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IBM Invests $50M in Novell, May Ship SUSE Linux

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the big-deals dept.

dave writes "Novell announced that it has finalized a $50 million investment from IBM, and that IBM can now begin shipping SUSE Linux on all IBM server platforms. Historically, IBM has been a 'Red Hat shop,' and one has to wonder if this is a harbinger of things to come."

12 of 321 comments (clear)

  1. Bad times for Red Hat! by LoboRojo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    First they lost appreciation from personal users (Fedora affair), and now they lose support from big guys (IBM). I'd sell my Red Hat stock as soon as I could pick up the phone and contact my broker...

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    All my submissions to Slashdot rejected... and proud of it!
  2. IBM not a Red Hat shop by kinkie · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've had a few dealings with IBM regarding Linux in the past few years, and they've historically been pretty agnostic distribution-wise, with some slant towards SuSE on the mainframe, and Red Hat on the x86 platform (but I've heard friends of mine say that IBM pushed SuSE very aggressively on the x86 platform too).
    Remember that the first industrial-strenght implementation of a Linux system on the mainframe has been a joint effor by SySE and IBM.

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  3. Re:question? by Czernobog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As far as I know SuSE have one of the two best PPC linux distros out there, the other one being Yellow Dog.

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  4. Re:question? by slackr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Yes, IBM is huge. They retooled as a consulting company so they deliver "solutions" more than hardware, and that is why they've been big on Linux. Basically, there are a ton of little Linux consultants out there but for top-tier corporations you would only hire a company of large standing. IBM is really the only player in this type of (growing) Linux market (although Sun is moving in that direction, but my boss thinks that Big Blue will want to buy them out.)

    IMO, IBM could be thinking about buying Novell. A move like this helps them suss that out, but the acquisition of their own Linux distribution combined with a surprisingly large Netware install base is pretty attractive. Especially since just about all of the Netware sites are looking to move out of it there's a real opportunity for IBM to come in and make that happen on Linux before they go Microsoft.

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  5. IBM does play in the server market by frostycellnex · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I currently work for IBM, and I can tell you that IBM is definitely a player in the server market. We use both PowerPC and Intel-based processors, depending on what type of hardware configuration you're talking about. One segment of our server offerings also runs AIX (called IBM eServer pSeries). To fill in the picture, IBM still sells a machine (today called the eServer iSeries) which used to be called the AS/400, as well as a true mainframe called the eServer zSeries.

    IBM continues to produce Wintel PCs, and I believe at least a portion of our Linux offerings also run on Intel architecture, but there has been a PowerPC version of Linux for at least the past 7 years. I'm not certain what SuSE is running on, but I think it could be PowerPC.

  6. Changing to SuSE by Isldeur · · Score: 4, Interesting


    I think this is a great move. I moved to SuSE before for a while before I went to gentoo (simply because it's easier to update) and the SuSE people just do things well. It's like those German cars. When I first sat in a BMW and saw that the rear-view mirrors adjusted automatically when reversing or the window-wipers altered the length of their pause depending on your speed I thought "Nice job guys. Well done."

    I get the same feeling when using SuSE - nice things you never even thought of.

  7. War by Proxy by HighOrbit · · Score: 5, Interesting

    -- Caldera started by disgruntled Novell employees
    --MS finances Caldera/SCO to sue IBM
    --IBM induces Novell to register UNIX copyrights (after waiting 10 years to get around to it).
    --Novell Buys SuSe
    --SCO sues Novell
    --Now IBM pours money into Novell

    I know Novell is a company with a glorious past, but, just as SCO is a MS puppet/proxy, I think Novell is getting pulled into being a minor sattelite orbiting IBM.

    Man, this is better than a soap opera !

  8. Props to Novell by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They've really turned around the compnay in a really short amount of time. I mean Netware as a product was sort of dying out and they sold most of Unix (or the brooklyn bridge, its hard to tell). I thought they would just fade off into the sunset, or linger like a rotting corpse as a shell of its former glorious self( See Borland). Those executives should get a nobel prize in business. Wait, they don't give a nobel prize for buisness. I guess their huge salaries and bonuses will have to be enough. But, seriously they did a really good job.

