entity. Some of the best known are Debian (http://www.debian.org/), Ubuntu - a derivitave of Debian (http://www.ubuntulinux.org/), and Gentoo (http://www.gentoo.org/). As for the "source" (or source code) of Linux or any other Open Source software, this is not something that will do you any good unless you are an advanced user. A discussion of what source code is goes far beyond a Slashdot post - suffice it to say that it isn't something you need to worry about at this point, and that you will need to become much more experienced with Linux before it will help you at all. Suffice it to say that source code is helpful because if a programmer has the source code to a piece of software, he or she can modify that software and make whatever changes he or she wishes. This is why open source software can be modified by anyone, whereas with commercial software, the source code is almost always a heavily guarded

Buy SuSE.

Read the manuals. They are *remarkably* good.

Step-by-step instructions for most *ANY* task you can imagine.

You can get the PDFs here http://www.novell.com/documentation/suse93/index.h tml
But its nice to get the things and hold them in your hand.

BTW: I posted a fairly long response to your topic above. I've described how I transffered my 8 man office to Linux. (mostly-- one guy refuses to use Linux, and sticks with Windows. I've told him that means he is on his 'own' IT wise---we no longer support Windows. He's fine with that, and I've warned him that if his desktop starts spamming out viruses I'll filter his IP.)

The amount large companies spend on support contracts dwarf what they spend on actual licenses. When your running Windows you can get a contract which will guarantee a support time of under two hours.

You can contract support from Novell. (Or several other companies.)

    Things like ActiveDirectory, which are a pain in the ass, but they provide one complete, integrated location to go to for managing everything.

ActiveDirectory is an NDS wannabe. NDS wrote the book on "one complete, integrated" management systems.

    Linux needs reliable support from big names, Novell is stepping up here, but they still aren't IBM.

Novell owns Suse. The original story was about Novell positioning Suse. IBM supports Suse.

    As for the management system, I have no idea, I have yet to find a system that will handle users, desktop lockdown, applications management/deployment/permissions, etc. from one, central, automated location.

You admit that you have no idea. Why don't you take some time and browse novell.com. You might go crazy about eDirectory, and ZenWorks.

What if Novell could integrate your IT Authentication and Authorization with HR? What if they embraced open standards like the Liberty Alliance, instead of locking you into only what they imagine themselves? What if you could deploy entire workstations, from OS to Apps to managed network connectivity, all from one central management console?

What if they could manage Windows, Mac, Linux, and more?

What if Novell really can offer some amazing things? What if they did all this, and nobody noticed?

The amount large companies spend on support contracts dwarf what they spend on actual licenses. When your running Windows you can get a contract which will guarantee a support time of under two hours.

You can contract support from Novell. (Or several other companies.)

    Things like ActiveDirectory, which are a pain in the ass, but they provide one complete, integrated location to go to for managing everything.

ActiveDirectory is an NDS wannabe. NDS wrote the book on "one complete, integrated" management systems.

    Linux needs reliable support from big names, Novell is stepping up here, but they still aren't IBM.

Novell owns Suse. The original story was about Novell positioning Suse. IBM supports Suse.

    As for the management system, I have no idea, I have yet to find a system that will handle users, desktop lockdown, applications management/deployment/permissions, etc. from one, central, automated location.

You admit that you have no idea. Why don't you take some time and browse novell.com. You might go crazy about eDirectory, and ZenWorks.

What if Novell could integrate your IT Authentication and Authorization with HR? What if they embraced open standards like the Liberty Alliance, instead of locking you into only what they imagine themselves? What if you could deploy entire workstations, from OS to Apps to managed network connectivity, all from one central management console?

What if they could manage Windows, Mac, Linux, and more?

What if Novell really can offer some amazing things? What if they did all this, and nobody noticed?

The amount large companies spend on support contracts dwarf what they spend on actual licenses. When your running Windows you can get a contract which will guarantee a support time of under two hours.

You can contract support from Novell. (Or several other companies.)

    Things like ActiveDirectory, which are a pain in the ass, but they provide one complete, integrated location to go to for managing everything.

ActiveDirectory is an NDS wannabe. NDS wrote the book on "one complete, integrated" management systems.

