Last Update: 2023-02-17

Table of Contents

Introduction

Welcome to the dedicated web page for the beta of SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro (SLE Micro), the ultra-reliable, lightweight operating system purpose built for edge computing. It leverages the enterprise hardened security and compliance components of SUSE Linux Enterprise and merges them with a modern, immutable, developer-friendly OS platform.  

Notable Changes

  • The default setting of SELinux for new installations has been changed from permissive to enforcing mode.

  • PCP container integration in cockpit

  • Podman was updated from 3.x to 4.3.1.

As always, we highly recommend to check our Release Notes for a complete overview of the changes in this new version.

 

Planned Releases

Our plan is to release only two Public Pre-Release ISOs, one Public Beta, one Public Release Candidate from February 2023 to March 2023.   Scheduled releases:

  • Beta 2 — February 17, 2023
  • RC 2 — March 17, 2023
  • First Customer Shipment — April 2023
Important

Please note that we reserve the right to change or adapt this schedule depending on various factors. Rest assured that we will communicate if there is any change to the plan.

 

Download

SLE Micro 5.4 is available on the following architectures: aarch64, s390x and x86_64.

x86_64

aarch64

s390x

Installation Media and bootable images of SLE Micro are available for all architectures. Here is the description of each and every images:

  • ISO images below are the usual Media which can be booted for interactive installation with YaST or unattended installation with AutoYaST:
    • SLE-Micro-5.4-DVD-aarch64-Beta2-Media1.iso
    • SLE-Micro-5.4-DVD-s390x-Beta2-Media1.iso
    • SLE-Micro-5.4-DVD-x86_64-Beta2-Media1.iso
  • Default images below are ready-to-deploy raw disk images, including podman as container engine and KVM as virtualization stack for x86_64 machines and RaspBerry Pi. During initial boot, Ignition or Combustion configuration must be provided in order to perform basic configuration (e.g. set root password).
    • SLE-Micro.aarch64-5.4.0-Default-Beta2.raw.xz
    • SLE-Micro.x86_64-5.4.0-Default-Beta2.raw.xz
  • Default image of SLE Micro utilizing the real-time kernel, without KVM virtualization stack
    • SLE-Micro.x86_64-5.4.0-Default-RT-Beta2.raw.xz
  • Default images of SLE Micro, including podman as container engine and KVM as virtualization stack, for various types of hypervisor and storage on IBM system z.
    • SLE-Micro.s390x-5.4.0-Default-dasd-Beta2.raw.xz
    • SLE-Micro.s390x-5.4.0-Default-fba-Beta2.raw.xz
    • SLE-Micro.s390x-5.4.0-Default-kvm-Beta2.qcow2

 

Media 1 and Media 2

As a reminder Media1 contains the binaries (usual installation ISO), Media2 contains the sources and Media3 which contained debuginfo packages is _not_ provided as ISOs images anymore but available as Online Channel. Thus we are kindly asking you to request a Beta Registration Code and register your system to retrieve any needed debuginfo packages.

 

Documentation

Note: The following Documents are drafts.

And will remain as such through out the SLE Micro Beta Program. Documentation for Beta Products do not yet have the quality, accuracy and content of our official documentation. However we will update these documents on the fly during the SLE Micro Beta Program.

All documentation are available at https://susedoc.github.io/:

Release Notes

 

Known Issues

  • netavark and arkvatark-dns packages are missing, thus testing the new podman network stack is not possible as of now

  • bsc#1207679 - [s390x] z/KVM image does not boot to jeos-firsboot

  •  

Resolved Issues

  • TBD

Feedback

Whenever you find a bug or have a question while using SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro, we highly recommend that you use our mailing list first, then if it really make sense you should open a bug report.

Private Channel

In case you would like to share some sensitive data with us (data for bug reports, feedbacks, etc), please contact us at beta-programs@suse.com, and we will review your case and provide a private channel with us.

Public Mailing List

micro-beta@lists.suse.com is our dedicated Public Mailing List to discuss SUSE Linux Enterprise Beta products. It is used by the SUSE Release Team to announce new beta images and technical information, as well as for general or technical questions, feedback, or defect reports related to SUSE Linux Enterprise Beta products from our beta testers community. Only subscribers can post to our mailing lists. To subscribe, please go to http://lists.suse.com/mailman/listinfo/micro-beta. Only subscribers can post to our mailing lists. To subscribe, please go to http://lists.suse.com/mailman/listinfo/micro-beta. Please refer to our Mailing Lists Guideline for more information.  

Bugzilla

Here are the links to the SLE Micro Bugzilla product that you will use for reporting the defects of the following products: Create a new bug for: Please refer to our complete Bugzilla guideline for more information and before creating your first bug report: how to use Bugzilla  

Please use this link if you wish to report an issue: Public SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4

Frequently Asked Questions

 

- Beta Subscription and Registration Code
Warning: Beta Registration Code

Registration is not working with your regular SLE Micro key, special Beta Registration Code is required. Thus, you don't have access to the SLE online channels/repositories and Modules without a Beta Registration Code. The Beta Registration Code is the key to unlock the Beta Subscription in our SUSE Customer Center. The Beta Subscription consist of giving access to our SLE Micro Beta Online Channels. We will not provide a beta product subscription or beta product registration code by default for the SLE Micro Beta Program. You might request one via beta-programs@suse.com, please specify if you want a registration code for which architectures.  

- Migrating from SLE Micro 5.3 to SLE Micro 5.4 Beta

Update from SLE Micro 5.3 to 5.4 is now supported. Unlike with SLES, which offers several methods, with SLE Micro there is only one method available, via transactional-update.

- Updating from SLE Micro 5.4 Beta to the next SLE Micro 5.4 Beta

Even if it's completely feasible and working, we do not recommend to update from "SLE Micro 5.4 Beta X" to "SLE Micro 5.4 Beta X+N" for your thorough beta testing. Why? Because this scenario is specific to beta and can not be compared to any SLE Micro production update scenario. During the beta phase of our products, we need the flexibility of doing important changes to packages (libraries, configuration files, features, etc), like upgrading or downgrading to different versions. Thus changes between SLE Micro Beta might look very different from regular updates we make in official SLE Micro releases. We highly recommend to test the following scenarios, whenever a new Beta version is released:  

- Updating from SLE Micro 5.4 Beta to SLE Micro 5.4 GM
Warning: Migration from Beta to Gold Master

Migrating from SLE Micro 5.4 Beta to SLE Micro 5.4 Gold Master (the final and official version) is NOT SUPPORTED. If you want to put the final version of our product in production, you need to do a fresh installation or a migration from an existing supported version. We will not support the migration from a beta product to a final release of the product. As a reminder, our SUSE Beta EULA states that you should not put SUSE Beta Products in production.    

- Contact Beta Manager

Do you have a question or an issue to report on our Beta Program? Want to get in touch with our Product Managers or Engineering team? Or simply share a feedback? Please do not hesitate to contact us via beta-programs@suse.com!