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SUSE Studio is a free, web-based service designed to build virtual appliances, such as pre-installed hardware-appliances, or "software appliances" -- pre-configured Linux server stacks suitable for installation by users on real or virtual commodity hardware. Recently released from beta, SUSE Studio can produce appliance images in raw disk image, Live CD/DVD iso, VMware, and Xen formats, and there are plans in the works for supporting Amazon's EC2 ami format, says the review by our sister publication, eWEEK.
"SUSE Studio is part of Novell's SUSE Appliance Program, which eWEEK describes as an initiative intended to streamline product delivery and maintenance for ISVs by enabling them to bundle their wares with everything required for direct deployment to virtual, physical, or cloud-based infrastructure.
"In a major study of the Linux market released in April, IDC touted software appliances as an opportunity for Linux. These turnkey software stacks, which combine the OS, middleware, "other infrastructure software components," and in some cases, even application software, are quickly replacing discrete software stacks, said IDC."
