SCO Group, Others Prep Linux Servers For SMB Crowd
SCOoffice Server, which is expected to ship during the second quarter, will integrate the recently-released SCO Linux 4.0 server, SCOoffice Mail Server 2.0 and SCOoffice Base Server with file and print services.
Officials of the Sco Group, formerly Caldera, said the integrated offering will allow SMB customers to easily set up, maange and administer their networks with little knowledge of Linux. Pricing has not yet been announced.
The SCOoffice Mail Server 2.0, also announced at LinuxWorld here today, is an enhanced and rebranded e-mail server based on the company's former Volution messaging server. The new mail server will offer compatibility with Microsoft Outlook and other email clients and offer a browser-based server manager, officials said.
As Red Hat Advanced Server and SuSE Enterprise Server makes inroads in the enterprise space, numerous companies including SCO Group, SuSE, Xandros and Trustix are preparing integrated servers that give SMB customers an easy-to-install, affordably priced Linux server solution out of the box.
SuSE, for example, announced at LinuxWorld its Openexchnage server with integrated e-mail server and Enterprise Server 8 code. Like SCO Linux 4.0, SuSE Enterprise Server 8 is a UnitedLinux distribution.
Xandros is also working on a series of workgroup servers including a departmental server and e-mail server slated for delivery in the near future, sources close to the company said. (see CRN Online).
Finally, lesser-known Linux companies including Trustix offer integrated servers based on Linux and targeted at the SMB crowd. The Scandinavian company, which set up its U.S. headquarters in San Jose, announced last August a full Linux software suiute with turnkey Linux solutions ranging from point solution server applications such as Web, eMail, Firewall, File and print to full function server clusters built on hardware solutions such as IBM's xSeries hardware.
Meanwhile, Microsoft continues work on its widely anticipated .NET-based Small Business Server, code-named "Bobcat" and due sometime in 2003.