The licences will be used to run Novell’s Suse Linux Enterprise Server distribution on virtual machines running on Windows servers, said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
He also said that the deal ‘bridged a divide’ for Linux and recognised the reality that most companies run multiple operating systems.
Microsoft and Novell also plan to provide interoperability between the new Open XML formats used in Office 2007 and the standard Open Document Format.]
Office sales to some companies have been put at risk by claims that Open XML is not a true open format.
Microsoft has been making peace in recent years with longtime adversaries such as Novell and Sun, settling anti-trust lawsuits with them worth, respectively, $536m and $1.6bn.
Microsoft already has a Linux and open source interoperability lab, and its Port25 website solicits feedback from open source developers. The Novell deal, effectively provides a Microsoft endorsement for Novell’s Linux distribution, giving it an edge over rival Red Hat.
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