SUSE
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Template:Infobox OS SUSE (properly pronounced , but often pronounced /suzi/) is a major retail Linux distribution, produced in Germany. The company is owned by Novell, Inc. SUSE is also a founding member of the Desktop Linux Consortium.
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History
SUSE Linux was originally based on Slackware Linux; In mid-1992, Softlanding Linux System (SLS) was founded by Peter McDonald, which was the first comprehensive distribution to contain elements such as X and TCP/IP. The Slackware distribution (maintained by Patrick Volkerding) was initially based in large parts on SLS.
S.u.S.E was founded in late 1992 as a UNIX consulting group, which among other things regularly released software packages that included SLS and Slackware, and printed UNIX/Linux manuals. They released the first CD version of SLS/Slackware in 1994, under the name S.u.S.E Linux 1.0. It later integrated with the Jurix distribution of Florian La Roche (also based on Slackware), to release the first really unique S.u.S.E Linux 4.2 in 1996.
| Major Versions | |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | - March 1994 |
| 2.0 | - ???? |
| 3.0 | - 1995 |
| 4.0 | - 1996 |
| 5.0 | - November 1997 |
| 6.0 | - January 1999 |
| 7.0 | - September 2000 |
| 8.0 | - April 2002 |
| 9.0 | - October 2003 |
The name "S.u.S.E.", later shortened to just "SuSE", was originally an acronym for the German phrase "Software- und System-Entwicklung" ("Software and system development"). The company is now simply called SUSE LINUX, and "SUSE" does not officially stand for anything any more.
On November 4 2003, Novell announced it would acquire SUSE Linux (Shankland, 2003). The acquisition was expected to be finalized in January 2004 (Kennedy, 2003). According to Ramesh (2004), J. Philips (Novell's corporate technology strategist for the Asia Pacific region) stated that Novell would not "in the medium term" alter the way in which SUSE continues to be developed. At Novell's annual BrainShare gathering (http://www.novell.com/brainshare/) in 2004, all computers ran SUSE Linux for the first time. At this gathering it was also announced that the proprietary SUSE administration program YaST2 would be released into the public under the GPL license.
The legacy of SUSE is still evident in version 9.1 (released after the Novell acquisition) with its unique administration tools, high number of software-packages and extensive documentation. The latest version for the Personal edition is 9.2, released on 5 November 2004, while the latest version for the Professional edition is 9.3 released on 20 April 2005.
Features
SUSE includes an installation and administration program called YaST2 which handles hard disk partitioning, system setup, online updates, network and firewall configuration, user administration and more in an integrated interface.
SUSE has support for resizing NTFS partitions during installation which allows it to co-exist with existing Windows 2000 or XP installations. SUSE has the ability to detect and install drivers for many common winmodems shipped with OEM desktop and laptop systems (such modems are designed to use Windows-specific software to operate).
Several desktop environments such as KDE and GNOME and window managers like Window Maker and Blackbox are included, with KDE as the default environment. SUSE ships with multimedia software such as K3B (CD/DVD burning), amaroK (audio playback), and Xine (movie playback). It contains OpenOffice.org, and other common document reading/processing formats such as PDF.
Versions
Until recently, SUSE Linux has been sold through computer software and book stores in several flavors. The Personal edition (contained on 1 CD) was geared toward the home user, and the Professional edition (5 CDs and 2 DVDs) was geared toward the corporate/professional user. The major differences between the two was additional networking and client software as well as additional printed manuals in the Professional version. The latest release, Version 9.3, is only available in the Professional edition. Version 9.2, however, contains a powerful featureset.
Other flavours include dedicated Server editions and groupware servers geared towards corporate networks and enterprises, along with a stripped-down business desktop which runs some software designed for Microsoft Windows out of the box by virtue of WINE.
Distribution
Unlike most other makers of Linux distributions who allow immediate download of their final versions, SUSE first releases the Personal and Professional versions in boxed sets which include extensive printed documentation, then waits a few months before it releases versions on its FTP servers. Until recently, the only version available for download was a special Pro version, which lacked some commercial software to comply with that software's licensing terms. This version has no ISO images; the user downloads a small boot disk (either floppy or CD-ROM) and then downloads the selected software over the network before it is installed. Starting with version 9.2, an unsupported 1 DVD ISO image of SUSE Professional is available for download as well as a bootable LiveCD evaluation. The FTP server continues to operate and has the advantage of "streamlined" installs: Only downloading packages the user feels they need. The ISO has the advantage of an easy install package, and less experience needed (ie., a Linux newbie may not know whether or not to install a certain package).
See also
- List of Linux distributions
- Comparison of Linux distributions
- Comparison of operating systems (security)
References
- Kennedy, D. (2003). Novell's Linux buy opens road to top. Retrieved December 20, 2003. (http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,7942378%5E15382%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html)
- Ramesh, R. (2004). Novell: SuSE stays the same, for now. Retrieved January 14, 2004. (http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2004/1/12/technology/7079523&sec=technology)
- Shankland, S. (2003). Novell to acquire SuSE Linux. Retrieved December 20, 2003. (http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5101680.html)
External links
- The official SUSE web site (http://www.suse.com/)
- SUSE 9.2 Professional review (OSNews) (http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=9321)
- SUSE 9.2 Professional review (LinuxPlanet) (http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/5679/1/)
- SUSE LINUX Professional 9.2 (download mirrors) (http://www.novell.com/products/linuxprofessional/downloads/ftp/eval.html)
- SUSE 9.2 Professional download torrents (http://www.tlm-project.org/torrents/suse/i386/9.2/)
- SUSE LINUX Professional 9.2, bootable Live DVD (http://www.novell.com/products/linuxprofessional/downloads/ftp/live_eval_int.html)
- The Unofficial SUSE FAQ (http://susefaq.sourceforge.net/)
- Tons of SUSE Linux links (DistroWatch) (http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=suse)
- SUSE Linux Community Forums (http://www.suseforums.net/)
- SUSE Linux support forums (http://forums.suselinuxsupport.de/index.php)ca:SuSE
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