Open Enterprise Server

Open Enterprise Server^[1] (OES) is a server operating system published by OpenText. It was first published by Novell in March 2005 to succeed their NetWare product.^[2]

Open Enterprise Server
Developer	OpenText
OS family	Linux (Unix-like) and NetWare
Working state	Current
Source model	Open source / Closed source
Latest release	OES 23.4 / October 2023; 1 year ago (2023-10)
Marketing target	Enterprise software Server
Package manager	RPM Package Manager
Preceded by	NetWare 6.5

Unlike NetWare, OES is a Linux distribution—specifically, one based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.^[3] The first major release of Open Enterprise Server (OES 1) could run either with a Linux kernel (with a NetWare compatibility layer) or Novell's NetWare kernel (with a Linux compatibility layer).^[2] Novell discontinued the NetWare kernel prior to the release of OES 2, but NetWare 6.5 SP7, and later SP8, can run as a paravirtualized guest inside the Xen hypervisor (officially supported until 7 March 2012, Novell self-supported until 7 March 2015).

OES 1 and OES 2

Novell released OES 1, the first version of OES, on 25 March 2005.^[2] Since some users wanted backward compatibility with NetWare, Novell offered two installation options: OES-NetWare and OES-Linux. These are two different operating systems with different kernels and different userlands.

OES-NetWare is NetWare v6.5 equipped with NetWare Loadable Modules for various Novell services (such as NetWare Core Protocol, Novell eDirectory, Novell Storage Services, and iPrint) and open-source software (such as OpenSSH, Apache Tomcat, and the Apache HTTP Server).^[4]

OES-Linux is based on the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) with added NetWare services ported to the Linux kernel: e.g. the NetWare Core Protocol, Novell eDirectory, Novell Storage Services, and iPrint.

Novell released OES 2, the second version of OES, on 12 October 2007. It was the first SLES-Linux-kernel-only OES, but it retained the OES-NetWare operating system option, as NetWare 6.5 SP7 can run as a paravirtualized guest inside the Xen hypervisor. The SLES base of the OES 2 was later updated to SLES 10 SP1.

Features introduced in OES 2 include:^[5]

• 32-bit system or 64-bit system supporting 64 bit and 32 bit applications
• Hardware virtualization^[6]
• Dynamic Storage Technology, which provides Novell Shadow Volumes
• Windows domain services (from OES 2 SP1)
• Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) with Cross Protocoll Locking AFP-NCP-Samba (CPL) (from OES 2 SP1)

OES 2015

• OES 2015 was released on 31 August 2015, adding new features and improved performance.^[7]
• OES 2015 SP1 was released on 14 June 2016 and was the first to be rebranded Micro Focus^[8] after Micro Focus purchased The Attachmate Group which included Novell.

OES 2018 & 2023

Micro Focus released OES 2018 in November 2017, with three service releases (the last being OES 2018 SP3 in July 2021). All releases were all based on SLES 12 and its service packs.

While SUSE was sold by Micro Focus in 2018,^[9] SLES support and updates are included with an OES installation, provided at least one OES component is installed.

OES 2023 was released in October 2022, using a base of SLES 15 SP4. It includes a new Unified Management Console (UMC) to supersede iManager for server management, TLS 1.3 support and was bundled with NetIQ eDirectory 9.2.7.^[10] Breaking with previous convention, OES 23.4 (rather than SP1) was released in October 2023, and was rebranded to OpenText,^[11] after their purchase of Micro Focus earlier in the year. General support was extended to 3 years from the usual 2 years of previous releases.^[12]

Components

• Automatic Client Upgrade (ACU) – automates the upgrade of Novell client software on existing workstations^[13]

See also

• SUSE Linux
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server