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  9. Has to be said by onyxruby · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Has to be said, how long until IBM buys out Novell? They haven't exactly done too well these last few years, and Novell has a whole host of patents and IP that would fit in niceley with IBM. Not only that, but if this farce with SCO doesn't get dismissed soon, they would then be the direct owners of those Unix remnants that Novell holds onto.

    Novell is moving more and more into Linux, and there next version of Netware is to be Linux based, with no more stand alone netware products they just announced. Novell was once king, as was IBM in it's heydey. Between them they could well become king again.

  10. Sitting on two chairs by sofist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you look into the past you can predict future. IBM is not stupid. They do not want to create another Microsoft. They are going to play on two horses, one being RedHat and the other SuSe/Novell. This makes room for IBM to make A LOT of money by selling hardware. Do not worry in five years, there will still be RedHat and SuSe - both having around 30% of the market. IBM will make it so.

  11. Redhat vs. IBM by qweqazfoo · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I used to work with the Linux Tech Center at IBM, and I've still got friends on the inside. From what they tell me, SuSE is just much more cooperative and much more interested in partnership than Redhat.

    You may have heard Redhat called the Microsoft of Linux. This is a perception that is alive and well within IBM.

    When I worked on the Linux Standards Base project, Redhat was very resistant to standardization. We'd open bug reports about LSB compliance issues, and they'd be hastily closed saying that Redhat wanted to do things their way. They ended up not participating in the UnitedLinux project, which was backed heavily by IBM and HP.

    SuSE on the other hand was very involved with the LSB and UnitedLinux. They drove a bulk of the standardization efforts. They also have a very good support relationship with the IBM Linux developers.

    So when it comes down to it, SuSE just wants IBM more than RH. They created a better working relationship. The only thing they really lacked was a strong North American presence. The merger with Novell solved that, and gave them a strong support and services arm to boot.

  12. Re:Red Hat had it coming by crush · · Score: 4, Interesting
    They write kernel patches all the time for Red Hat and don't submit them to kernel.org

    OK. Cite some actual examples to back that up please. Alan Cox is one of the lead RedHat developers and submits and curates tons of patches. I'd like to know exactly what kernel patches you're talking about so that I can evaluate what you say.

    Their support contracts are outrageous. I've talked with people who work at various Universites and from what they've told me, Red Hat wouldn't give them any sort of discount as far support. The contract was so expensive there was no way they could buy it. Novell is the support contract and certification kings.

    Again, specifics please. AFAIK RedHat _enterprise_ support is competitively priced compared to other _enterprise_ offerings. RedHat also has educational discounts available. Show me the money: NovellSuSE vs. RedHat. Specifics or else stop spreading FUD.

    RHCE is worthless. OTOH, Novell is recommending LPIC alongside their own linux cert. LPIC attempts to be distribution neutral (except for package managers). RHCE is strictly Red Hat.

    RHCE is a _practical_ hands-on certification which shows that the holder can actually do something other than make marks on a bit of paper. LPI-1 and LPI-2 are good as supplements but they are not _practical_ certifications. Currently RHCE is the only certification that shows you're getting someone that can actually set up a box.

    Novell is attempting to make Suse more open (with recent moves of open sourcing Yast and a lot of Novell software), while Red Hat is going the other direction.

    Yes YaST has been "open sourced". But which formerly "open source" software has RedHat made proprietary? Give an example please.

    Red Hat has historically used a lot of software still considered beta and has been the buggiest linux distro out there.

    What's your metric for "buggy"? Define it and then show me how all the GNU/Linux distros stack up against each other. Otherwise this has the same informational value as the rest of your fact-devoid post.

    Until you can provide further specific information I'll be taking your post as an empty, contentless, unverifiable FUD-spreading exercise.

    A Debian GNU/Linux-running RHCE