SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LinuxWorld Conference & Expo -- On the second anniversary of the creation of the openSUSE(TM) project, the community program this week marked two new milestones -- the availability of the first beta of openSUSE 10.3 and the continued growth of the openSUSE Build Service.
"We appreciate all the contributions the community has made to the openSUSE project during the past two years," said Michael Loeffler, openSUSE product manager at Novell. "The goal of the openSUSE project is to promote the use of Linux everywhere, and our strong community of developers, testers, writers, translators, artists and users have been instrumental in creating one of the world's best Linux distributions. And as we seek to streamline and improve collaboration between all Linux developers, the openSUSE Build Service has changed the way packages have been built. The build service is quickly becoming a center for building any Linux distribution."
OpenSUSE Build Service Momentum
Now with more than 700 projects and 20,000 software packages, the openSUSE Build Service is an innovative framework that provides an infrastructure for software developers to easily create and compile packages for multiple Linux* distributions. The development team today released the first version of the end-user interface for the build service, with which users of any openSUSE, SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu or Mandriva distribution can easily search and browse new software for their distribution. Users of the upcoming openSUSE 10.3 can install their software with one click directly from the Web interface. In the past four months, more than 13 million packages have been downloaded from the openSUSE Build Service as developers build packages for various distributions using the tool.
AMD has helped sponsor the progress of the openSUSE Build Service with leading-edge hardware and development expertise. "AMD is helping to ensure that the openSUSE Build Service continues to be an important collaboration and development platform for developers of all distributions," said Terri Hall, AMD vice president of Commercial Systems Marketing. "AMD recognizes the value of the open source development model, and by providing hardware for the openSUSE Build Service, we are able to actively participate in the continued innovation for which the open source community is known."
Developers who want to provide their software to a broader audience of Linux users are often hampered when packages built for one distribution will not work on other distributions. The openSUSE Build Service is the only open source build system that helps developers provide packages with the same high quality for multiple distributions from the same source code. With the system imaging tool KIWI, open source developers can more quickly build a Linux distribution that meets their needs, rigorously test it to ensure product quality, and easily package it for quick installation.
The openSUSE Build Service is completely open source, giving developers and users free and full access to build their choice of Linux packages, whether based on openSUSE, SUSE Linux Enterprise, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu or other projects. An essential part of the openSUSE project, the openSUSE Build Service is available at http://www.opensuse.org/Build_Service. The new end- user interface can be found at http://software.opensuse.org.
First Beta of openSUSE 10.3
OpenSUSE 10.3 offers a state-of-the-art operating system based on Linux kernel 2.6.22 with a large variety of the latest open source applications for desktops, servers and application development. The first beta of openSUSE 10.3 is now available at http://www.opensuse.org/download.
About Novell
Novell, Inc. delivers infrastructure software for the Open Enterprise. Novell is a leader in enterprise-wide operating systems based on Linux and open source and provides the enterprise management services required to operate mixed IT environments. Novell helps customers minimize cost, complexity and risk, allowing them to focus on innovation and growth. For more information, visit http://www.novell.com.
Novell and SUSE are registered trademarks and openSUSE is a trademark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
The openSUSE Project Turns Two with Improved Build Service and 10.3 Beta
Thursday, July 12, 2007
IBM Charts Open Beta Course For AIX 6
Oracle isn't the only software vendor with major upgrades in the works.
IBM released its first ever open beta for AIX 6.1, the latest version of the company's Unix operating system, one day after Oracle unveiled more than 400 features in its Database 11g.
AIX 6.1 features new virtualization, security, manageability and near continuous availability, according to Jay Kruemcke, program director of AIX.
AIX 6.1 includes Workload Partitions (WPARs), a type of virtualization software that curbs the number of operating system images that have to be managed when consolidating workloads. Workload Partitions let system administrators consolidate multiple applications in a single running instance of AIX 6.1.
Partitioning workloads enables users to carve up portions of the OS so that each has its own IP address. WPARs get a portion of the system resources available to the instance of AIX 6 and share the AIX 6.1 kernel resource and I/O.
The idea, Kruemcke said, is to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs associated with managing multiple virtual machines. WPARs also complement the System Logical Partitions in AIX.
Building on the WPAR technology, AIX 6.1's new Live Application Mobility lets users relocate running WPARs between physical servers without restarting the application. The purpose is to minimize impediments to application performance.
