Microsoft Faces Skeptics at Open Source Conference

After nearly a year and a half, their attention pondering Union, to provide better interoperability and open source and Windows-based platform, Microsoft and Novell said that the developers this week said that the treaty has been made technical advantages, but still work completed , in particular on the interoperability between the two countries platform for the companys corporate roster.

Representatives of the two companies to provide a report on the status of their collaboration at the annual Linux / open source Wall Street in New York Conference to be held this week. Microsoft said it has sold more than 10 million SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (sles) licence to about 60 large enterprise customers , including Credit Suisse, HSBC, the financial synovus companies and Wal-Mart.

"We have learned a lot, said:" Petrovsky Deruikeshi, Microsofts total publicity and the customers licensing, in his opening remarks. "
In most cases, it was incredibly successful, the feedback in the commercial social and technological community." In an interview, Rodriques added that Microsofts agreement with Novell to help identify for the first phase of Microsoft interoperability commitment, in February.

Virtual progress Microsoft and Novell have already identified four main objectives, in its technical cooperation Agreement (TCA) technology. So far, the company has made the most progress guarantee 2 Platform, in a virtual environment, Windows Server is targeted mainly recognized sles a host, and vice versa, said Jose Thomas, a senior technical evangelist at Microsoft . Three other key areas, including common system management, interoperability with Microsofts Active Directory to Novells eDirectory, file format compatible. Thomas sles shown as a virtual machine running on Windows Server 2008 host country, and stressed that the same interoperability project, in the reverse situation.

Target, according to Thomas, is a window to become an "entirely sensible" customers sles vice versa Ran. Demonstration using the beta version of Microsofts many people look forward to Super V hypervisor.

"Hypervisor treated like SuSE operating systems treat the windows This is really great because, from the performance of view, you are a par," Thomas said. "But most important of all, from a management point of view, from reporting capabilities, all the things that are done hypervisor windows, you can continue to do so in order to SuSE, as well as. " The two companies jointly develop the adapter to achieve that result, Thomas added. To solve the system management, however, the two companies currently more emphasis on Web services standards WS-Management Protocol.

"This is only to talk about a common language," Thomas said.

The same applies to the compatibility of the directory, Federated States of Micronesia and Web services specifications. The company is still on the pillar, so that they directory determine trusting relationship - that is, a bargaining chip.

"This one is still not yet complete," Thomas said. "This is have been identified, but we are actively working in this respect. " The interchangeability of the document, Microsoft and Novell said that the files interchangeable, through their support for the standards, in particular Microsoft Office open XML specifications, in this week approved as a standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

And Office suite will be able to share critical formatting attributes, such as functional Visual Basic-based, it will not work cross-platform functionality, Thomas acknowledged.

"I will be frank, I do not intend to sit here and tell you all is to continue to unswervingly implement," he said.

Open enough? Microsoft is dealing with a meeting of the open-source, there are many skeptical participants.

"I like the fact that Microsoft is working with the Linux community, but to me, its on open standards - If you want to collaboration, and keep it close, then it is not that good, we, "a audience member said.

"We are a company that happens to the value of patents, said:" Rodriques.

"We can have a debate, I absolutely respect, today, but what is we are trying to do is to find out how we can expand our APIs? How should we open Our agreement with the open-source community, and use it is meaningful to do so, this is the next We have proposed this relationship. " Thomas said in an interview, the challenge is in the future with a happy medium.

"I think we have the right intentions, but at the end of the day, we still have to ensure that in the world can meet in the middle," he said: "We are an intellectual property-based software company, we want to work with the open society, and it is wise . " Paul Brown, director of global strategic marketing at Novell, said in an interview after the meeting said that he was not surprised by the suspect, but he was encouraged by Microsofts latest initiatives.

"You have to give them credit," Brown said, Microsoft recently interoperability commitments and the release of their APIs. "They really link" br> open it has. "