    Linux needs reliable support from big names, Novell is stepping up here, but they still aren't IBM.

Novell owns Suse. The original story was about Novell positioning Suse. IBM supports Suse.

    As for the management system, I have no idea, I have yet to find a system that will handle users, desktop lockdown, applications management/deployment/permissions, etc. from one, central, automated location.

You admit that you have no idea. Why don't you take some time and browse novell.com. You might go crazy about eDirectory, and ZenWorks.

What if Novell could integrate your IT Authentication and Authorization with HR? What if they embraced open standards like the Liberty Alliance, instead of locking you into only what they imagine themselves? What if you could deploy entire workstations, from OS to Apps to managed network connectivity, all from one central management console?

What if they could manage Windows, Mac, Linux, and more?

What if Novell really can offer some amazing things? What if they did all this, and nobody noticed?

The amount large companies spend on support contracts dwarf what they spend on actual licenses. When your running Windows you can get a contract which will guarantee a support time of under two hours.

You can contract support from Novell. (Or several other companies.)

    Things like ActiveDirectory, which are a pain in the ass, but they provide one complete, integrated location to go to for managing everything.

ActiveDirectory is an NDS wannabe. NDS wrote the book on "one complete, integrated" management systems.

    Linux needs reliable support from big names, Novell is stepping up here, but they still aren't IBM.

Novell owns Suse. The original story was about Novell positioning Suse. IBM supports Suse.

    As for the management system, I have no idea, I have yet to find a system that will handle users, desktop lockdown, applications management/deployment/permissions, etc. from one, central, automated location.

You admit that you have no idea. Why don't you take some time and browse novell.com. You might go crazy about eDirectory, and ZenWorks.

What if Novell could integrate your IT Authentication and Authorization with HR? What if they embraced open standards like the Liberty Alliance, instead of locking you into only what they imagine themselves? What if you could deploy entire workstations, from OS to Apps to managed network connectivity, all from one central management console?

What if they could manage Windows, Mac, Linux, and more?

What if Novell really can offer some amazing things? What if they did all this, and nobody noticed?

They are working on management - checkout Zenworks. They are currently developing it to be as fully featured as the Windows version.

You mean, like this?

As for running Linux and Novell software, why not replace the entire Windows system and use eDirectory instead of Active Directory? It runs on Linux.

http://www.novell.com/products/edirectory/

And use Novell Desktop Linux on all of the workstations. Seems like Novell realizes that they have the entire system already. Why not look into it? I've worked with Novell's eDirectory on Red Hat (Fedora) in the lab and it's fun. It also beats Active Directory hands down. Novell's desktop product deserves a cost analysis and review. The Novell client license costs par with Microsoft's and beats it in some situations. Novell is poised to offer an entire solution with limited and cheap licensing.

Obviously, if they're right Novell hopes that turn will be toward SUSE Linux.

There is a beta groupwise 6.5 linux client out that I have installed and tested. It's pretty damn decent imo. There is also a groupwise 7 client for linux that I have not tried.

Groupwise 7 client for Linux

You have no idea how good it is already. ZENworks for Desktops has been doing this for Windows for years now. And when Novell bought up Ximian, they got Red Carpet. That involved into ZENworks Linux Management, which has a web interface for management, VNC remote control to the managed machines, Linux imaging (ext2 and ext3 currently, ReiserFS support in the works), etc.

The cool thing is that you can demo pretty much anything Novell has to offer for 90 days, so give it all a whirl. The documentation is top notch, as is the knowledgebase and the user communities. If you get stuck, you can certainly find help.

Yes, considering that you can download and install any(*) of those Linux distributions for free, and that both Linux and Windows (and Mac OS and BSD...) are operating systems, doing basicaly the same thing... How exactly Windows qualifies as monopolly?

It's not that anyone forces you to use it, just download/buy any of the alternatives and use it.

So if you say that MS has monopolly on Windows OS market, I'll say that Linux has monopolly on..um... market of OS'es using Linux kernel?

