Abstract
SUSE Studio is a Web application for building and testing appliances in a Web browser. A software appliance is a preconfigured set of an application (for example, a Web server), its configuration and an operating system (for example, SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server). All these parts are integrated into a single image, deployable on industry standard hardware. Generally this image can be an ISO image, a Live CD/DVD, a VMware image, or a Xen image.
Depending on the intended deployment, appliances can be categorized as follows:
Intended for deployment on real hardware like servers, thin clients etc.
Shipped on a hardware srver with software already installed and pre-configured.
Intended for deployment on a hypervisor or in a cloud computing environment.
Intended for deployment in a cloud computer environment, like Amazon* EC2.
Software appliances offer tremendous advantages in terms of reduced product support costs and simplification of delivery and installation. With SUSE Studio you can:
Save time and money by tailoring a fully supported SUSE Linux Enterprise configuration for a specific use case.
Increase productivity of deployment and maintenance due to reduced deployment cycles and maintenance costs.
Easily build and deploy appliances with a user-friendly Web interface.
Save time by using the integrated test functionality without downloading the appliance.
SUSE Studio is the leading tool to enable developers to create and test their own appliances on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Some of the key features include:
Supported Linux in Minutes. Create a fully supported Linux configuration base on SUSE Linux Enterprise.
Integrated Testing. Test drive an image, make changes and integrate selected changes back into the build engine.
Multiple Platforms. Create images for all major formats (Live CD/DVD, HDD and USB image, Xen, VMware, OVF, Amazon* EC2)
Supportability Analyzer. Customize SUSE Linux Enterprise and run it through an algorithm to determine if it can be supported by Novell.
Automated Dependency Discovery. Automated package dependency discovery and resolution.
Market-Leading Usability. SUSE Studio is easy to use, allowing you to create and customize Linux images in minutes.
SUSE Gallery. A central repository within SUSE Studio, allows registered users to publish and share appliances.
Use the following workflow for managing appliances with SUSE Studio.
Build and distribute appliances using the following basic steps:
Decide which of the available base templates are applicable to your needs. A template is a preconfigured selection of packages for a specific purpose, like desktop or server. Depending on the SUSE Studio server configuration, choose from templates based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, or openSUSE.
Add or remove packages, configure system options and personalize your appliance to your desired look and feel.
Build your appliance using one of the following image types: hard disk image, LIVE CD/DVD image, an image for deployment on VMware/VirtualBox, or Xen.
To debug and test your appliance without leaving your browser, launch the testdrive. Change or add files inside your running appliance that can later be added as overlay files.
Add your overlay files to your configuration and rebuild your appliance. Repeat these steps until you are satisfied.
Distribute the resulting appliances to your customers.
Optionally share your appliance with other users to allow cloning. These users can use your appliance as a template for their customizations.
Find a screen cast of this summary at http://susestudio.com.
To work with SUSE Studio you need one of the following browsers:
Firefox version 3 and any later version, or
Google Chrome™ version 4 and any later version, or
Internet Explorer™ version 8 and any later version, or
Opera™ version 10.50 and any later version, or
Other WebKit based browsers, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebKit for more information.
Depending on which format you create for the appliance, you will also need either a decent computer, USB stick, or a running VMware/VirtualBox software.