DEVOPSdigest

SUSE® announced several new enhancements to its core suite of Linux solutions.

As market consolidation reduces choice for enterprises in their IT infrastructure, these enhancements reinforce SUSE’s continued commitment to supporting customers with an open and ecosystem-first approach.

“We are coming up on 25 years of supporting customers with enterprise Linux,” said Rick Spencer, general manager of Business Critical Linux at SUSE. “These new advancements underscore our longheld mission of helping customers accelerate digital transformation, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.”

New enhancements include:

■ SUSE Multi-Linux Support

The next phase of SUSE Multi-Linux Support expands both support and migration capabilities for existing Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and CentOS Linux, giving enterprises more flexibility in managing their Linux environments.

Upcoming enhancements include:

- Support for minor versions beyond the end of general support, extending system stability and security.

- Major version migration capabilities, allowing seamless upgrades with minimal disruption.

- Expanded Multi-Linux Support now available in AWS Marketplace, providing easier access for cloud-based deployments.

Building on SUSE’s commitment to choice, this offering extends beyond CentOS migration, now supporting other commercial Linux distributions. Customers will benefit from proactive security patches to safeguard enterprise systems, no forced migrations, and priority support for enhanced reliability and continuity.

With these enhancements, SUSE Multi-Linux Support provides a flexible, secure, and scalable solution for enterprises managing diverse Linux landscapes.

■ SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.1

Scheduled for release in June, SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.1 introduces new workflow and performance improvements, enabling customers to manage heterogeneous and distributed Linux environments with greater control and scalability. SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.1 offers customers more choice when selecting their host operating system (OS). Customers can choose between SUSE Linux Enterprise Server instances or opt for a smaller footprint alternative like SUSE Linux Micro. This option, also delivered as an update to the current 5.0 version, helps organizations streamline operations and eliminate the learning curve associated with adopting a separate operating system.

Key enhancements include:

- Improved Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for better cross-functional reporting and third-party tool integration.

- Enhanced Ansible integration, providing more flexibility in playbook management.

- New bulk migration capabilities, benefiting large-scale distributed environments.

- Hub Online Synchronization, ensuring efficient system updates across deployments.

- Expanded managed OS list, including new SUSE Linux versions, Amazon Linux 2023, and a technology preview of Raspberry Pi OS.

With these advancements, SUSE Multi-Linux Manager 5.1 continues to simplify Linux landscape management, offering increased automation, security‌ and operational efficiency.

■ SUSE Linux 15 SP7

With the longest-term support, SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 Service Pack 7 (SP7) secures enterprise IT investments and ensures stability for business-critical workloads, delivering the most extensive lifecycle of any general-purpose operating system. As the final Service Pack in the SUSE Linux 15 family, SP7 provides a reliable foundation for business-critical workloads, including SAP, for the long term.

This consolidation release brings:

- Strengthened security with Confidential Computing support as both a host and guest on select platforms.

- Enhanced hardware enablement, ensuring compatibility with the latest platforms.

- Longest support for the longest term IT investments, with general support until 2031 and Long Term Service Support (LTSS) available until 2037, providing up to 19 years of total support.

- Reinforced SUSE SolidDriver program continues to provide certified, up-to-date hardware compatibility for long-term commitment.

- Improved stability in toolchains and programming languages.

■ SUSE Linux 16

A major milestone in enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux 16 provides a solid foundation for enterprise innovation in the decade ahead, with Linux fully prepared to run beyond Y2038. Built on Framework One, it is designed to:

- Enable rapid and continuous innovation with a flexible, modular lifecycle.

- Ensure seamless adoption by integrating modern, widely used open-source projects, simplifying the transition from any enterprise Linux environment.

- Delivering enterprise-grade security and compliance, with full SELinux support and alignment with the strictest industry certifications for mission-critical workloads.

- Provide long-term, predictable support cycles for enterprise stability.

- Offer a ubiquitous platform that runs anywhere and any way, optimized for hybrid and cloud-native environments, including SUSE Linux Base Container Image (BCI) deployments.

SUSE Linux 16 also introduces a sleeker installation and management experience for any enterprise adopting SUSE Linux, with technologies like the Agama installer, NetworkManager, Cockpit and a deeper Ansible integration. To streamline transition, migration from older and alternative operating systems is fully supported, ensuring a smooth transition to SUSE Linux 16.

To reflect these changes, SUSE Linux transitions from the Service Pack naming convention to minor releases, starting with SUSE Linux 16.0. This shift aligns with the evolving lifecycle strategy, providing a more predictable and streamlined update process for enterprises.

■ SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16

As part of SUSE Linux 16, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16 will feature Ansible automation for deployment of SAP systems, improved security profiles using SELinux, and a modernized high availability stack for mission critical workloads like SAP HANA, including new failure detection capabilities and faster failover options.