SUSE Manager 4.0 Beta 2 is out!

We are thrilled to announce Beta 2 of SUSE Manager 4.0 for:

• SUSE Manager Server,
• SUSE Manager Proxy,
• SUSE Manager For Retail.

Since SUSE Manager 4.0 Beta is a new Major version, we have a lot to share with you in this announcement and on the dedicated beta web page: https://www.suse.com/betaprogram/manager-beta/

Content Lifecycle Management

The new Content Lifecycle Management feature provides the capability to clone software channels through a lifecycle of several environments.

With the first version you are able to create content projects, select a custom set of software channels as sources and create a lifecycle made of environments.

Once you have selected some sources you can build the selected set which will populate the first environment. After the the first environment is built you can promote it through the environment lifecycle to the next environment in the loop.

The result of the build (therefore the content of every environment) is a channel tree (made of cloned software channels of the sources selection) and you can assign systems to it.

Virtualization Management

The existing virtualization features have been enhanced for salt minions based systems. The state of virtual machines can be managed for all systems with the Virtualization entitlement. Salt minion virtualization host systems can also create virtual machines using a prebuilt disk image.

The following features have been added for salt minion systems only:

• Deleting virtual machines.
• Editing virtual machines to add or remove network interfaces or disk, change CPU and memory allocation or the display type.
• Quick update of the list and state of virtual machines.
• Displaying virtual machines graphical display in a new tab.

Updated Documentation Structure

We have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback about our documentation over the years, but we have also received some excellent ideas for improvement. That is how we know that the content we have is great, but it was sometimes difficult to find. In this release, we have reorganized our documentation and updated our tooling to make it clearer where information is, and make it easier for you to find the content you need, when you need it.

Old Naming Format:

• Getting Started
• Best Practices
• Reference
• Advanced Topics

New Naming Format:

• Installation Guide:
  Requirements, supported platforms, installation methods, etc,
• Client Configuration Guide:
  Configuring and connecting clients to SUSE Manager,
• Upgrade Guide:
  Migrate and update clients and SUSE Manager,
• Reference Manual:
  Comprehensive guide to the Web UI,
• Administration Guide:
  Maintenance and administration tasks in SUSE Manager,
• Salt Guide:
  A comprehensive guide to Salt for system administrators,
• Architecture:
  Details on components, salt/traditional architectures, and diagrams.

You can find the New Documentation in draft at: https://documentation.suse.com/suma/4.3/en/suse-manager/index.html

Requirements and Beta Codes

SLES 15 SP1 RC 1 is required as base OS, you can retreive it from here.
You will need at least 8 GB of main memory and 100GB of disk space to install the Server and 4 GB of main memory and 100GB of disk space to install the Proxy.

You only need SUSE Manager 4.0 Beta registration codes for the purpose of installing the SUSE Manager 4.0 Server, Proxy and Retail. No SUSE Linux Enterprise Server registration code is needed.

Registration is not working with your regular SUSE Manager key, special Beta Registration Code is required!
You need to request one via email to beta-programs@lists.suse.com.

What’s next?

SUSE Manager 4.0 Beta 3 is scheduled for May 3rd, and planned highlights are:

• Content Lifecycle Management: Allow source packages and patches filtering on selection, and show progress status for build and promote content,
• Prometheus Monitoring: We will provide packages for the latest versions of Prometheus, Node Exporter and PostgreSQL exporter. SUSE Manager will be able to provision both exporters on client systems, and configure them via UI. The exporters will also be pre-installed on SUSE Manager server as part of its self-monitoring.

The complete beta schedule can be found at: https://www.suse.com/betaprogram/manager-beta/#releases

More Information

Please visit our main beta page for SUSE Manager at:https://www.suse.com/betaprogram/manager-beta.

Release notes can be found at: https://www.suse.com/betaprogram/manager-beta/#releasenotes

Known issues for Beta 2 at: https://www.suse.com/betaprogram/manager-beta/#knownissues

We are thankful for your support in trying out our beta products and we welcome your feedback.

Have fun beta testing!

Your SUSE Manager Team