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SuSE Software Businesses Linux

Dell Teams Up With SUSE 178

Posted by CowboyNeal from the dude-you're-getting-a-linux dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Dell's Linux blog points to the news that Dell and SUSE have teamed up to start offering SUSE Enterprise Linux installed directly on Dell servers. Looks like Dell isn't just a Red Hat shop anymore."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Dell Teams Up With SUSE More

Dell Teams Up With SUSE

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  • good news (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dns_server ( 696283 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:07AM (#10661866)
    things are starting to look good for linux, we now have a veriety of different companys that are starting to support linux. hopefully this will mean drivers will be better supported (atleast for the hardware provided).
    • things are starting to look good for linux, we now have a veriety of different companys that are starting to support linux. hopefully this will mean drivers will be better supported (atleast for the hardware provided).

      You could've posted this in 1996 and it would've been equally true unfortunately. I remember similar statements back then on comp.os.linux.advocacy and they've turned out to be just as false when it comes to fortelling Linux's future. I've come to accept Linux will never be anything more

      • Re:good news (Score:4, Informative)

        by Gherald ( 682277 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @11:10AM (#10663760) Journal
        > I remember similar statements back then on comp.os.linux.advocacy and they've turned out to be just as false when it comes to fortelling Linux's future. I've come to accept Linux will never be anything more than a fringe operating system, but there's nothing wrong with that. Hell, MacOS is a fringe operating system compared to the numbers Windows has yet MacOS X is one of the nicest systems I've ever used.

        So the progress Linux is making is slower than it's advocates and fanboys would like, but this does in no way imply no progress has been made, or is unlikely to happen in the future. I believe your use of the word "never" is an equally unfounded exageration. The server market is still growing, the desktop market is growing, and upcoming OSS software like OpenOffice 2.0 and Firefox 1.0 will only help to further our cause.

        The 2.6 branch is becomming more production ready, as well. I'm running 2.6.9 on Gentoo and much more satisfied than I was with, say, 2.6.5

        As for MacOS X, clearly it will allways be a fringe operating system simply because ppc and ppc64 are fringe architectures. The Linux kernel has no such limitations... quite the opposite, in fact.

    • Re:good news (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Scumbumbo ( 521718 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @09:57AM (#10663060)

      Dell's hardware (at least on the server side) has always been well supported in Linux thanks to their work with Red Hat. I'm hoping this latest move makes their management utilities work better with SuSE.

      A few months back I mentioned to our Sr. Dell rep that I wished they supported SuSE (preferably by releasing tarballed sources) with their management utilities. The "Red Hat only" afacli RAID management RPM installs and runs great on SuSE, but installing the other management stuff (specifically for the DRAC management) is a pain in the arse. She seemed really interested in my comment and kept asking me questions regarding my experiences with SuSE on Dell. Makes me wonder if she either knew something was coming down the pipe or if she was actually high-level enough at Dell to be one of the instigators of this.

  • Future partnerships... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jmcmunn ( 307798 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:08AM (#10661872)

    If we keep seeing these types of partnerships, perhaps more PC manufacturers will jump on board and start shipping Linux PC's as well. Even if it is just a Linux Live CD for someone to play with, at least then they can get their feet wet.

    • Re:Future partnerships... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by treval ( 89829 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:14AM (#10661892)
      It may be just me but I think that Redhat has totally lost the plot since they stopped producing a desktop distribution.

      Suse certainly seem to be gaining ground quickly and I think one of the main reasons may be the complete range of products from Suse Personal through to Enterprise and without the restrictive licencing that RH have tried to impose.

      • Re:Future partnerships... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by RAMMS+EIN ( 578166 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:27AM (#10661957) Homepage Journal
        Perhaps it's just that Red Hat realized that one size fits all solutions aren't. They then chose to specialize on the enterprise. Not that odd; after all, that's where the money is. Now they can boast all their years of experience, plus their dedication to enterprise needs - something I think few if any other distributors can claim.

        • Re:Future partnerships... (Score:5, Insightful)

          by treval ( 89829 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:31AM (#10661975)
          You are probably right however the real volume market is on the desktop. The desktop is what drives the user applications and it's user apps sold in bulk that generate major revenues.

          Just ask Billy G...

        • Perhaps it's just that Red Hat realized that one size fits all solutions aren't.

