Novell and Microsoft have served up more details of interoperability plans  first promised in a pact announced last November. As part of the firms’ agreement to work together, Linux and Windows will swap host and guest roles in virtualised server environments.

The plans call for Suse Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 to be available as guest on Microsoft’s Virtual Server 2005 R2 service pack 1, due shortly, and on the next version of Windows Server, codenamed Longhorn, using the forthcoming hypervisor, codenamed Viridian.

Conversely, Longhorn will also be available as a guest on SLES 10, using the Xen virtualisation technology that is built into SLES.

The Microsoft agreement could give Novell a boost when competing with Red Hat on deals, Novell suggested.

Novell chief technology officer John Jaffe wrote on his blog last month that “only Novell has Microsoft’s endorsement as its partner to drive Linux-Windows interoperability. So, of the Linux vendors, only we can speak authoritatively about Windows. With our virtualised solutions, we are linked even closer with the solution that customers need.”

Red Hat was not immediately available to comment.

In the same entry, Jaffe suggested that although Viridian can host Linux, Microsoft does “not aspire to manage heterogeneity at higher levels”.

The firms also detailed plans for WS-Management web services designed to manage physical and virtual servers. Support for the standard will be built into Novell ZenWorks Orchestrator and Microsoft System Centre Operations Manager 2007 this year.

Directory and identity interoperability are also promised via Microsoft’s Active Directory and Novell’s eDirectory, with more details scheduled to arrive in the second half of this year.

In a statement, Al Gillen, research vice-president for system software at IDC, said, “The great potential of the November announcement between Microsoft and Novell could have been disappointing without a product-specific roadmap to execute against. With the roadmap, the technology benefits customers can expect will be tangible and delivered on a predictable basis.”

Since announcing the interoperability pact in November, Novell and Microsoft have been keen to trumpet successes. Over 35,000 new certificates for support
subscriptions to SLES have been activated under the pact, with customers including AIG Technologies, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Wal-Mart Stores.

Later this year, Novell plans to release Open Enterprise Server 2, its Linux-NetWare hybrid operating system. The release will feature improved interoperability with Windows and virtualisation management capabilities.