Approximately one year after purchasing German Linux vendor SuSE, Novell has opened a public beta of its Open Enterprise Server. Novell initially held a private beta test that started in October.

The server marries Novell's proprietary NetWare kernel with SuSE Linux Server 9 Enterprise Edition, borrowing from the hip of NetWare to flesh out the company's Linux strategy. Once it is completed, the software will enable customers to manage a mixed environment of both NetWare and SuSE Linux servers using a central management console.

To make its software work better with Linux, Novell has re-written much of the NetWare core. One component of Open Enterprise Server called Nterprise Linux Services, rolls file, directory, print, management and messaging services into one package. It is compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server distributions.

Novell has also incorporated fault-tolerance tools and productivity software, including iFolders and Virtual Office.

The company has plotted out a final release of Open Enterprise Server for February, which "will deliver the best of both worlds to customers," Novell says.