Microsoft and Novell Open Up China

• By Lafe Low
• 04/23/2008

Under this expanded agreement, engineers from both Novell and Microsoft will collaborate to ensure that SuSE Linux works well with Windows, particularly the Chinese editions of Windows. The Chinese Microsoft/Novell customers also get full access to service and support from Novell, just like the domestic customers. To start off, three major Chinese companies -- the Dairy Farm Co., the People's Insurance Company of China and the Dawning Information Industry Co. -- will buy three-year licenses for Novell's SuSE Linux.

This is an extension of an existing agreement between Microsoft and Novell. Under terms of the original agreement between the two operating system giants, Microsoft would sell licenses for SuSE Linux software to its customers who needed licenses for both Linux and Windows, while Novell would provide the SuSE support.

Is your company using open source operating systems, as well as Windows? Please let us know if you have a mixed environment. We're always interested in hearing tales from the mixed environment trenches. Mix it up with us at [email protected].

Big Blue Buys Another Bay State Tech Firm
IBM has been having itself quite a shopping spree in the Bay State (that's Massachussetts, for those of you who haven't seen one of those wooden puzzles with the state nicknames on them).

Over the past several years, IBM has scooped up nine software companies in the technology-rich commonwealth. Just last February, it dropped $4.5 billion for Cognos, (which was actually a Canadian company, but its U.S. headquarters were in Burlington, Mass.). And Lotus is certainly IBM's most widely known Massachusetts acquisition.

Big Blue's latest Bay State souvenir is Diligent Technologies, which was a privately held company based in Framingham (also the East Coast home of your favorite Microsoft IT magazine). Diligent Technologies develops server and storage management software. As Diligent was privately held, terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed.

How are you handling storage and server management? Have any of the major tools or solutions you use on a daily basis been acquired by another company? How did that transition go? Check in and let us know at [email protected].

Green Grid Working with EPA, SNIA
When I think of technology and environmental concerns, I don't always think of storage. Nevertheless, the Green Grid consortium is working with the EPA and the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) as somewhat of an intermediary to ensure that the IT industry follows the best energy efficiency-practices possible.

Green Grid has signed Memorandums of Understanding, basically good-will agreements, with both the EPA and SNIA. The agreement with the EPA will speed up development and adoption of best practices for energy-efficient server rooms throughout the agency, starting with a showcase server room to present as a public demonstration of energy-efficient operations. Working on its Green Storage Initiative, the Green Grid will work with the SNIA to develop standards and processes aimed at improved datacenter energy efficiency.

"Within the IT industry, there are a number of professionals who are responsible for datacenter functionality -- from CIOs and IT managers to heating and cooling experts. It is imperative that we look at the energy efficiency issue from a single, united point of view," said Mark Monroe, director of the Green Grid, in a prepared statement. "Together we can leverage each other's core expertise and areas of focus to deliver a holistic and complete approach for an energy efficient datacenter."

Have you set up your datacenter and storage with an eye toward energy efficiency? What sort of tools or techniques did you use? Send me an energy-efficient message at [email protected].

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