The system uses Btrfs for the root file system

Nov 8, 2016 23:59 GMT  ·  By

The release of SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 Service Pack 2 is not the only thing SUSE Linux fans should get excited about today, as a community member published a very informative article about SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi.

What's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi? It's exactly what you think it is, an official port of the SLES (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server) operating system for Raspberry Pi single-board computers, supporting both Raspberry Pi 2 and the new Raspberry Pi 3 device.

Based on the upstream Linux kernel used by the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for ARM operating system, SLES for the Raspberry Pi was engineered to support the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B SBC, its Broadcom BCM2837 64-bit A53 ARM processor, as well as the integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

"Yes, we actually took the enterprise grade, 64-bit, Linux operating system that is used around the world to support mission-critical workloads in financial institutions, air traffic control centers, manufacturing centers, and high-performance computing centers - and put it on a $35 credit card-sized computer," reads the report.

IceWM is used as default desktop environment

For those curious to try this new Linux-based operating system on their Raspberry Pi computers, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi uses Btrfs for the root file system and IceWM (ICE Window Manager) is used as default desktop environment. Also, GCC 6 is integrated and recommended for compiling programs from sources.

You can download the binary image of SLES for the Raspberry Pi right now, which appears to be based on SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 Service Pack 2, but please note that SUSE doesn't offer commercial support for it. Also, registration is required to download patches and updates, but you can choose to download the image without them.

The good news is that SLES for the Raspberry Pi comes with a free, one-year, self-service registration. However, said article appears to have a disclaimer that the content is not supported by SUSE and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi might work for you, so you're installing it at your own risk.