Novell introduced Novell Open Enterprise Server 2, announcing support from software partners and delivering a training and technical services promotion to help more customers take advantage of Open Enterprise Server. Backup solution vendors CA, Commvault, Symantec and Syncsort along with anti-virus software vendors McAfee, Symantec and Trend Micro are planning support for Novell Open Enterprise Server 2, which is scheduled to ship in 2007. The next Open Enterprise Server will feature virtualization, storage and file management innovations and complete the shift to providing workgroup services completely on SUSE Linux Enterprise, while helping long-time customers maintain their NetWare investment.

"Open Enterprise Server is designed to fit with today's environments that run a mix of platforms including Linux, Windows and NetWare," said Kent Erickson, vice president and general manager of Workgroup Solutions for Novell. "It delivers advanced workgroup and networking services on Linux, letting customers get in on all the benefits of Linux without giving up the proven Novell workgroup services they've come to rely on. We're committed to providing the additional support customers need to be successful, such as quality training, technical services and certified applications and hardware options."

The current version of Novell Open Enterprise Server has been focused on providing advanced workgroup and networking services in a mixed environment and has been recognized for excellence, most recently earning the top spot in the server operating systems category of the 2006 VARBusiness Annual Report Card. The next version will complete the shift to workgroup services running completely on the Linux platform. Open Enterprise Server 2 will make traditional NetWare workgroup services run on Linux as well or better than they do on NetWare or Windows and simplify the migration of those services to Linux. In addition, it will use the virtualization capabilities in SUSE Linux Enterprise to offer extended hardware support for traditional NetWare applications.

As was recently announced jointly with Microsoft, Open Enterprise Server 2 will also include improved interoperability with Windows. Novell ZENworks Virtual Machine Management, announced earlier this week, will provide capabilities for managing virtualized environments in Open Enterprise Server.

Backup and anti-virus software support is a critical part of the ecosystem customers expect for Open Enterprise Server. Key partners CA, Commvault, McAfee, Symantec, Syncsort and Trend Micro have already committed to support Open Enterprise Server 2 and will help ensure valuable data is preserved and protected.

"Symantec and Novell share a common commitment to deliver integrated software that spans a mix of environments," said Rob Clyde, Symantec vice president of technology. "We offer customers the flexibility to select from and deploy a broad range of technologies and platforms across their IT infrastructures. We see significant value to Symantec's customers by continuing our support for Open Enterprise Server through Veritas NetBackup and Backup Exec for data backup along with Symantec AntiVirus for anti-virus protection."

"McAfee has enjoyed a long partnership with Novell, and we are mutually committed to protecting our customers' critical data and infrastructure from today's ever-changing threats," said Eric Winsborrow, McAfee vice president of product marketing. "Our support for Novell's NSS file system on Linux reflects our commitment to innovation, support for multiple operating systems and the importance of securing the Open Enterprise Server solution."