SUSE Manager 5.0 Launches: The Next Generation of Mixed Linux Management!

Today is a special day at SUSE: We are launching the next generation of SUSE Manager – SUSE Manager 5.0. You might be thinking that SUSE Manager has been around forever. While that is true, this release of SUSE Manager really is special – the server is now being delivered in a container image running on Podman. This is not only a generational leap for SUSE Manager but will bring multiple benefits to you.

In this blog, we’ll focus on just three of the reasons why you should consider SUSE Manager 5.0 for multi Linux management in your data center.

Containerization for resilience, simplification and flexibility

With this release of SUSE Manager, the SUSE Manager Server is now a container – providing all the benefits that containerization brings – chief among them resilience and simplicity. Containerization brings two main benefits to you:

• Decouples the SUSE Manager Server from the underlying operating system. This is important because it lets your admins take advantage of the newest features of SUSE Manager as we roll them out without worrying about what affects they will have on the operating system.
• Resiliency in case of failure. Should the SUSE Manager server fail for any reason, containerization makes it incredibly easy to recover. All your admins have to do is spin up another container and reattach the database. This frees your admins up to do higher level tasks.

Native Enterprise Linux support to improve mixed Linux management

SUSE Manager supports a number of Enterprise Linux distributions, including RHEL, Rocky and Alma Linux, CentOS and, of course, SUSE Liberty Linux. SUSE Manager 5.0 now has native package management Appstream support. Why is this important?  It’s important because now your admins no longer have to do complicated work to get patches because:

• Appstream repos are properly parsed
• Metadata is now understood by SUMA 5
• There is no need to “flatten” the repos
• dnf and SUMA agree

You can look for additional enhancements to follow in upcoming releases. Because with SUSE Manager, we really do make good on our promise of “We make Linux, but manage many.”

Enhanced features providing even greater security

With 60% of cyberattacks caused by unpatched servers and that the average cost of a data breach in 2024 is estimated to be $4.5 million, a 12% increase from 2020. Cyberattacks are not only financially costly, but also lead to customer mistrust.

SUSE Manager is known for automated patch management providing security and compliance. With this release, we enhance our security posture. SUSE Manager 5.0 provides:

• Improved CVE scans including integrated OVAL data.
• Use as an attestation server for specific servers for proven confidential computing

SUSE Manager is proven open source mixed Linux IT management.  Now that you’ve gotten a glimpse into SUSE Manager 5.0, we invite you to:

• Learn more at https://www.suse.com/products/suse-manager/
• Watch this video from SUSECON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1_1SbN-hSU
• Take it for a spin yourself. Simply download the code from https://www.suse.com/download/suse-manager/

As always, we want to know what you think!