Drew, Author at SUSE Communities

February 15, 2018 5:46 pm

10,238 views

SR-IOV – The way to share real virtualized host devices with a virtual machine

Single Root I/O Virtualization or SR-IOV is a specification that allows the isolation of PCI Express (PCIe) resources. It allows a physical PCIe device or adapter to appear as one or more separate physical/virtual PCIe devices. These virtualized devices are also known as Virtual Function (VF) devices. Two main reasons or purposes for SR-IOV are: […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Cloud Computing, Integrated Systems, Partners, Server, Server and Application Virtualization, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE News, Virtualization

By: Drew

December 4, 2017 11:24 am

2,505 views

System YES Certification with a PTF or another maintenance update

During a typical YES Certification of a server or workstation, the Gold Master (GM) release of SUSE Linux Enterprise with the latest Service Pack (SP) is installed on the hardware during certification tests. Sometimes, the GM release needs specific fixes or updates in order to be compatible with a particular hardware platform. As hardware systems […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Desktop, Integrated Systems, Partners, Server, Server and Application Virtualization, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Virtualization

By: Drew

June 21, 2017 4:05 pm

3,030 views

Hardware YES Certification with an installation kit or driver kit (also known as kISO)

An installation or driver kit from SUSE is simply a method to deliver the latest SUSE Linux Enterprise related drivers or other software in a packaged and supported bootable image. Installation kits can be used for any of the following reasons: To update storage drivers, which require very early loading in the installation and boot […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Desktop, Expert Views, Integrated Systems, Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for z Systems and LinuxONE, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on IBM Power Systems, Technical Solutions, Virtualization

By: Drew

March 9, 2017 1:17 pm

5,972 views

Lenovo™ and SUSE® deliver the first integrated enterprise Linux TPM 2.0 solution

The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a cryptographic component of many enterprise-class servers. TPM 2.0 is an integral part of hardware-based security in these servers, providing tasks such as user authentication, remote access and data protection. System functions such as Intel® Trusted Execution Technology (Intel TXT) use TPM enhancements to help deliver system […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Announcements, Automate IT Ops, Expert Views, Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Technical Solutions

By: Drew

February 13, 2017 2:30 pm

3,289 views

Are YES CERTIFICATION bulletin Config Notes from “the Dark Side” of hardware compatibility?

The easy answer is nope—no way! That comes from a person with years of YES Certification experience, not some Rogue person who suddenly has their Force Awaken one day! Please read on, because “Fear is the path to the dark side” and “Hard to see, the Dark Side is!” YES Certification […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Desktop, Integrated Systems, Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for z Systems and LinuxONE, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on IBM Power Systems, Virtualization

By: Drew

April 25, 2016 9:17 am

9,793 views

Comparison of UEFI and BIOS – from an operating system perspective

In a recent blog (the one right below this one, on the previous .../communities/blog/ page) I discussed the transition from BIOS (Basic Input Output System) to UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) firmware from a hardware perspective. In this blog I’ll address the comparison from the operating system perspective. There is a definite overlap between […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Desktop, Expert Views, Integrated Systems, Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Technical Solutions, Virtualization

By: Drew

April 25, 2016 8:58 am

8,865 views

Comparison of UEFI and BIOS – from a hardware perspective

For the past several years, x86 hardware systems (including desktops, laptops, workstations and servers) have been transitioning from BIOS-based (Basic Input Output System-based) to UEFI-based (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface-based) firmware interfaces. This firmware interface is usually just called “system firmware.” It is the initial code that recognizes the hardware components in the system […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Desktop, Expert Views, Integrated Systems, Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Technical Solutions, Virtualization

By: Drew

February 25, 2016 2:15 pm

3,435 views

YES Search: The way to all information…well, about certified hardware anyway

Where can you find the certification bulletins for more than 47,200 servers, workstations and other hardware components? How can you determine whether your company’s specific hardware is YES Certified with the latest SUSE Linux Enterprise release? Where can you find the specific hardware configuration for the certified server you are planning to buy […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Desktop, Expert Views, Integrated Systems, Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for z Systems and LinuxONE, Technical Solutions, Virtualization

By: Drew

August 24, 2015 7:56 am

3,986 views

New processor(s) before the next SUSE Linux Enterprise Service Pack – YES to the rescue!

New x86 server processor technology is currently released on roughly a 12-to-15 month schedule. That means that approximately every 18 months there is a major x86-architecture update available from server vendors. Variants of these major processor updates, with different feature sets and/or speeds, are also released in-between the 12-to-15 month release cycle. Desktop and laptop […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Desktop, Expert Views, Integrated Systems, Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for z Systems and LinuxONE, Technical Solutions, Virtualization

By: Drew

July 24, 2015 11:15 am

4,589 views

Full power management compatibility can save you money

In this and the next several blog entries I will explain SUSE YES Certification testing under the covers: specific tests in SUSE YES Certification which are not fully documented on the certification bulletin. This discussion covers the power management features in SUSE Linux Enterprise that are tested on hardware during certification. Through YES Certification the […]

Categories: Alliance Partners, Desktop, Expert Views, Integrated Systems, Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Technical Solutions