Developed in conjunction with HP, IBM and Intel Corporation, and targeted initially for Intel-based hardware platforms, SuSE Linux CGL Edition provides wide scalability, from real-time systems to back-end processing enabling customers to use a single platform. For current applications such as operating and business support systems, gateway, signaling and management servers, and next generation voice, data and wireless solutions, CGL will enable customers to more cost-efficiently deploy dependable, advanced applications while they endeavour to adhere to rigorous standards and demands for performance, reliability and availability.

"This is a breakthrough product that we expect will quickly become the preferred platform of many customers", stated Richard Seibt, Chief Executive Officer, SuSE Linux. "Given the current high cost structures and harsh market conditions, customers demand an adaptable solution that offers cost-efficiency, standardisation and reusability. Developed initially for telecom, the promise of CGL has attracted attention of businesses in many different industries including financial and retail."

"The capabilities now available through the CGL edition of SuSE's Enterprise Server, will provide our Sendmail Mailcenter users a higher standard in availability while enabling the organisation with increased manageability, additional security and performance", stated Mickael Ghossein, CEO of MobileCOM.

MobileCom, the result of a strategic partnership between Jordan Telecom and France Telecom, is a fast growing wireless provider in Jordan which provides General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS). Sendmail and SuSE have a Strategic partnership in conjunction with HP to provide a telco grade messaging solution to service providers and GSM telcoms. Customers of this joint solution range from Starwood Hotels to GSM providers like MobileCOM. Sendmail technology powers 29 of the 36 largest ISPs and 84 of the fortune 100.

The SuSE Linux CGL Edition is available at no charge as a Service Pack to SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 customers. CGL incorporates technologies defined by the OSDL's Carrier Grade Linux Working Group, an initiative whose members include SuSE, HP, IBM, Intel and leading Telecom and Network Equipment providers.

The specifications of CGL were created in collaboration with the telecommunications industry and Network Equipment Providers as well as independent software vendors and include:

• Improved high availability features for error detection and rapid failover for the operating system, applications, Ethernet and disk.
• Greatly improved serviceability enhancements enabling faster problem determination: system memory dumping, system probes and tracing.
• Improved system scalability/performance.
• IPv6 RFCs compliance: support for IPv6 for delivering next-generation network support, including a wider address space, better auto detection and auto configuration of networks, hosts and services and more efficient routing and broadcasting.
• MIPv6 RFCs compliance: support for mobile IPv6, which specifies the operation of mobile computers and devices using IPv6 allowing each mobile node to be identified by its home address regardless of its current point of attachment.
• Soft real-time performance: configure a scheduler to provide soft real-time support with low latency.
• Low latency: reduces the latency of the kernel reaction to real time or interactive events for low-priority processes even if the kernel works under heavy load.
• RAID 0 Support: striping support to enhance performance for request-rate-intensive or transfer-rate-intensive environments.
• Application pre-loading: supports full loading and pinning of the pages of an application before execution ensuring no slowdown can happen as with demand-paged execution. Needed in diskless environments to reduce network traffic and bursts execution speed.
• Concurrent timers: supports large number and better scalability of many concurrent timers.

"SuSE has played a pivotal role in the development of Carrier-Grade Linux. HP is working with SuSE as part of OSDL's Carrier Grade Linux Working Group to provide standards-based solutions that make Linux more viable for our customers with carrier-grade requirements", stated Judy Chavis, Director of Strategic OS Alliances, HP Industry Standard Servers. "Our efforts in identifying and advancing key features required for open-source carrier-grade platforms are critical to the continuing acceptance of Linux with customers."

"SuSE's Carrier Grade version of Linux will play an integral role in IBM's next generation network integrated solutions and our telecom solutions integration capability", stated Hernan Vega, vice president, IBM Telecommunications Industry. "With SuSE Linux CGL edition, the proven benefits of standard Linux in the enterprise markets will now be extended to the telecommunication industry where driving costs out of the business is priority one."

"Intel's goal is to help equipment manufacturers and carriers continue to build modular solutions throughout the network while reducing both capital and operational expenses", stated Anthony Ambrose, general manager, Modular Platform Programmes, Intel Corporation. "The availability of Carrier Grade Linux from SuSE for Intel processor-based platforms is a critical step forward in the delivery of these modular communications platforms."

"With its support of the OSDL Carrier Grade Linux Specification, SuSE can offer its customers a standards-based, open architecture, software development platform and operating system that is reliable and scalable and suited to the mission-critical demands in the telecommunications market", stated Timothy D. Witham, Lab Director, OSDL.

The OSDL Carrier Grade Linux Specification defines feature requirements to enhance and harden Linux to provide a robust platform that meets the demands of telecom equipment and service providers. These enhancements are defined in the categories of open standards compliance, platform requirements, high availability, serviceability, development tools support, performance and security.

The Carrier Grade Linux Working Group is an industry forum operating under the guidance of the Open Source Development Labs. Supported by a global consortium of industry leaders, OSDL is an independent, vendor-neutral, non-profit organisation dedicated to enabling Linux and Linux-based programming for enterprise and carrier-class functionality worldwide.