With security being a cross that most admins have to bear in datacenters today, AIX 6.1 now employs Role-Based Access Control. This function lets admins authorize the management of certain AIX resources to so-called "non-root" users without giving them the keys to the kingdom. Admins retain peace of mind that their application data is safe while users get more freedom.
Taking a page from Sun Microsystems' DTrace tool, IBM has added dynamic tracing capabilities to AIX 6.1, which simplifies the debugging of complex systems or application code, providing for near-continuous availability.
Kruemcke said this feature is leveraged via IBM's new tracing command, which lets a developer or system administrator dynamically insert trace breakpoints in existing code without having to recompile the code.
Finally, to make managing AIX 6.1 easier, the new IBM Systems Director Console for AIX offers a Web browser-based window through which to control IBM's Systems Management Interface Tool, Workload Partition Management and the Role-Based Access Control. The console's interface will integrate into future IBM Director products.
AIX 6.1 will run on IBM System p systems based on Power4, Power5 and Power6 chips (including the new IBM System p 570), System i5 platforms, as well as the PowerPC 970 for BladeCenter and IntelliStation Power workstation.
The software, which IBM expects to make available to all in the fourth quarter, will be fully binary compatible with previous releases of AIX 5L.
Also, users who use "advanced Power virtualization" can run Linux applications natively in one or more logical partitions running SUSE Linux Enterprise or Red Hat Enterprise Linux integrated with AIX applications on the same System p server.
One more thing to note: the "open" beta should not be mistaken for open source. But it is a more free-flowing form of beta test. Kruemcke said the open beta means "almost anyone who is interested" will be able to download and install a pre-release version of AIX 6.1.
Traditionally, IBM would only offer the beta test to a few select clients. However, participants in the open beta will not receive traditional support from IBM. Rather, testers must refer to a Web forum for help with any issues.
IBM AIX 6 Operating System Open Beta Now Available for Download
IBM today announced the first-ever open beta program for AIX, the company's open standards-based UNIX operating system. This latest edition, AIX 6, exploits the technology of the recently announced POWER6 microprocessor, the world's fastest chip, leveraging advances in energy conservation and virtualization technology.
AIX runs on IBM's System p UNIX servers, based on POWER technology. This latest release of the AIX operating system is being designed to deliver new capabilities for virtualization, security, near continuous availability, and manageability, Some of the key features IBM is planning for AIX 6 include:
Workload Partitions, a software-based virtualization technology that reduces the number of operating system images that have be managed when consolidating workloads to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs;
Live Application Mobility, a way to relocate running Workload Partitions between servers without restarting the application, causing minimal disruption for the end user;
Role Based Access Control, a security enhancement that enables administrators to grant authorization for management of specific AIX resources to users;
A variety of features designed to improve the manageability and continuous availability of the operating system and applications.
AIX leadership
AIX leads in customer server and application investment protection in three ways. First, AIX 6 will run on IBM systems based on POWER4, PowerPC 970, POWER5, and IBM's latest POWER6 processors allowing customers to protect their investment in existing hardware and yet take advantage of new features and technology in AIX 6 like Workload Partitions for enhanced application virtualization. And AIX 6 will fully exploit the capabilities of IBM's newest benchmark-leading UNIX midrange server, the IBM System p 570 -- based on POWER6 technology -- which was just announced in May and began shipping last month.
Secondly, AIX 6 is being designed to be fully binary compatible with previous releases of AIX 5L providing binary compatibility for customer and ISV applications written for previous releases of AIX two levels back, including AIX 5.2 and 5.3, providing customers with investment protection for those applications. Full information on the binary compatibility of AIX 6 can be found at ibm.com/servers/aix/os/compatibility/.
And lastly, using IBM Advanced POWER Virtualization (APV), customers can run Linux applications natively in one or more logical partitions running SUSE Linux Enterprise or Red Hat Enterprise Linux integrated with AIX applications on the same physical System p server.
"AIX 6 is a significant technical achievement in the evolution of this world-class UNIX operating system, providing both investment protection allowing existing AIX apps to run unmodified as well as allowing those apps to take advantage of new virtualization technologies that will provide business value to our clients." said Scott Handy, IBM vice president of worldwide marketing and strategy for System p.
"Many of our current AIX clients are excited about and will use the open beta to gain early experience with the new features provided by AIX 6, speeding their time to value after general availability in November. Combined with our try-and-buy program for System p servers, the open beta will accelerate the adoption of AIX 6 with new clients furthering our ongoing share gains in the UNIX market."
