Novell Lowers Linux Management Costs with Red Carpet Enterprise 2 [LWN.net]

From:		"Rod Anderson" <roanderson-AT-novell.com>
To:		<lwn-AT-lwn.net>
Subject:		Novell Lowers Linux Management Costs with Red Carpet Enterprise 2
Date:		Tue, 11 Nov 2003 10:27:11 -0700

Novell Lowers Linux Management Costs with Red Carpet Enterprise 2

- Ximian Red Carpet Enterprise 2 provides centralized software
management of Linux-based workstations and servers
- Red Carpet Enterprise complements and extends the Linux capabilities
of Novell ZENworks as part of Novell's cross-platform solution for
resource management

PROVO, Utah - Nov. 11, 2003 - Novell today announced the immediate
availability of Ximian(R) Red Carpet Enterprise(TM) 2, the latest
version of the secure, customizable solution that automates the central
management of software on workstations and servers running a variety of
Linux distributions. Through centralized and automated management,
maintenance and updating of Linux servers and desktops, Red Carpet
Enterprise significantly reduces the cost of Linux ownership for
customers, allowing them to concentrate resources on other strategic
projects.

"The powerful new management features and broad Linux OS support in
this version extend Novell's leadership in Linux software management,"
said Alan Nugent, Novell(R) chief technology officer. "By lowering
operating costs and removing barriers to Linux implementation, we have
made it even easier for customers to install, update and maintain the
fastest-growing operating system on the market."

Customers can deploy Red Carpet Enterprise in as little as 30 minutes,
and its unique ability to integrate with external repositories allows
for automated enterprise Linux updates. Red Carpet Enterprise offers the
industry's broadest support of Linux distributions and applications,
including SUSE LINUX*, Red Hat* and Ximian.

Fred Broussard, IDC senior research analyst, PC and Device Management
Software, said, "Software management is one of the central issues in
realizing the promise of lower cost of ownership. Organizations need
tools that not only automate the updating and maintenance of rapidly
changing open source software, but that ensure software standards are
met as well. Systems like Red Carpet Enterprise give Linux
administrators the tools they need to automate many of their system
management processes in order to save both time and money."

Red Carpet Enterprise 2 Simplifies and Automates
Ximian Red Carpet Enterprise provides enterprise software package
distribution for Linux, including full dependency resolution,
distribution, installation, rollback, repairs and reporting. With rapid
deployment and broad support for Linux distributions and applications,
organizations can realize a quick return on investment.

Enhancements to Red Carpet Enterprise 2 simplify the administration and
further automate the process of distributing software or updates.
- Software packages can be grouped into package sets to represent
products, product components or product families and subsequently
managed as single entities for distribution, installation, rollback and
reporting.
- Inventory support for managed servers and workstations collects
network information, including hardware, software and system
specifications.
- Enhanced enterprise software distribution uses caching servers to
more effectively transfer packages across slow network connections.

"Ensuring that our customers' network defenses are constantly updated
to address new and emerging threats is one of our primary goals," said
Marilyn Kain, vice president of strategic alliances and business
development, Crossbeam Systems. "By leveraging Red Carpet Enterprise as
part of our security management system, our customers are protected
through automatic software updates, and they can always access the
administration console from any location to change their
configuration."

Ximian Red Carpet Enterprise is part of Novell Resource Management,
managing enterprise Linux desktop and server environments. Red Carpet
Enterprise can also extend the Linux capabilities of Novell ZENworks(R),
the leading solution for management of desktops, servers and handhelds.
With the Ximian purchase in August and the pending acquisition of SUSE
LINUX announced last week, Novell continues to fulfill its commitment to
provide a full range of Linux solutions. 

Pricing and Availability
Ximian Red Carpet Enterprise 2 is now available for $200 per managed
system through Novell Authorized Resellers(SM) and solution providers.
For more information on Red Carpet Enterprise, please visit
http://www.ximian.com/products/redcarpet_enterprise. For more
information on Novell Resource Management, please visit
http://www.novell.com/solutions/resourcemanagement.