(* not all of the Linux distributions are "completely free", and please don't start this "free as in this vs. free vs. that" argument)

Such large numbers (million users etc) always reminds me one company: Novell

Thanks to Myrealbox they are constantly testing their stuff in real life 24/7 and now with Suse it will be much more scalable.

http://www.novell.com/products/netmail/

http://www.myrealbox.com/ (their testing)

save 50% if you switch to novell from a major competitor. http://www.novell.com/products/openenterpriseserve r/promotion/index.html?sourceidint=rbanner_oesmigr ate_promo

I take your point, but it seems to depend on context. The major Linux distros, for example, seem to be seeling pretty well from my local PC store at around 30-40 pounds (I'm in the UK), which is a pretty significant fraction of the asking price for Windows XP Home.

Said distros are sold that price for price of the support and documentation that come with them (support you don't have when you buy WXP Home), and sometimes for price of paid softwares bundled in the package, not for the distro itself.

I guess it's all about convenience. Whereas things like Firefox or OpenOffice.org can usually just be downloaded from the project's web site, it's harder to find a "pre-fab" version of SUSE Linux for example.

Ah yeah, really hard, I mean you have to click on links to Novell from suse.de, really really hard walli walli walli

and everyone clearly knows that one can't find any freely downloadable distro on teh intarweb

From Architecture to Secure Identity Management (SIM), Analytics to exteNd, Novell employees are putting their heads together in Communities of Practice. At Novell, Communities are more than just a group of like-minded individuals talking shop. They provide a primary information source for members, while promoting networking and fostering a culture that values and encourages knowledge sharing and collaboration.

Sounds like your problem isn't all that difficult. You don't have to communicate with a network. There are many military standards that might be acceptable. Some have mentioned security levels such as A, B, C2, and so on. Those are from an old standard which has been replaced with Common Criteria, which are Protection Profiles and Evaluation Assurance Levels (EALs). EALs go from 1 to 7. (Incredible that no one has mentioned CC, PPs, and EALs yet.) EAL7 is roughly equivalent to A. EAL5 and higher are extremely hard to get-- last time I looked, there were only 2 things approved at those levels. Luckily, you won't need more than EAL4 and perhaps much less-- EAL1 might be good enough-- and quite a few things are EAL4 approved. There are also a fair number of labs that can test for up to EAL4 compliance. For what it's worth, Windows is EAL4 certified but only for a few PPs, and SUSE Linux is EAL3+ certified.

I've worked with IBM, bought a bunch of JS20s (2.2GHz 970 PPC powers those things). But typically IBM pushes Suse Linux Enterprise Server 9 for Power. Yes, that will run on a PowerPC chip. This is mostly because it is compatible (and certified to run) with IBMs cluster management software CSM and their Global file system GPFS, it's the natural choice when installing a set of these machines.

Yellow dog just isn't big enough to offer the kind of product certification and support that Novel can offer.

People should have been using FBSD for wifi access points and aggregation long ago. Glad to see the corporate folks have finally figured out how linux errodes the bottom line.

The
stupider
ones
haven't
figured
it
out
yet.
You'd
better
go
tell
them!

We've been using Groupwise for a long time now and it's been a solid platform for us. Version 7 also natively supports pretty much all the functionality of the native Windows client with Evolution as well which is a big draw for us since we don't use Windows for our desktops. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet but I've been waiting for native calendar access for some time from Evolution to Groupwise.

I'm surprised that the article neglected to mention Novel's GroupWise. Most of your leading anti-Microsoft shops tend to be very pro Novel, and GroupWise is still very much alive and kicking (with version 7 just released yesterday). It supports e-mail, instant messaging, appointments, Microsoft Outlook, and it even comes with a license of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

I'm surprised that the article neglected to mention Novel's GroupWise. Most of your leading anti-Microsoft shops tend to be very pro Novel, and GroupWise is still very much alive and kicking (with version 7 just released yesterday). It supports e-mail, instant messaging, appointments, Microsoft Outlook, and it even comes with a license of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

I'm surprised that the article neglected to mention Novel's GroupWise. Most of your leading anti-Microsoft shops tend to be very pro Novel, and GroupWise is still very much alive and kicking (with version 7 just released yesterday). It supports e-mail, instant messaging, appointments, Microsoft Outlook, and it even comes with a license of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

isn't "that one" actually this one?
http://www.novell.com/

look at the developers list ..

