We are happy to announce that Linode now offers openSUSE Leap. Leap is the continuation of openSUSE’s 13.x branch with version 42.1 marking Leap’s debut in November 2015. Leap has a long-term commitment from SUSE as part of a new direction for the distribution.

If you’re wondering why the numbering difference, the reason is part practicality, and part the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything.

Linode felt that this new tack corresponded with many of our customers’ needs. So, we’ve made room for it on our cloud.

What’s Different About Leap?

OpenSUSE Leap is SUSE’s free, enterprise-level offering created from the code base of SUSE Enterprise Linux 12, Service Pack 1. The development cycle now puts Leap upstream of SUSE Enterprise Linux, but refinements made to Enterprise Linux — including fixes and security updates — are constantly being integrated into Leap.

Leap also includes additional packages and modules that aren’t available by default in Tumbleweed, openSUSE’s rolling release branch.

Leap follows the release cycle of SUSE Enterprise Linux with emphasis on stable, mature packages, making use of openSUSE’s in-house developed OpenQA tool for Quality Assurance. Milestone releases will be supported by the openSUSE Project for at least 3 years while minor releases (42.x) will occur about 12 months apart from each other. OpenSUSE Leap 42.2 is currently in alpha and is anticipated to reach stable in November 2016.

How Can I Get Leap?

You’ll find openSUSE Leap 42.1 available for deployment from the Linode Manager. While it’s possible to perform a system upgrade from 13.x to Leap 42.1 using openSUSE’s instructions, changing such major versions could result in unexpected issues. You would be well-served to search online for other users who have performed the upgrade, so you’re prepared for any problems that may arise.

The ideal upgrade strategy would be to stage a new Linode running Leap as a test environment while maintaining your current 13.x deployment. When you’ve confirmed Leap suits your needs in terms of stability, packages and features, you would then migrate your data away from 13.x.

We will continue to provide openSUSE 13.1 and 13.2 for deployment until they reach end-of-life. OpenSUSE 13.2 will expire in the first quarter of 2017 while 13.1 is currently supported by the Evergreen team until November 2016.