Jump to content

Caldera OpenLinux

From Alfawiki
Caldera OpenLinux
Company typeProduct of Caldera, Inc.
IndustrySoftware (Linux distribution)
PredecessorLST Power Linux
Founded1997
FounderCaldera, Inc.
Defunct2002
FateDiscontinued; merged into United Linux project
Headquarters
Erlangen
,
Germany
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsLinux distributions: OpenLinux Lite, Base, Standard, Workstation, Server editions
ParentCaldera, Inc.; later Caldera Systems and Caldera International

Caldera OpenLinux was a Linux distribution developed and marketed by Caldera, Inc. and its successors between 1997 and 2002. Originating from the German LST Power Linux distribution, OpenLinux was among the pioneering premium Linux solutions tailored for business users, featuring an intuitive graphical installer and administration utilities, along with bundled proprietary applications. Throughout its lifecycle, Caldera OpenLinux stood as one of the four leading commercial Linux distributions, alongside Red Hat Linux, Turbolinux, and SuSE Linux. While Red Hat maintained market leadership, Caldera, SuSE, and Turbolinux occupied the secondary tier.

Background

In 1994, under the leadership of CEO Ray Noorda, Novell’s advanced technology division launched the Novell Corsair initiative aiming to create a desktop environment integrated with Internet capabilities. The team identified Unix systems as expensive and demanding in hardware resources, concluding that Linux presented the best operating system choice. They contributed to IPX networking support for NetWare and developed the Wine compatibility layer. However, following Noorda’s exit from Novell, the company ceased Linux involvement in the Corsair project.

Established in 1994 by Bryan Wayne Sparks and Ransom H. Love with initial investment from Noorda’s Utah-based Canopy Group, Caldera, Inc. emerged as one of the earliest commercial Linux distributors. Their initial offering, Caldera Network Desktop—based on Red Hat Commercial Linux—was designed for office desktop environments and customized solutions.

A hallmark of Caldera Network Desktop was LISA (Linux Installation and System Administration), created in collaboration with Germany’s Linux Support Team (LST). Since 1993, LST had been maintaining LST Power Linux, a Slackware-derived distribution. Sales of Caldera Network Desktop ended in March 1997.

Caldera, Inc. era

Caldera collaborated closely with LST Software GmbH and utilized their LST Power Linux distribution as the basis for their subsequent product line. In May 2007, Caldera acquired LST along with its development center located in Erlangen, Germany, establishing Caldera Deutschland GmbH.

The new offering was branded Caldera OpenLinux.[1] The choice of "OpenLinux" as a name stirred debate due to implications that other Linux distributions were not open.[2] Review versions became available by March 1997.[3] It was reportedly the first commercial distribution to incorporate version 2 of the Linux kernel.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name

Caldera released three editions of OpenLinux designed for distinct market segments: a base edition, a workstation edition, and a server edition.[2][3] Pricing evolved over time as follows:

  • OpenLinux Lite – available as a free download
  • OpenLinux Base – priced at USD 99 with additional features
  • OpenLinux Standard – fully featured edition costing USD 299

Initial versions of OpenLinux were distributed on CD-ROM but often required users to prepare boot floppy disks due to BIOS constraints.[1][3] At one stage, retail CD-ROM copies were sold for USD 49.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name

Additionally, OpenLinux included a separate Solutions CD containing commercial software such as the enterprise-level Adabas D database from Software AG.[2] Activation of these components necessitated license keys.[3] A review by Computerwoche commended Caldera OpenLinux for its user-friendliness and attractive price-to-performance ratio for organizations adopting Linux.[3]

Caldera Systems period

In September 1998, Caldera, Inc. established Caldera Systems as a separate entity responsible for the development, training, support, and services related to OpenLinux.[4]

The distribution offered by Caldera Systems included the KDE graphical interface and incorporated open-source elements such as Qt and Wine.[5][6] Additionally, a non-commercial edition of Star Office was included.[7] Support for ISDN connectivity was integrated to cater particularly to the German market.[3]

Aiming at a premium Linux product, Caldera Systems bundled various proprietary software components. Their offerings included Novell's complete NetWare for Linux solution,Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name the licensed Wabi from Sun Microsystems to facilitate running Windows applications on Linux,Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name Corel's Linux-compatible version of WordPerfect, and productivity suites from Applixware.[6] To accommodate dual-boot configurations, they provided PowerQuest's PartitionMagic, enabling safe disk partitioning without data loss.[6][8]

This commercial strategy ignited discussions regarding the purity of Linux distributions. Caldera responded by asserting: "Our product merges the finest open-source and commercial components; we focus on delivering Linux tailored for business users. We incorporate commercial packages that simplify integration for enterprises."[9]

Released in April 1999, OpenLinux 2.2 marked a significant upgrade from version 1.3, most notably featuring a fully graphical and user-friendly installation process.[8] Simplifying installation was key to gaining market traction,[10] with the German branch of Caldera developing this installer—named Lizard—in November 1998.[11] The Lizard installer maintained its positive reputation over subsequent years,[12] and could even be launched directly from a Microsoft Windows partition.[8]

The innovations introduced by the Lizard installer led to Caldera OpenLinux 2.3 receiving Linux Journals Product of the Year award.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name

Caldera International period

Starting in 2000, Caldera Systems began acquiring Unix-related assets from the Santa Cruz Operation. By March 2001, the company had rebranded itself as Caldera International.

