SUSE expands Linux Enterprise support to 2037 as it unveils product updates

Interview: CTO of Enterprise Linux leader lays out roadmap at SUSEcon, spans operating systems, Kubernetes and more

SUSE, one of the world's leading providers of enterprise Linux distributions and open source solutions is pushing forward its vision with a busy slate of new releases and announcements at its annual SUSEcon event today.

From extended Linux support lifecycles to enhanced Kubernetes platform capabilities, SUSE is aiming to give customers expanded choice while enabling emerging technological use cases. As part of its SUSEcon updates, there are new versions of multiple platforms including SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 service pack 6, SUSE Manager, Rancher Prime 3.1, NeuVector Prime 5.4 and Harvester 1.3.1, SUSE Adaptive Telco Infrastructure Platform 3.0 and SUSE Edge 3.0

SUSE competes against multiple vendors including IBM's Red Hat business unit, Canonical and its Ubuntu Linux distribution as well as numerous other Linux and Kubernetes distributions. The company isn't trying to win over everyone for everything that it offers, rather it is positioning itself with a truly open approach that enables organizations to mix and match with other vendors as needed. That can be a mix and match for a cloud native Kubernetes deployment or it could even be providing the ability to manage multiple Linux distributions from different vendors.

“If you gave me one word, I would say choice and that is something where we are different from anyone else because you know, we give you the choice,” Gerald Pfeifer,   SUSE's CTO, told SDxCentral.

Linux support goes really long term as SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 gets a new update When it comes to running mission critical systems in certain industries, organizations rely on long term support, as they can't easily change an operating system every few years.

With enterprise Linux, typically the top end of long term support in the past has been 10 years. SUSE is now dramatically expanding that for its flagship SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 platform.  Enterprise support for SLE 15 is now being extended to the year 2037.

SLE 15 first debuted in June 2018 with incremental service pack updates ever since. The service packs add new functionality and even new Linux kernels. At SUSEcon, the company announced the latest update SLE 15 service pack 6. The big highlight is the inclusion of the Linux 6.4 kernel and the update also provides stability and security fixes.

Linux for Edge, Microservices and Telco Beyond the flagship enterprise Linux updates, SUSE has a series of several purpose-built Linux offerings for different use cases.

Among the updates is SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 6.0 which is a purpose built operations system for microservices. Pfeifer said that the new release is  now enhanced for virtualization too with full disk encryption using TPM 2.0 hardware root of trust.

SUSE Edge 3.0 is also making its debut. This platform combines Linux, Kubernetes deployment, management and security capabilities from the SUSE portfolio into a unified offering for edge computing use cases. The new SUSE Adaptive Telco Infrastructure Platform (ATIP) 3.0 release provides a customized Linux platform intended for telecommunications providers built in partnership with industry groups.

SUSE Manager 5.0 which is also coming out at SUSEcon now supports management of 16 different Linux distributions from various vendors and open source groups. SUSE Manager It provides full lifecycle management for Linux systems, including deploying, managing, monitoring, upgrading and patching kernels while systems are running. Pfeifer explained that SUSE Manager is now also containerized, following the trend of developing applications as containers

Kubernetes gets longer term support too Linux isn't the only platform getting longer term support, SUSE's Rancher Kubernetes offering is now as well, though not nearly as long.

Kubernetes typically iterates every four months with new releases, making it challenging for enterprises to keep up.

“Upgrading your Kubernetes clusters every four months is not necessarily everyone's cup of tea,” Pfeifer said.