Novell management tool going open source

Reversing a long-standing position, Novell plans to adopt a widely used open-source license for its Linux management tool in a plan to spread the program and make its SuSE Linux product more popular, CNET News.com has learned. For years, SuSE has considered its YAST (Yet Another Setup Tool) technology--software for installing, configuring and managing Linux--an advantage over its competitors and forbade them from incorporating it into the products they sold. But with the new plan, to be announced Monday at Novell's Brainshare conference, the company will release YAST under the General Public License (GPL), sources familiar with the plan said.

By putting YAST under the same open-source license that governs Linux itself, Novell hopes the program will gain widespread acceptance as a module used by management software powerhouses such as Computer Associates International, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, sources said. Building partnerships with major software companies will make Novell's SuSE Linux a more compelling product, according to the company. There's another perk: One of the first management programs to tap into YAST will be Novell's own ZenWorks, one source said.

Novell became a Linux power in January, when it acquired SuSE Linux for $210 million. But so far, the Waltham, Mass.-based company has given little indication of how it plans to balance its proprietary and open-source software portfolios.

View: The full story