Novell today announced that global electronics giant Casio Computer (Casio) is using SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell with integrated Xen virtualisation software to reduce the cost of consolidating servers while improving flexibility compared with alternative, proprietary virtualisation software.
Casio is using SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and the paravirtualised drivers in the SUSE Linux Enterprise Virtual Machine Driver Pack to consolidate Windows* and Linux* servers in order to improve productivity by standardising communication tools and to promote better IT control and cost efficiency.
"Server virtualisation gives Casio the ability to reduce software and hardware costs through highly efficient consolidation," said Norihito Kuniyoshi, managing director of Casio Information Service, the subsidiary in charge of managing Casio's IT.
"Based on our initial results, we estimate the software cost of Xen and SUSE Linux Enterprise for virtualising Windows systems is just 10% of competitor solutions. The difference is even greater if you consider that other solutions require more expensive hardware. Also, the security offered by the alliance between Novell and Microsoft was a factor in our decision."
By enabling Casio to run multiple Windows and Linux servers on a single physical server, the Novell technologies will significantly reduce costs and increase flexibility. With Xen and SUSE Linux Enterprise running on virtualisation-aware Intel and AMD processors, Casio can consolidate multiple Windows and Linux servers. This means more virtual systems can run on each new physical server, keeping the total cost of ownership low. Casio expects to reduce its total number of physical servers by half using both Xen and its current virtualisation solution.
Roger Levy, Novell senior vice-president and general manager of Open Platform Solutions, said: "As Casio reduced its cost of virtualisation to around 10% of the alternative solution, the company achieved the consolidation of Windows systems with little or no effect on performance. That kind of return on investment underscores the value of open source innovation found in SUSE Linux Enterprise."
The next-generation platform for the open enterprise, SUSE Linux Enterprise is the best-engineered, lowest-cost and most interoperable platform for enterprise computing, from the desktop to the data centre. The SUSE Linux Enterprise Virtual Machine Driver Pack contains device drivers for common Windows and Linux operating systems and allows enterprises to run fully virtualised workloads with near-native performance.
For more information on SUSE Linux Enterprise offerings from Novell, visit www.novell.com/linux. For more on how customers around the globe are leveraging Novell solutions, visit www.novell.com/success.
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