Linux users will soon find another big friend: Novell.
After nearly two years of talk,company plans to pull the trigger on a broad Linux strategy at its BrainShare user conference in Salt Lake City next month.
The centerpiece will be Novell's release of NDS (Novell Directory Services) eDirectory for Linux. The company plans to open some of that code base for the Linux community under its own open-source license, according to sources familiar with the plans.
Novell is also developing a Linux version of its GroupWise groupware, although the product may not be ready for a BrainShare launch, sources said. Parts of that GroupWise code, along with any other Linux-based code Novell develops, will be available under Novell's open-source license, the sources added.
Such moves will enable Novell customers that have deployed Linux servers alongside NetWare servers to manage those systems under NDS.
An enterprise first for Linux
Novell's endorsement will add more enterprise legitimacy to Linux by providing the open-source platform with a full-scale enterprise directory service for the first time.
"Linux is in the server room, people are logging in to it, [and] it needs to be managed," said Bill Towey, network administrator at Powerscourt LLC. The Tacoma, Wash., Internet service provider has seen its share of servers running Linux grow to 50 percent from 10 percent a year ago. NDS on Linux, Towey said, would be "an incredible opportunity."
Novell has talked about Linux and open source code for nearly two years but to date has failed to deliver a strategy. In November, the company talked of opening small pieces of applications, such as its digitalme directory client, opting for a cautious approach into the open-source world. Crafting its own open-source license appears to have particularly slowed the process.
So far, the Novell Community License is not listed as one of the public licenses approved by the Open Source Initiative, which reviews and certifies such licenses. The OSI has certified more than a dozen open-source licenses, including the GNU Public License, the IBM Public License and the Mozilla Public License.
Novell also recently completed a major reorganization while revamping its marketing message, likely adding to its delayed embrace of the open-source model.
How much is too much?
Novell executives are still trying to find the proper balance between opening up pieces of NDS without giving up too much of the "secret recipe" behind the directory software, sources said.
IT administrators such as Powerscourt's Towey hope Novell doesn't let its indecision about some open-source issues slow its development of NDS for Linux.
"Opening up the source code isn't the issue," Towey said. "It's managing a lot of servers in a heterogeneous environment. That's what NDS does. If Novell gets [NDS for Linux] out there, people will use it no matter what the license is."
Still, Novell has talked about open source so many times that some IT managers and observers said they'll believe Novell's serious when they see a license.
The failures of hybrid open/closed-source software, such as Sun Microsystems's community license, make the managers all the more skeptical of Novell's plan to open only part of its code.
One official at a Novell partner is not hopeful. "I see them waffling still," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.
Novell would not comment on unannounced products but did acknowledge that it expects NDS for Linux to ship in the first half of this year.
