Novell will take the “immature” Linux operating system and turn it into a” robust, reliable and scaleable” enterprise-class operating system. Read the interview with Novell CEO, here. Update: Two more Novell-Linux articles here and here.
Novell CEO: We’ll Make ‘Immature’ Linux Robust
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Eugenia Loli
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Is this a joke?
Or maybe they will give it an IPX stack.
Or maybe it will run NLMs
Sorry, bad joke, but someone had to do it.
“It hasn’t had somebody like Novell worrying about making it robust, reliable and scalable. ”
I guess IBM and SGI don’t count even though we’ve seen actual results from them.
There was really no content to his comments. I would welcome any more bullets that you can put in the Linux chamber. That just makes Linux more attractive to those who need options. However, I am just wondering if Novell has anything to offer the Linux platform (or their customers via the Linux platform)
I would love to say more on the subject, yet as he said nothing, there is nothing to expound on.
I will add this though, this sure looks like the half-hearted attempt to support Linux that we have come to expect from the very fickle Sun Microsystems!
Just my dos pesos.
Yeah right, just what Linux needs, finally a company with real format looking after the Linux development, thank you Novell, thank you for your generosity – Novell is going down the drain and they just want to jump on the linux-bandwagon to safe what is left of their irrelevant company. I think their CEo is slightly out of touch with reality and suffers from megalomania.
One could only hope that this is a joke…
Anyone who reads the OSnews comments and knows me knows I have qualms about Linux’s scalability on big iron hardware. But I would never go as far to say Linux isn’t robust and reliable.
Furthermore, the article is littered with rather ignorant or false statements:
“Linux is an immature operating system,” he continued. “It hasn’t had somebody like Novell worrying about making it robust, reliable and scalable. We think we can bring that to the Linux kernel.”
Apparently Novell thinks they have something to bring to the table that can’t be provided by IBM or SGI. Call me crazy, but I’d say IBM and SGI are both in better positions (and have much better corporate reputations) to make Linux more “robust, reliable and scalable”
Well I think that we should welcome every company that wants to join the Linux Legions. We shouldn’t be flaming them, be glad they didn’t decide to help Apple or M$. Everyone has something to offer Linux even if it is something simple as support. After all, its the only way forward.
Many of this CEO’s comments seem to serve merely as a marketing ploy. No experience linux user would said that linux is unreliable (and probably not any of those adjectives he used.) However, some companies still haven’t migrated to linux as there are still some ignorant customers as well as customers that trust the Unix systems of yore more than this younger upstart (an upstart that is a decade old). What I’m saying is that Novell is jumping on the bandwagon while the jumping is good, but he seems to be talking down linux to increase the appeal of Novell. I might be upset about this, but I looked at an InnocuLAN server the other day and it seemed to be a very comprehensive product (I have no other experience with Novell let alone Netware). While he should be more careful in the future when he speaks of linux, I think Novell could become a very powerful ally in the future.
The comments definetely hurt those (and unfortunately, there are MANY) that use Novell in their enterprises in regards to their perception of Linux. I’ve never actually seen Novell actually `scale,’ especially what I can get from high-end hardware using Linux. Exactly why would they really have reason to scale for what they do? Nonetheless, it can never hurt having extra functionality, and another set of eyes for either bugs or performance enhancements.
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3lixyqueue
Ofcouse who else would do it, after all look a Novels experience, and market share… erm, or not!
In the early 1990s’, Novell is the master of the PC OS market and is the No.1 of network OS.
But just have a look now, what can novell do to save itself?
Can it rely on closed windows world?
The linux and BSDs are the best nest or basement.
I think novell can either offer its version linux or offer its enterprise software running on linux and BSDs.
i’ve used novell and microwho and linux over the years.
i can not say why i choose linux for my home and prefered network os in a few words.
i have only one thing to say – what nos runs and doesn’t crash – is easy to update without rebooting – and has more backbone on the internet
I’m happy to see that a large powerful, and relevant company like Novell is going to take such an immature OS and make something of it. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought that SGI and their line of Linux-running Altrix 3000 super-computers was too much of a small-peanuts gig…
They have decided that their product is not an OS but network services.
So in one nice move, they get Linux press, a better kernel to run on, and get to reduce the over all time they work on a kernel. I am sure it will take less man hours to ‘tweak’ Linux than it would to keep their OS up to date. Just look at the time saved writing drivers alone.
I remember attending a Novell Tech Conference many years ago (still have and use the CD jacket thingy they handed out) and even then they were admitting that they have been slow to market with great products.
The more things change…
Cheers
the SGI note above is right, but. . . is linux immature? Novell only will get hate from linux community with comments like this. IBM has a lot of time “maturing” linux, Oracle also helps; what about redhat, suse and many more companies?
SCO must sue Novell. . . the mega-suckers war.
Come on.
1) They have a widely respected and mature network management system. (ie. its better then Active Directry from MSFT).
2) Novel is a Unix player and used to own the Unix IP before they sold it to SCO. So, they know a lot about how Unix system should work and how to optimize them.
3) The Novel kernel is most likely a modified Unix kernel. So they should be able to port a lot of the user management APIs to Linux.
4) If they think they can improve the Linux kernel, then I say let them. The Kernel team will keep them from destorying anything and will only accept things that will make the system beter in the long run.
