Novell appears to be interested in rounding out its Linux portfolio by partnering with or acquiring an embedded Linux vendor. However, it's too early for the company to reveal specific details of its embedded Linux strategy, Novell officials say.

“We're always looking to fill a gap in what we offer, and embedded stuff always comes up,” said Novell Director of Press Relations Bruce Lowry.

Novell competitor Red Hat recently announced a partnership with embedded giant Wind River, which may have helped focus attention inside Novell on the emerging importance of Linux in embedded systems.

Lowry notes that embedded systems are not a core focus for Novell, which has traditionally focused on the enterprise software. However, “embedded systems are found in the enterprise, too,” he notes, adding that Novell currently markets several embedded systems for branch offices.

And, Novell today announced a partnership with HP to support Novell's SuSE Linux on client systems, possibly including embedded thin-client systems, which HP officials believe to represent the biggest growth market for Linux desktops.

Novell may have acquired some embedded Linux expertise with its November acquisition of SuSE. A carrier-grade version of SuSE Linux developed in collaboration with HP, IBM, and Intel has been available since April of last year.

However, Novell is still digesting its acquisition of SuSE, according to Lowry, making it too early to discuss anything more concrete than a general interest in embedded Linux. “That's as far as we'd go, we wouldn't go further, in terms of narrowing down who it is,” Lowry stated.

A ZDNet article today quoted Novell Vice Chairman Chris Stone as saying Novell is going through a “thorough analysis” of embedded Linux, including real-time Linux for industrial applications and more conventional PC-like embedded systems.

 
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