          Just because RedHat always was a mediocre desktop (Gnome) doesn't mean that you can't provide a package that works on both servers and desktops very well.

          It's software after all and with DVDs there's almost no limit on what you can ship.

      • Suse certainly seem to be gaining ground quickly and I think one of the main reasons may be the complete range of products from Suse Personal through to Enterprise

        Don't think that Suse won't turn their back on the little guy. In fact the free Suse Personal is no more [suse.com]. This effectively means I likely won't ever have Suse on a desktop or server ever again since I'm not going to buy before I try. Now there's no way to try without paying.
        • Even with the release of a personal edition missing, SuSE still lets you try out every release either as a LiveCD or as a completely free ftp install (which in the past pretty much equalled the Personal version).

          AFAIK, the difference between SuSE Personal and SuSE Professional was just the amount of software (=CDs) shipped with it. Apart from that, they were the same anyway.

          Albeit, the ftp release is always about a month late compared to the official CD release but I reckon if you get something completely
        • Well, there are three live evaluations versions, one with KDE, one with Gnome and one DVD with I assume both.

          ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/live-cd-9.2/

          Then you can head over to ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/9.2 and install over ftp, or download that hole directory, stick it on a hard disc or on your network somewhere and install from there.

          And that's the pro version, by the way.

          The only thing you can't get so far are the iso images, but I'm willing to bet that's going to change at some time.
        • > This effectively means I likely won't ever have Suse on a desktop or server ever again since I'm not going to buy before I try. Now there's no way to try without paying

          What's it to you if you'd buy it anyway?
          Like, you _must_ try it out otherwise you could make a big mistake and spend 90 bucks for software that doesn't work or something?

          Besides, SLES9 ISOs are available for free download (although there's nothing to see, it's just an Linux OS with a new kernel which one can try on any of the free dist
      • It may be just me but I think that Redhat has totally lost the plot since they stopped producing a desktop distribution.

        No, It's not just you, but you are still wrong non the less. Ever tried putting "red hat desktop" in google search? I found the first 20 or so results interesting, especially the 1st one. "http://www.redhat.com/software/rhel/desktop/" I understand there is a FUD war going on and all but sheesh.

  • Windows XP? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by darkmeridian ( 119044 ) <<moc.liamg> <ta> <gnauhc.mailliw>> on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:09AM (#10661875) Homepage
    I'm sorry, but why does the top of that article say, "Dell recommends Windows XP Professional"?

    What kind of mixed messages are they sending there?

    • Re:Windows XP? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I think Microsoft pay/threaten/reward (delete according to bias) system builders to say that, a lot of ads contain the same phrasing with different manufacturers pasted in.

      So it's probablary just part of a standard page template, and not some conspiracy on Dell's part to confuse customers.

    • Re:Windows XP? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Well it means:

      Dell is paid by Microsoft to recommend it's OS. ("$COMPNAME recommends Windows XP" is so generic it can't be a accident, it's marketting.)

      Dell supports Linux because that's what it's customer wants.

    • Re:Windows XP? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by miyako ( 632510 )
      it's probably part of some agreement with microsoft. Dell is big enough to be able to sell hardware with whatever OS they want on it, but not quite big enough to do it without still kissing Microsoft's ass while doing it with a "Dell recommends Windows" message.
      As a matter of fact though, I've seen the same message on IBM and HPs websites, I specifically remember thinking it was funny when I was looking into buying one of the HP notebooks with Linux pre-installed. The specific model didn't offer windows
    • "Dell recommends Windows XP Professional" or "Tested with Centrino" or "Intel Inside" all are little jingos that if you put them on your page you get marketing money from MSFT and INTC, I believe. Anybody confirm this?
    • >What kind of mixed messages are they sending there?

      How the hell is this insightful?

      Can't you read?

      They _recommend_ (for whatever reason) Windows XP Pro and they sell whatever makes money. Is that so hard to understand? Or should they stop bundling (or recommending) Windows OS just because they signed just another bundling agreement?

  • But! (Score:5, Funny)

    by koi88 ( 640490 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:10AM (#10661879)

    But don't they know the TCO of Windows is much lower than Linux' TCO?
    The customers don't want Linux. And it's unsafe. Only hippies would use it. Dammit.
    Guess I have to send over Stevie B...

    Bill G.

