SUSE Studio

The SUSE company announced in August, 2011 release of SUSE Studio 1.2. The new version of the platform of development mentioned by awards helps customers to create, update and administer images of applications in the systems of x86, public clouds and in the IBM SystemZ systems * that considerably reduces the overheads connected with management of a heterogeneous IT environment.

Cloud computing helps the organizations to increase efficiency of IT, providing instant deployment of new computing resources as required. It releases IT specialists about routine works and they can focus on the solution of strategic tasks. In process of mastering of cloud computing by the organizations there is a need for applications which can be unrolled in a cloud and also in several different IT environments in the data processing center, including on mainframes.

IDC considers that ready software packages (software appliances) can play a key role in distribution of the cloud systems. That is why IDC predicts that by 2014 the market of "program devices" will grow to $3.7 billion. An opportunity to create and support one software package which can be developed in any place ― an important part of automation of private, collective and hybrid cloud installations, ― Brett Waldman, the senior analyst of department of the client and server software of virtualization of IDC speaks.

The modern difficult business climate demands from the enterprises and independent software developers of capability to make the services available as required and at the minimum costs, ― the marketing manager of solutions of SUSE Sabine Soellheim speaks. ― This new version of SUSE Studio provides the flexibility necessary for our clients, allowing the enterprises and independent developers to increase and contract systems as required. They can collect, configure and support the whole complexes of transferable applications in read minutes, and then unroll them where it is necessary and when it is necessary.

Moreover, SUSE Studio directs the bridge between microprocessor architecture of x86 and mainframes, simplifying process of creation, testing, service and deployment of applications on mainframes. Now the users working with hundreds of crucial images of Linux on mainframes will save time, using idle time in application the interface for the organization of workloads of a mainframe.

SUSE Studio of version 1.2 is delivered in two editions: SUSE Studio Standard Edition for independent software suppliers (ISV) and SUSE Studio Advanced Edition for corporate customers. These latests version replace SUSE Appliance Toolkit.

SUSE Studio Standard Edition allows ISV to transform the application to "service" and to compete with alternative offers of SaaS, providing the flexibility necessary for acceleration of entry into the market. SUSE Studio Standard Edition ― the fastest and easy way for ISV to reduce a sales cycle, to reduce costs for deployment of systems and to distribute the applications to a cloud.

SUSE Studio Advanced Edition helps the organizations to create, configure and service images of applications in a cloud, reducing complexity and reducing the price of maintenance and support of software installations. SUSE Studio Advanced Edition provides also new and easy way of creation, support and deployment of workloads of IBM System z, automating labor-consuming routine tasks that increases efficiency and reduces complexity and costs even more.

In two years after SUSE Studio release the leading ISV, suppliers of IT solutions and the enterprise showed broad support of this product. Today more than 150,000 registered users created over 800,000 specialized complexes. Moreover, in the SUSE Gallery library opened in 2010 there are about 7000 special applications which were loaded in total by 52500 times.

SUSE Studio 1.3

The SUSE company announced an exit in sale of the product SUSE Studio 1.3 for independent software providers and DPC of the corporate level, on May 27, 2013.

Version new products

As a part of upgraded version of the instrument of creation of images of applications new features which can facilitate to the customer deployment of autonomous and portable workloads in a virtual and cloud environment, for example Amazon EC2, OpenStack or SUSE Cloud and management of them. The IT companies, independent vendors of software and producers of the hardware can provide new technologies and services more quickly and will ensure competitive advantage due to reduction of installation time and simplification of management of lifecycle of applications.

SUSE Studio helps customers to build images of the applications which are previously configured in different formats, only then to develop them, as on the physical hardware, so in a virtual or cloud environment. SUSE Studio saves all information connected with creation of images in such a way that customers can quickly reproduce, change, test and unroll applications via the simple user web interface.

Improvements for cloud computing

SUSE Studio 1.3 is closely integrated with the platform of cloud computing SUSE Cloud created on the basis of OpenStack technology. Using SUSE Studio 1.3 customers can select the SUSE Cloud format during creation of virtual machines. Besides, using the SUSE Studio function under the name webhook, all images of SUSE Cloud virtual machines constructed in SUSE Studio are automatically and without delay imported to SUSE Cloud. Facilitating control of new cloud workloads and delivery of necessary computer resources for the business, IT department can significantly reduce costs of working time.

Improvements in the field of work with public clouds include opportunities for users Internet services Amazon to create virtual for EC2 and to start directly from SUSE Studio. SUSE Studio 1.3 provides the improved interface for applications of Amazon and now supports all regions of EC2.

Innovations in the field of virtualization

In SUSE Studio to 1.3 IT departments support of strategy of use of several hypervisors, by adding of necessary drivers for integration with Hyper-V is facilitated. The virtual applications created through SUSE Studio now work on the Windows servers. In addition, SUSE Studio 1.3 supports the format of the KVM virtual machine preferable to SUSE Cloud and OpenStack.

SUSE Studio 1.3 supports all modern hypervisors and cloud platforms, including VMware VirtualBox Xen KVM Hyper-V, the OVF standard SUSE Cloud, OpenStack and Amazon EC2. It increases portability of the software for virtual and cloud environments and cuts down expenses on deployment of applications which are in turn optimized and ready for work on different cloud and virtual platforms.

Management of lifecycle

SUSE Studio 1.3 offers an easy way for setup of the automated updating of the images constructed through SUSE Studio. The new option allows engineers to add SUSE Lifecycle Management Server to SUSE Studio as agent of management before creation of an image begins. SUSE Lifecycle Management Server gives to the customer a single platform for management of subscriptions and provides updating of the virtual machines turned through SUSE Studio.

"SUSE Studio, especially in combination with SUSE Manager and SUSE Cloud, is created to simplify deployment of applications, to help to cut down expenses and to reduce quantity of resources by their support, at the same time ensuring safe functioning in a cloud environment", Andreas Jaeger, the senior manager on products of SUSE company noted. - Our latest version of SUSE Studio 1.3 is a new step in improvement of effective placement and management of lifecycle of applications in virtual and cloud environments".

Statistics

For May 28, 2013 more than 370 thousand registered users of online of the version of SUSE Studio constructed more than 1.8 million images of applications and published more than 19 thousand from them in SUSE Gallery.