June 2001 saw the release of Caldera OpenLinux 3.1, which incorporated Caldera’s Volution Manager and Volution Messaging Server to enhance Linux capabilities and increase product value. The workstation version required licensing on a per-seat basis. A review by PC Magazine awarded it a score of 3 out of 5, ranking it below competitors Red Hat and SuSE, both rated at 4 out of 5. The last update, OpenLinux 3.1.1, was issued in January 2002 and served as the user-space foundation for SCO’s Linux Kernel Personality (LKP) on SCO UnixWare.

Markets, partnerships, and revenue

Caldera OpenLinux focused on business sectors by offering specialized packages designed for e-commerce and secure server deployments, highlighting cost-effectiveness and extensive support services. The distribution differentiated between client and server editions to better meet corporate demands.

During this timeframe, Caldera OpenLinux was considered one of the four leading commercial Linux distributions alongside Red Hat Linux, Turbolinux, and SuSE Linux. These vendors secured hardware partnerships with companies such as HP and IBM, although Red Hat maintained the strongest industry presence while SuSE dominated in European markets.

By 2002, following the collapse of the dot-com bubble, Caldera International’s Linux division experienced substantial financial losses, expending four times its revenue. At that time, Red Hat stood out as the only relatively profitable Linux distributor. The majority of Caldera’s income derived from its Unix operations, which also fueled reseller incentives and overshadowed its underperforming Linux segment.

Conclusion

United Linux emerged in May 2002 as a collaborative effort among SuSE, Turbolinux, Conectiva, and Caldera International with the goal of developing a standardized enterprise Linux distribution. This alliance aimed to minimize redundant development efforts and provide competition to Red Hat. The distribution was largely derived from SuSE Enterprise Linux, prompting Caldera to rename its offering as "Caldera OpenLinux powered by United Linux." This transition marked the discontinuation of Caldera’s proprietary OpenLinux technology and led to the shutdown of its Erlangen branch.

In June 2002, Caldera International brought on Darl McBride as CEO and soon rebranded the company as The SCO Group. Subsequently, its product was marketed as "SCO Linux powered by United Linux." However, by May 2003, The SCO Group launched legal actions alleging Unix intellectual property infringements within Linux, which resulted in halting sales of its Linux products and ultimately caused the dissolution of the United Linux project.

Although its existence was brief, Caldera OpenLinux played a notable role in shaping enterprise-oriented Linux distributions that prioritized reliability and professional support based on the Linux kernel.

Known releases

  • Caldera OpenLinux Lite/Base/Standard(/Deluxe) 1.0 (1997) featuring Linux kernel 2.0.25
  • Caldera OpenLinux Lite/Base/Standard 1.1 (September 1997) with Linux kernel 2.0.29
  • Caldera OpenLinux Lite/Base/Standard 1.2 (April 1998)
  • Caldera Systems OpenLinux Lite/Base 1.3 (September 1998) incorporating Linux kernel 2.0.35
  • Caldera Systems OpenLinux 2.2 (April 1999) utilizing Linux kernel 2.2.xx
  • Caldera Systems OpenLinux eDesktop/eServer 2.3 (September 1999) running Linux kernel 2.2.10
  • Caldera Systems OpenLinux eServer 2.3.1
  • Caldera Systems OpenLinux eDesktop/eBuilder 2.4
  • Caldera Systems OpenLinux eBuilder 3.0
  • Caldera International OpenLinux Workstation/Server 3.1 (June 2001) with Linux kernel 2.4.2
  • Caldera International OpenLinux Workstation/Server 3.1.1 (January 2002) featuring Linux kernel 2.4.13

Further reading

  • Using Caldera OpenLinux, Allan Smart, Que, 1999, ISBN 0-7897-2058-2
  • Caldera OpenLinux Unleashed, David Stoll, Sams Publishing, 2000, ISBN 0-672-31761-3
  • Caldera OpenLinux Bible, Chris Negus, Wiley, 2000, ISBN 0-7645-4706-2
  • Caldera OpenLinux For Dummies, Jon "maddog" Hall & Nicholas Wells, Wiley, 2000, ISBN 0-7645-0679-X

External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named LG_1997
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named moody
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CW_DE_1997
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Caldera_1998_Subsidiaries
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named LWN_2000
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lc-list
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named bangia
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named itpro
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nyt-101899
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cnbc-ipo
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Lizard
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lw-vms
Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Caldera_OpenLinux&oldid=25134"