SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 12 Now With Docker Support

SUSE LLC, the longtime second fiddle of the commercial Linux universe, is introducing a brand new version of its flagship distribution that levels the playing field against arch-rival Red Hat Inc. on multiple key fronts while adding several distinctive enhancements. The launch comes two months after the German firm unveiled the latest release of its OpenStack offering.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 12 comes with built-in support for Docker, the buzzed-about container engine that Red Hat catapulted into the center of the hybrid cloud discussion last year and added to its own Linux distro in June. The move is more symbolic than anything, since the technology is not yet ready for production, but it sends a strong signal to customers that the firm is not allowing itself to fall behind the pack.

The new release also brings with it more immediately useful features such as the ability to roll back updates at the system level leveraging the snapshotting functionality in Btrfs, the new default system replacing the ext3 journaled file system. Additionally, admins can now update the Linux kernel without incurring any downtime, which is a big deal for organizations with thousands of users who depend upon the availability of their back-end environments.

Similar functionality has been available with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for a while, but that doesn’t diminish the significance of the improvements for existing customers. Organizations running SLES on IBM gear have even more reason to upgrade to the new release, which introduces hardware optimizations for the last two generations of IBM System z mainframe processors, integration with cryptographic accelerators and several other low-level improvements. SLES 12 also exploits additional features in Big Blue’s latest POWER8 server chip to better accommodate more types of applications.

In addition to the updates to the operating system itself, SUSE is rolling out several add-ons, in particular a new version of its high-availability extension featuring a geo-clustering capability that makes it possible to distribute SLES 12 deployments across multiple data centers in different locations. This functionality – which is also in RHEL – ensures that an environment keeps humming along even when an entire facility goes offline.

The updated extension also sports a new web console, improved support for the OCFS2 and GFS2 file systems and the latest version of the ReaR tool for creating disaster recovery images. It’s joined by a new package that allows virtual machines on SLES to run more versions of Windows with better performance and, last but not least, a module for turning servers into workstation environments.

The upgrade is significant on two levels. First, it put SUSE in a better position to compete against Red Hat in its home Linux market. It also solidifies SUSE’s OpenStack offering, which is based on SLES. That means future releases will take advantage of the enhancements introduced in version 12, further upping the ante against Red Hat’s competing version of the cloud framework, which likewise includes RHEL.