Linux Support Team

Caldera OpenLinux
Company type	Subsidiary / Product
Industry	Computer software
Predecessor	LST Power Linux
Founded	1997
Founder	Caldera, Inc.
Defunct	2002
Headquarters	Erlangen, Germany
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Linux distribution

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 designed primarily for business users, featuring a user-friendly graphical installation process and web-based tools for system administration, alongside integrated proprietary software elements. Throughout its lifespan, it ranked among the top four commercial Linux distributions, alongside Red Hat Linux, Turbolinux, and SuSE Linux. Red Hat dominated the market, with Caldera, SuSE, and Turbolinux trailing closely behind.

Background

In 1994, under the leadership of CEO Ray Noorda, Novell’s advanced technology division launched the Corsair project aimed at creating a desktop environment with Internet connectivity and simplified network access management. At that time, Unix was the prevailing operating system but was criticized for its expense and high hardware requirements. The team recognized Linux as the most suitable OS alternative and contributed to developing networking solutions and compatibility layers such as IPX for NetWare and Wine. However, after Noorda’s exit from Novell, the company ceased its involvement with Linux in the Corsair initiative.

Caldera, Inc. was established in 1994 by Bryan Wayne Sparks and Ransom H. Love, backed financially by Noorda’s Utah-based investment firm, Canopy Group. Caldera emerged as one of the earliest commercial distributors of Linux with its debut product, Caldera Network Desktop, which was built upon Red Hat Commercial Linux. This product was aimed at office workstation environments and tailored enterprise solutions.

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

Caldera, Inc. era

Caldera formed a partnership with LST Software GmbH, whose LST Power Linux distribution served as the basis for Caldera’s subsequent offering. In May 2007, Caldera acquired LST along with its development facility in Erlangen, Germany, establishing Caldera Deutschland GmbH.

The product resulting from this collaboration was branded as Caldera OpenLinux. The choice of name generated some debate due to implications that other Linux distributions lacked openness. Review copies were available by March 1997. It is credited as being among the first commercial distributions to incorporate version 2 of the Linux kernel.

Caldera released three editions of OpenLinux aimed at different audiences: hackers, resellers, and enterprise customers; alternatively categorized as base, workstation, and server versions. Pricing evolved over time:

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

Initial OpenLinux releases were distributed on CD-ROM but frequently required users to create boot floppy disks due to BIOS restrictions. Subsequent retail versions were sold on CD-ROMs at approximately USD 49.

In addition to the main distribution, OpenLinux offered a separate Solutions CD containing commercial software such as Software AG’s Adabas D database system. These proprietary components necessitated license key activation. A review by Computerwoche commended OpenLinux for its user-friendliness and competitive price-to-performance ratio for those adopting Linux.

Caldera Systems period

In September 1998, Caldera, Inc. established Caldera Systems as a separate entity to oversee the development, training, support, and services related to OpenLinux.

The distribution from Caldera Systems incorporated the KDE interface alongside open-source elements such as Qt and Wine. Included was a non-commercial edition of Star Office, while integrated ISDN support facilitated expansion into the German market.

Aimed at advanced Linux users, Caldera Systems enhanced its distribution by integrating proprietary applications like Novell’s full NetWare implementation for Linux. They obtained a license for Sun Microsystems's Wabi, allowing Windows programs to operate on Linux, and bundled Linux variants of WordPerfect from Corel as well as productivity suites from Applixware. For users with dual-boot configurations, Caldera incorporated PowerQuest's PartitionMagic, enabling disk repartitioning without data loss.

This combination of open-source and commercial offerings stirred discussion about Linux’s openness. Caldera marketed its solution as "Linux for business," blending open-source advantages with proprietary software to facilitate integration within enterprise environments.

April 1999 saw the release of OpenLinux 2.2, which brought notable enhancements over version 1.3, including the introduction of an entirely graphical and user-friendly installer. Simplifying installation was key to corporate adoption; this installer—named Lizard—was developed by Caldera Deutschland starting November 1998. The Lizard installer earned lasting acclaim and could even be launched from a Microsoft Windows partition.

The improved installation process earned Linux Journal’s Product of the Year award for Caldera OpenLinux 2.3, highlighting its significant influence in the market.

Caldera International period

In 2000, Caldera Systems initiated acquisitions of the Unix operations from the Santa Cruz Operation. By March 2001, it had rebranded itself as Caldera International.

The June 2001 release of Caldera OpenLinux 3.1 incorporated the Volution Manager and Volution Messaging Server to boost Linux capabilities. The workstation edition required licensing per user seat. A review in PC Magazine awarded it a score of 3 out of 5, trailing behind Red Hat and SuSE, which both received 4 out of 5 ratings. The final release in this series, OpenLinux 3.1.1, appeared in January 2002. These distributions formed the user-space base for SCO's Linux Kernel Personality (LKP) on SCO UnixWare.

Markets, alliances, and sales

Caldera OpenLinux focused on business sectors by offering solutions tailored for e-commerce and secure server environments, emphasizing lower total cost of ownership within corporate settings. It provided robust support services and clearly differentiated client-server products to attract enterprise customers.

At that time, Caldera OpenLinux was one of four leading commercial Linux distributions alongside Red Hat Linux, Turbolinux, and SuSE Linux. These companies enjoyed partnerships with hardware manufacturers such as HP and IBM, although Red Hat dominated industry adoption while SuSE maintained a strong presence in Europe.

By 2002, after the dot-com collapse, Caldera International’s Linux division suffered heavy losses, incurring expenses four times its revenue. Red Hat remained the only somewhat profitable Linux distributor during this period. Meanwhile, Caldera’s Unix business generated the majority of income and fueled reseller incentives, overshadowing its underperforming Linux segment.

Conclusion

United Linux was an alliance of Linux vendors formed to develop a consolidated enterprise distribution, aiming to minimize redundant development efforts and position itself as an alternative to Red Hat. The founding organizations comprised SuSE, Turbolinux, Conectiva, and Caldera International. Launched in May 2002, this distribution was largely derived from SuSE Enterprise Linux rather than Caldera OpenLinux, prompting Caldera to rename its offering as "Caldera OpenLinux powered by United Linux." This transition marked the discontinuation of LST-/Caldera-based OpenLinux technology and led to the shutdown of Caldera Deutschland GmbH located in Erlangen.

The existence of United Linux was brief. In June 2002, Caldera International appointed Darl McBride as CEO and soon after rebranded itself as The SCO Group. The product was subsequently renamed "SCO Linux powered by UnitedLinux." By May 2003, The SCO Group initiated legal actions alleging unauthorized use of its Unix intellectual property within Linux, which resulted in the suspension of its Linux product sales and ultimately caused the dissolution of United Linux.

Although its tenure was short-lived, Caldera OpenLinux played a notable role in shaping the Linux landscape by illustrating how to create a reliable, enterprise-focused operating system with comprehensive support built 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) utilizing Linux kernel 2.0.35
Caldera Systems OpenLinux 2.2 (April 1999) incorporating Linux kernel 2.2.xx
Caldera Systems OpenLinux eDesktop/eServer 2.3 (September 1999) based on 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) utilizing Linux kernel 2.4.13

External links

"The Differences between Caldera Linux and Red Hat Linux: An Opinion Piece" – Caldera white paper, March 2021
LST association site (German)
The History of Caldera, Part 1 and The History of Caldera, Part 2, Bradford Morgan White's industry retrospectives