SUSE[1] doesn't get the ink that Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)[2] or Canonical Ubuntu[3] does, but it's still a darn fine Linux server distribution. Now, SUSE takes another step forward in the server room and data center with the mid-July release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)[4] 15.
SLES 15 will be available on x86-64, ARM, IBM LinuxONE, POWER, and z Systems in mid-July. So, no matter what your preferred server architecture, SUSE can work with you.
At the same time, SUSE is presenting SLES 15 as a multimodal operating system. And what's that you ask? It's one that integrates cloud-based platforms with enterprise servers, merges containerized development with traditional development, and combines legacy applications with microservices.
SUSE does this in SLES by using a "common code base" to environments. You then add the appropriate modules for your purpose.
Some of this is just rebranding. For example, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED)[5] is made up, as before, with the core legacy code base with the desktop code base. But it's more than that. For microservices, for example, you use the legacy code base with SUSE Container as a Service (CaaS) Platform[6], and for a private cloud you add in the SUSE OpenStack Cloud[7]. Using this approach, you can also easily deploy SLES on both your in-house servers and software-defined infrastructure such as the Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, and/or Microsoft Azure using the SUSE Linux Enterprise Bring-Your-Own-Subscription (BYOS)[8] programs.
In addition, there are two other SLES versions. The first of these, SLE High Performance Computing 15[9], addresses the growing needs of the HPC market with