About Novell
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) is a leading provider of information
solutions that deliver secure identity management (Novell Nsure(TM)),
Web application development (Novell exteNd(TM)) and cross-platform
networking services (Novell Nterprise(TM)), all supported by strategic
consulting and professional services (Novell Ngage(SM)). Novell's vision
of one Net -- a world without information boundaries -- helps customers
realize the value of their information securely and economically. For
more information, call Novell's Customer Response Center at (888)
321-4CRC (4272) or visit http://www.novell.com. Press should visit
http://www.novell.com/pressroom.

###

Novell, Ximian and ZENworks are registered trademarks; Red Carpet
Enterprise, Nsure, exteNd, and Nterprise are trademarks; and Ngage and
Novell Authorized Reseller are service marks of Novell, Inc. in the
United States and other countries. *All third-party trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Rod Anderson
Novell, Inc.
Phone: (801) 861-3407
E-mail: roanderson-AT-novell.com

to post comments

Novell Lowers Linux Management Costs with Red Carpet Enterprise 2

Posted Nov 11, 2003 21:50 UTC (Tue) by heunique (guest, #728) [Link] (3 responses)

Yup,
I can see myself running buying red-carpet with it's horrible *incompatible* rpms which
breaks every redhat upgrade (you need to remove them before you can upgrade redhat)..

Thanks, I'll stick with apt4rpm...

Novell Lowers Linux Management Costs with Red Carpet Enterprise 2

Posted Nov 11, 2003 22:14 UTC (Tue) by ccchips (subscriber, #3222) [Link] (1 responses)

You know, this is the kind of problem that holds back Linux in the enterprise. Big, powerful companies try to get into it, and they muck up the way people are doing their work already.

To me, this is deja vu. Being involved with computers since 1978, I've seen this happen over and over again.

Will Novell learn how to work with the rest of the Linux community?

One thing Microsoft did right; they learned how import from, and *export* Word documents to and from existing word-processors, and kept reasonably able to allow this with their competitors' products for years. WordPerfect was not so good at that.

Novell Lowers Linux Management Costs with Red Carpet Enterprise 2

Posted Nov 11, 2003 22:59 UTC (Tue) by proski (guest, #104) [Link]

Could you please substantiate your laments? The announcement promises a broad choice:

Red Carpet Enterprise offers the industry's broadest support of Linux distributions and applications, including SUSE LINUX*, Red Hat* and Ximian.

If you don't like Ximian, don't subscribe to it, use only the channel for upgrading your OS.

Novell Lowers Linux Management Costs with Red Carpet Enterprise 2

Posted Nov 11, 2003 22:55 UTC (Tue) by proski (guest, #104) [Link]

Please don't confuse the upgrade tool and the package collection. Red Carpet, up2date, apt-get and yum are just tools to upgrade packages. Whether the packages are compatible with your OS is a completely different question.

Novell Lowers Linux Management Costs with Red Carpet Enterprise 2

Posted Nov 12, 2003 1:19 UTC (Wed) by penguinista (guest, #308) [Link]

I might be concerned about the pricing of this package.
Since this is a relatively new product and they need market share where
are the competitive upgrade offers and aggressive pricing? ($200 seems a
bit steep but maybe I am not in touch with today's market)
Hopefully the incentives will be there thru their channel partners or thru
volume licensing but they should really try to make it a "no brainer" for small businesses up to the enterprise.

How about a trade-in deal of 2 or 3 Red Carpets per MS$ desktop? Take the MS$ license packs as a baseline and start at 50% pricing on those numbers. Create an "Exchange Killer" package that gives away the first year of support free to migrate from Exchange to the NovellSuse mail server, same thing for active directory to NovellSuse ldap/samba etc... whatever it takes... Lets get creative here folks!

Also I am concerned about the training programs. To be successful long-term you will need to start cranking out a lot more certified linux professionals. Give this stuff away at schools starting at the elementary school level. It may take that long to build enough support strength and culture shift.

Offer some huge carrots to existing and prospective MCSE's to "cross over" to the linux side with free training toward certification. And not the crappy "Hello World" traing you might expect at MS$ centric training center but real world examples using the enterprise products.

Imagine how marketable you can become if you can offer your new employer instant return on investment to convert from MS$ to linux. Heck, start gradually by going to dual boot systems first before the final cutover! I might even become a SUSE/Novell reseller/integrator myself since I am seeing so much opportunity here.