IBM System p servers have gained more than 12 points of revenue share over the past five years on a rolling four-quarter basis, including five points from HP and three points from Sun, to become the number one UNIX server in terms of customer revenue1. IBM’s UNIX servers achieved industry-leading 13.3 percent year-over-year factory revenue growth with 29.6 percent revenue share in the first quarter of 2007, according to IDC.
The beta program is open to all users, and is designed to provide clients and independent software vendors (ISVs) with early access to the AIX 6 operating system. Current AIX clients can participate in the beta by visiting ibm.com/aix and following the links to the open beta web page at http://www-03.ibm.com/servers/aix/6/beta.html. The beta code is packaged as multiple CD-ROM or DVD ISO images that may be burned by the beta participants.
IBM plans to make AIX 6 generally available during the fourth quarter of 2007.
About AIX
AIX is IBM’s premier open standards-based UNIX operating system. Available for more than 20 years, AIX has become the leading UNIX operating system in the world.
AIX, in combination with IBM's Virtualization offerings, provides customers with new levels of flexibility and performance. AIX delivers high levels of security, integration, flexibility and reliability?essential for meeting the demands of today's information technology environments. AIX operates on the IBM System p™, BladeCenter®, IntelliStation® POWER™, and System i5™ platforms, as well as predecessor IBM UNIX products, including the IBM RS/6000® server and workstation product lines.
IBM's industry-leading Ecosystem program is designed to provide IBM Business Partners of all types the resources and assets needed not only for technical enablement, but sales enablement, education and go-to-market as well. IBM provides application ISVs education, skills, IBM experience and IT resources to quickly achieve ROI on their grid enablements through Grid Innovation Centers worldwide. Reseller and system integrator partners can also take advantage of grid offerings, specific education available through the IBM PartnerWorld University's customized, opportunity-based learning programs to gain skills and programs such as the Grid Valuenet to help build new market opportunities and go-to-market plans. IBM also has Grid Design Centers, the India-based IBM Grid Integration Center and solution initiatives to help Business Partners integrate, bundle and deliver "value-differentiated" grid-based offerings to their customers. Through partnering, IBM is enabling vendors to extend their market reach and customer opportunities as part of the IBM "Ready-For Grid" enablement and certification program, the ValueNetwork initiative and the PartnerWorld Industry Networks (PWIN) marketing benefits. For more information on IBM, visit ibm.com. For more information on IBM's Grid products and offerings, visit ibm.com/grid. For more information on IBM's Grid Business Partner offerings visit ibm.com/grid/partner. For more information on IBM's Business Partner Innovation Centers, visit www.ibm.com/partnerworld/bpic.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Lotus Notes gets a facelift: Version 8 beta 3 review and visual tour
IBM's Lotus Notes is one of those software packages that should make your life easier. It corrals white-collar must-haves such as e-mail, calendar and contacts into one coherent place, while offering some reasonably powerful database offerings.
But Notes has always come with annoyances. For instance, in Version 6.5, which we use at Computerworld, wrong names pop into e-mail "To:" fields based on, say, the first "Sharon" who shows up alphabetically in a directory. The recipient isn't simply suggested; Notes autocompletes the address unbidden. For those who hit Send without checking, messages head off to unintended recipients. Numerous e-mails meant for me have ended up in the in-boxes of other Sharons. And I've misdirected my own fair share.
Notes also has a well-deserved reputation for being somewhat user-hostile. Built-in help can be Byzantine, and customization tools are so scattered that it can be tough to find how to make a change even if you've seen an option several times before. Where was that "change the color of an incoming e-mail" tool? Is it in Mail > Tools > Rules? Or Tools > Preferences > Mail? Or File > Preferences > User Preferences > Mail?
That's why we pricked up our ears when IBM announced the public beta of Notes 8 for Windows and Linux, featuring an overhauled user interface. Lotus Domino 8 server is also in public beta, but our IT department didn't have the capacity to set up a test environment on short notice. Because I didn't have access to the full Version 8 server install, some of Notes' new features were unavailable to me. However, I was able to give the Notes beta a test drive as an e-mail and calendaring client.
I was eager to see whether Lotus Notes 8 built on the good and fixed the bad. Is there finally a decent UI to match its feature lineup?