Start-up promises Linux-Windows server interoperability

Computerworld - A Seattle-area start-up last week publicly released a beta version of software that enables Windows network administrators to manage Linux servers, joining at least two other companies in the space.
Centeris Corp. said its Likewise 1.0 software is targeted at IT managers in midsize and large companies struggling to manage combinations of Windows and Linux servers. "The two platforms don't work well together," said Barry Crist, Centeris' chairman and CEO. "We allow Linux servers to have a specific role in a Windows network."
Using Likewise, system administrators can join Linux servers to Microsoft's Active Directory, enabling them to manage and monitor the Linux servers through either Likewise or Microsoft Management Console.
Centeris has been beta-testing Likewise with about 20 users. One is Steve Berg, IT manager for broadcast TV equipment vendor, Omneon Video Networks Inc., who said Likewise was "super easy to use" and install.
"I had my Windows system administrator (who was not Linux savvy) play with [Likewise], and he was amazed at how he has this wealth of information at his fingertips," Berg said in an e-mail. "I was configuring Apache and file-sharing as if I was on a Windows server."
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Omneon has 18 Windows servers and six Linux servers. "I think absolutely this type of product would encourage me to deploy more Linux servers," he said. "Giving these companies the ability to deploy a lower cost/lower risk type solution such as Linux without the additional cost of hiring Unix/Linux expertise is an amazing benefit."
Shipments of Linux servers are expected to increase from 1.4 million units this year to 2.4 million in 2010, according to Gartner Inc. But that growth rate could be even higher with the help of vendors of Windows-Linux interoperability products, including start-ups like Centeris and established companies such as Centrify Corp. and Vintela Inc., which is now owned by Quest Software Inc.
"I'm excited about the promise of Centeris and believe they've assembled a great team to help traditional Windows customers embrace and integrate Linux into their environments," said Jeff Hawkins, vice president of Linux and Platform Services Product Management at Novell Inc., which owns SUSE Linux. Novell and another big Linux player, IBM, have also tested Likewise. "By leveraging tools that IT managers are already familiar with, it creates comfort and confidence with less effort on their part," said Hawkins.
Based in Bellevue, Wash., Centeris began work on Likewise in August 2004 and several months later pulled in in $5.35 million in funding from Ignition Partners LLC, a venture capitalfirm made up of former senior Microsoft executives. Centeris now has 30 employees.
The company expects to release the final version of Likewise 1.0 in December, Crist said. Pricing is set at $350 for a perpetual license per server managed. The company also plans to offer support for Likewise; pricing for that offering hasn't been determined.
Centeris plans to release a subset of Likewise to the open-source community later this year and may provide support for that component as well, said Crist. The company is in talks to have the open-source software ship with Linux operating system distributions, said Crist.
China Martens, of the IDG News Service, contributed to this report.