Download - SUSE: Alien Life Forms
Alien Life FormsCommunities, Enterprises and All the Rest
Olaf KirchDirector SUSE Linux Enterprise, SUSE R&D
2
Today, Linux is in many placesthat we weren't dreaming of
20 years ago
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
7
Data Centers==
Enterprise Computing
Ready for a few Clichés?
9 © Neil Carey
Enterprise IT
Open Source Communities
Somewhat More Seriously
12
Open Source Communities
• Show me the Code!‒ The only way to influence the outcome is by contributing
• Freedom!‒ Trying to push anyone is guaranteed to backfire
• Do the Right Thing, and Do it Well!‒ Why should your business problem matter to me?
13
Enterprise IT
• Between a Rock and a Hard Place‒ Most of the time, Enterprise IT is just an internal supplier with
contracts, SLAs etc
• Change is Cost‒ Porting applications, testing, deployment, certifications,
training, support, ...
• Downtime is Expensive‒ In terms of money... (Manufacturing, Finance)
‒ ... or even Human lives (e.g. Air Traffic Control)
Some Real Life Challenges
15
Maintenance Window
16
Perfect. Now hold it right there.
Nifty Bike! Can I have one, too?
Compliance
It's About Adaptation and Innovation
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Interstellar Travel, Anyone?
Interstellar Travel, Anyone?
23
Dealing with Change: Backporting
• This used to be a one-off exercise‒ Especially when you maintain your own fork
• Many projects are very helpful!‒ Today, an increasing number of projects maintain stable
branches, or provide “stable” releases with longer term maintenance
• There are very few really difficult ones out there
• Moving from one-off to shared effort
Interstellar Travel, Anyone?
25
Dealing with Change: Up-revving
• This is something we only do as part of a service pack‒ Obviously, new versions bring change
‒ And change inevitable brings regressions
‒ Functionality, ABI, config file format, ...
‒ Finding and fixing those requires significant QA
• But even in service packs, up-revving is risky
26
What about the Kernel?
Traditional method: Back-porting upstream patches‒ It works, it's great
‒ But as time goes by, you end up with Frankenstein Kernels
27
Up-revving the Kernel!
Alternative method: Rebase with legacy support‒ We did it in several Service Packs of SUSE Linux Enterprise
‒ It works, it's great
‒ Three cheers to the 2.6 kernel development model!
‒ Spend less time on backporting, more on hardening
‒ Only possible with sophisticated test automation
‒ Very positive experience, a new option going forward
Interstellar Travel, Anyone?
29
Dealing with Change: Replacing
• You only ever do this in a major release‒ Because really good change is often painful
• Can you make Enterprise customers embrace radical change?‒ Yes, if you provide backward compatibility
‒ And yes, if you help them with the transition
30
init rides the rocket: systemd is here
• Introducing systemd in SUSE Linux Enterprise 12‒ You can call this disruptive if you want :-)
• Our beta testers were fairly happy with the change‒ After they got over the initial shock, that is
‒ Providing backward compatibility (as far as possible) is key
But it's also about Innovative Solutions
32
Maintenance Window
33
How do you help them?
• In a running system, you can update almost everything without interrupting user processes
• Except for the kernel
34
Kernel Live Patching
• Modify kernel code on a running machine‒ Without reboot
‒ Like juggling chainsaws
• Several alternative approaches exist
• kGraft, developed by SUSE Labs developers
• Launched as new offering of SUSE Linux Enterprise 12
35
kGraft Technology in 60 seconds
• Replaces entire kernel functions
• Code is loaded into kernel space as a loadable module
• Kernel compiled with cc -pg‒ places a few instructions into the preamble of every function
‒ same approach as ftrace
• Activating new code by modifying that preamble‒ No need to stop the kernel
36
Kernel Live Patching
• The technology all by itself is not so useful‒ Unless you also provide customers with a stream of patches
• Launches as new service on top ofSUSE Linux Enterprise 12
And about Innovative Offerings
38 © Neil Carey
They're more agilethan they look
It's about Dealing with Innovation...
Core Operating System
It's about Dealing with Innovation...
Core Operating System
• Supported for 10+3 years
• Great for your Mission Critical workloads
It's about Dealing with Innovation...
Core Operating System
• Supported for 10+3 years
• Great for your Mission Critical workloads
• But what about Ruby, PHP, ...?
Innovation at Different Speeds
Core Operating System Add-Ons and Modules
43
Innovation at Different Speeds
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12‒ Supported for 10+3 years
• Plus Add-Ons
• Plus Modules with a shorter life cycle‒ e.g. for Web and Scripting
• Plus alternative modes of deployment‒ Appliances, docker, and all that
And it's about encouraging participation
45
It's not a One-Way Street
• Enterprises are contributing to Linux already today‒ Indirectly, through Linux vendors
‒ But also directly
• Encourage Enterprises to engage more‒ The only way to influence is by contributing
• Foster understanding of Enterprise environments
Corporate HeadquartersMaxfeldstrasse 590409 NurembergGermany
+49 911 740 53 0 (Worldwide)www.suse.com
Join us on:www.opensuse.org
48
Unpublished Work of SUSE. All Rights Reserved.This work is an unpublished work and contains confidential, proprietary and trade secret information of SUSE. Access to this work is restricted to SUSE employees who have a need to know to perform tasks within the scope of their assignments. No part of this work may be practiced, performed, copied, distributed, revised, modified, translated, abridged, condensed, expanded, collected, or adapted without the prior written consent of SUSE. Any use or exploitation of this work without authorization could subject the perpetrator to criminal and civil liability.
General DisclaimerThis document is not to be construed as a promise by any participating company to develop, deliver, or market a product. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. SUSE makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents of this document, and specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. The development, release, and timing of features or functionality described for SUSE products remains at the sole discretion of SUSE. Further, SUSE reserves the right to revise this document and to make changes to its content, at any time, without obligation to notify any person or entity of such revisions or changes. All SUSE marks referenced in this presentation are trademarks or registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.