rPath to OEM Novell's SUSE Linux to reduce legal worries

rPath has entered a pact with Novell that makes creating a virtual appliance easier for developers – and corporate lawyers.

As part of the deal, which was announced yesterday, rPath will OEM Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Server beginning in August, said Bill Marshall, the company’s CEO, and former Red Hatter.

rPath’s Appliance Builder has been running its own Linux since the company's inception but it doesn’t come with the legal peace-of-mind guarantee offered by Novell, he said. Despite Linux’s widespread acceptance, potential legal issues still keep customers up at night, the former Red Hat sales exec said.

“We don’t have the Microsoft patent promise that Novell provides. We can’t provide that with rPath Linux,” Marshall told this ZDNet blogger. “It takes a long time for people to overcome their historical biases. "

The Raleigh, NC company has approached Red Hat, Ubuntu and Sun about using rPath’s application packaging technology but those vendors decided to develop their own appliance offerings, he claims.

rPath contends that the one-size-fits-all modern operating system is on its way out and developers prefer a customized and lightweight OS footprint around which they can bundle their applications. Rpath has deals in place with VMware and Citrix Xen to ensure that rBuilder images are output in proper virtual mode.

rPath has a working implementation of the SUSE Enterprise Linux Appliance Platform and will be making it generally available at the end of summer, Marshall said.