http://forge.novell.com/modules/xfmod/maillist/arc hbrowse.php/hula-dev/?id=1613&prjname=hula&mlname= dev

also, last release
hula-r276.tar.gz 10-Aug-2005 11:16 11M

funny to see what is listed under "Linux Distro's"

Linux - Hula has been built and run on the following Linux distros
SuSE Linux 9.3
SuSE Linux 9.0
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9
Novell Linux Desktop 9
Ubuntu Hoary
Slackware 10.1
Mandrakelinux 10.x
Fedora Core 2
Fedora Core 3
Fedora Core 4
CentOS 4
Gentoo 2005.0
Foresight Linux
Debian Sarge
FreeBSD 4, 5
NetBSD 2
MacOSX 10.3.8
Windows 2000, XP, 2003

If you want a better deal then Novell has their Linux Small Business Suite package which includes SLES9 and GroupWise licenses .... along with a few other products. Still cheaper than MS small business offerings.

If you want a better deal then Novell has their Linux Small Business Suite package which includes SLES9 and GroupWise licenses .... along with a few other products. Still cheaper than MS small business offerings.

If you want a better deal then Novell has their Linux Small Business Suite package which includes SLES9 and GroupWise licenses .... along with a few other products. Still cheaper than MS small business offerings.

As I understood it, SuSE employed several KDE developers. I assume this talent went with the sale to Novell.

Why? SuSE still is a strong supporter of KDE. They even still look for KDE developers (sorry, link in German).

There are actually a lot of mirrors where you can download the latest SuSE DVD / CD ISOs.

"It would be interesting, however, to see Novell's take on this." If I remember correctly...in one of the documents that Novell released... http://www.novell.com/licensing/indemnity/legal.ht ml Novell (Think it was a Jack Messman letter to Darl) stated that EVEN if SGI did use UNIX code it was removed quickly therefore no big deal. (My words not his) As much as I would like to see the Linux community move in for the kill as well (assuming story is true). I think it would be better if the Linux/OSS community does not sink down to SCO's level. Let Novell and IBM deal with them in order to protect their claims. While the Linux community watches on the sidelines. Just my 2 cents

I doubt any major distribution will ever ship it out of the box.

Already done

From Article
However, as the stewards of the UNIX operating system, SCO is committed to providing technology leadership and delivering on the promise of UNIX-based solutions for many years to come.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Novell the stewards of UNIX?

• Sun's Java JRE's license specifies that redistribution of this software is only allowed if it is "bundled as part of, and for the sole purpose of running, your Programs". Making a copy of the JRE as part of an entire copy of a GNU/Linux distribution seems to serve a different purpose.
• Acrobat Reader's license allows you to redistribute the software but requires you to keep no copies: "You may not, rent, lease, sublicense, assign or transfer your rights in the Software, or authorize all or any portion of the Software to be copied onto another user's computer except as may be expressly permitted herein. You may, however, transfer all your rights to Use the Software to another person or legal entity provided that: [...] (b) you retain no copies, including backups and copies stored on a computer [...]".

I think you mean NLD (Novell Linux Desktop) rather than NDL.

I'd also like to point out that NLD is strictly oriented for desktops; if you want to run SuSE on a server (with support from Novell), you should use SLES (SuSE Linux Enterprise Server).

Basically, SuSE Professional (and I suppose now OpenSUSE) is the development version of the distribution. It is changing fast, with new releases made very often (at least when compared with SLES and NLD). SLES and NLD, on the other hand, are much more stable. Novell recommends using SLES and NLD on corporate environments (instead of SuSE Professional).

Suse is free.... :S allthough you can choose to pay for the cd and get support i've been useing SuSE for about a year now and i love every second of it but the software is free to download and install.. check out the
mirrors
http://www.novell.com/products/linuxprofessional/d ownloads/ftp/int_mirrors.html

Well, I don't have Suse installed right now, so I don't have a way to verify this, but afaik they really changed their update mechanism in the newest version (9.3 I think) and now use deltarpms, which are essentially binary diffs.

http://www.novell.com/products/linuxpackages/profe ssional/deltarpm.html

But if you want AMD64 optimisation or support you have to pay up.

Nonsense. The AMD64 version is available for download as a DVD image or for FTP installation. Read SuSE's own download page.