Overall, anything they want to bring into the Linux space the better. Just think once they migrate all their applications to Linux, Linux will be more mature and everyone will dump there NOS systems and replace them with Linux system running Novel services. The current big players in the Server maket are Unix, Microsoft, and Novel (Linux falls under the Unix catagory). If Novel moved to Linux, then the Linux server space would be even larger and the bigger it gets the better.
I agree. Negativity on this matter is futile. Even if they can’t contribute any worthwhile changes to the kernel tree, simply moving their customers to a Linux-based product will make Linux more important, and add to the list of software companies that support Linux.
the saying “I’m here from the government. I’m here to help.”
I have to see this *grin*
2) Novel is a Unix player and used to own the Unix IP before they sold it to SCO. So, they know a lot about how Unix system should work and how to optimize them.
Isn’t this why SCO is sueing IBM?
did they hire Ransom Love back??
hmmm, Novell’s “contributions” to the Linux market thus far has been Caldera, Lineo and the current SCO Group. along with Novell, you’ll notice that all 3 have no concept off a successful business model.
1. move to Linux
2. repeatedly insult the community that supports them.
3. ???
4. profit
props to Caldera, they were actually innovative until after the IPO. had Novell listened to Ransom back in 1994 and actually taken an interest in Linux, maybe they could have had this wonderful impact on the market they want. as it is, it’s just too little too late.
SGI, IBM and even Sun are more relevant partners at this point. at least they have experience developing for the enterprise and for Unix.
It would be indeed convenient to group all the companies supporting Linux in one way or another.
I will simply reference them now as the “axis of evil”.
On a side note; much like the real one, they have no secret weapon and present no threat to the real world.
Am I the only one that sees the possibilities of what Novell could bring to the table? I hear lots of Negativity because of management mistakes in the past, but lets think for a moment about what they could do now. First, GroupWise is a very nice server/client email system, it scales very well, and it offers the services that the corporate users need. With GroupWise both server and client running under Linux, it would be very advantageous for companies to implement a Linux/Groupwise solution instead of having to put up with the pain of administering Exchange.
Secondly ZenWorks is a very nice application deployment tool. Take a snapshot of a linux system, install an app, take another snapshot and the changes are put into a file. When the user logs in, the get icons for their applications and when clicking on them, it checks with ZenWorks to see if you have the latest snapshot and if not, it downloads the files onto your system and starts the application. A really great thing for deploying patches, applications, etc.
Add NDS and the Liberty Single sign-on software and it would really elevate Linux’s place in corporate america. NetWare’s days may be numbered, but Novell is much more than NetWare, and I for one would welcome their great software to the Linux platform.
Regards,
Jason VanDerMark
Proud BeOS User
The two things that Novell can offer Linux is NDS and Groupwise.
If the Linux community gets NDS and Groupwise, then it will solidify Linux as high performance server OS that can fully and seemlessly integrate with the Windows Desktop.
This is the key to getting in to the broader corporate market… Just imagine, all those Novell servers, being converted to Linux? It may only be a small step, but at least it’s forward…
Chewy509
Early 90’s Novell looks to the future and buys the Unix trademark from AT&T. Novell develops UnixWare. I tried the first copies, it was great. Solaris and UnixWare had the best interfaces and were the most reliable of the commercial x86 Unix OSes at the time….better than SCO Unix,Xenix, and Interactive Unix. I don’t know what happened within Novell, but they never really pushed UnixWare. I never saw a copy of NetWare running on UnixWare that came out of Novell as was intended with the purchase of Unix.
Novell gives the Open Group the Unix trademark for branding an OS as Unix. Ray Noorda leaves Novell and starts Caldera. Caldera buys SCO. (I’ll never understand how SCO was able to keep the customer base it had, considering how fragile the OS was!)
Maybe they’ll be more dedicated to Linux than UnixWare.
Novell will take the “immature” Linux operating system and turn it into a” robust, reliable and scaleable” enterprise-class operating system.
You know those monkeys (engineers) in the cage (back room) probably said the same thing to each other, “WTF, did that asshole really say that.” Talk about needing some good PR.
Damn, I still have that Novell Cert Book too. Novell’s Netware is still way better than win2k. Too bad they got taken to the cleaners by MS marketing machine.
Anybody still remember Banyan Vines,..well that’s where Novell is heading.
…Its no wonder why Novell is failing with instane statements like Linux is Immature and Unstable. Im sure he thinks Novell is the cats meow!
What an idiot!
-N
The number of Linux servers deployed is about the same as the number of Netware servers, but Linux is growing faster. By offering a Linux option Novell hopes to double its market.
Novell will test enterprise Linux versions from Red Hat and SuSE for use with Netware.
Why would one wanted to change to a Novell Linux when one can have the SuSE software ?
On the other hand if Novell Netware could run Microsoft software (asp, access, even Dreamwaever and FrontPage) it would have an advantage over Linux if they continued to provide Novell typicall software (ZenWorks & Netware …).
I also don’t think Novell Netware is a modified DOS, but don’t know enough about, Novell had a good reputation when I started.
If Novell had an OS that could run windows software nativily and some Open Source software !! I would buy a version today to run my windows (2000) software (this is only a dream, but ..).
They have got a beautifull website (I always start judging a product by the website and documentation).