  • Old storie (Score:2, Informative)

    by IgorMrBean ( 528387 )
    This is a 2 days old story http://www.novell.com/news/press/archive/2004/10/p r04072.html

  • mirrordot link and content (Score:5, Informative)

    by buro9 ( 633210 ) <david@buro9 . c om> on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:12AM (#10661888) Homepage
    I hate karma-whoring, but then I couldn't get to the Dell blog... so here's the mirrordot link: http://mirrordot.org/stories/086e42b3190e9dadcda31 da9fcc5515e/index.html [mirrordot.org]

    Don't worry about the text, they merely point here: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx /corp/pressoffice/en/2004/2004_10_27_rrwa_000 [dell.com]

    Which is mirrored here: http://mirrordot.org/stories/c6067beb11e039d913a6d cb073ee1d71/index.html [mirrordot.org]

    • content as promised (Score:2, Informative)

      by buro9 ( 633210 )

      Dell and Novell Expand Partnership to Provide Customers Certified SUSE LINUX Platforms and Services

      SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9 on Select Dell PowerEdge Servers Extends Customer Choice and ValueRound Rock, Texas and Waltham, Massachusetts, October 27, 2004

      Dell and Novell today announced an agreement to offer Novell SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9 certified on select Dell PowerEdge servers worldwide.

      This announcement provides Dell and Novell customers with more choice for fully-supported Linux platform

    • Don't worry. We've slashdotted mirrordot as well.

      Hehe. What the hell were they thinking, "Solving the Slashdot effect". Don't challenge Slashdot and get away with it. Just remember Coralizing and how well that turned out, too.

      Ultimate DDoS. We rock.

  • I wonder (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Moby Cock ( 771358 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:12AM (#10661889) Homepage
    I could not RTFA, the thing is /.ed already. However, I wonder if the move with SuSE is an attempt to move into some bigger European markets. SuSE is the de facto linux standard over there (as opposed to RHEL in NA) and I wonder if Dell is trying to squeeze into some business operations on the continent.

    • Re:I wonder (Score:3, Insightful)

      by koi88 ( 640490 )

      the thing is /.ed already

      Maybe Dell should move their servers from Windows 2000 (according to netcraft) to Linux, too...
    • Don your tinfoil hats...

      If we *really* want to think sinister, let's say it's a secret plot by Microsoft to further undermine RedHat, by having Dell strengthen one of RedHat's primary competitors.

      Remove tinfoil hats...

      Or, as someone else said, Novell is a corporation of the size/type Dell would be more interested in dealing with, the SuSE connection would help them in Europe, and on servers at least, they ignore Linux at their own peril.

  • What about workstations? (Score:4, Informative)

    by ZorinLynx ( 31751 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:17AM (#10661908) Homepage
    Dell still charges the "Windows Tax" on all its workstations. Try ordering a Dimension series without Windows, for instance. Not possible! They only offer Linux on two particular models of workstation (Precision) which are expensive and are limited in what video cards you can purchase with them.

    Dell only seems to want to support Linux on the server side. They should support Linux all the way! If they don't want to offer it pre-installed on their workstations, they should at least offer a machine without Windows.

    Argh!

    -Z

  • how much tweaking... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by gp310ad ( 77471 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:23AM (#10661935) Homepage
    What does it mean when Dell and Suse or IBM and ??? (RedHat?, Debian?, Knoppix?, all three and more?) deliver a server with 'certified' linux?

    Has anyone bought one of these for work and taken a good look at the install?

    I see the 'support' part, but do they:
    1. compile kernel (./config options) for that particular box?
    2. config all applications for that particular box?
    3. more than '1' and '2'?

    • I would imagine that they use the stock kernel and have the kernel sources on hand for a custom compile.

      This kind of goes along with another post I made...primarily what packages are installed by default, what other packages are included on the hard drive, and which ones are being given to you only on optical disc (if any)?

      Being a FreeBSD/MacOS X user as of late, between the ports systems and fink, I've gotten more than a bit accustomed to just sync'ing against an online repository for package description

    • Re:how much tweaking... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by jimicus ( 737525 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:58AM (#10662136)
      What does it mean when Dell and Suse or IBM and ??? (RedHat?, Debian?, Knoppix?, all three and more?) deliver a server with 'certified' linux?

      Has anyone bought one of these for work and taken a good look at the install?

      Yes. My former employer was an IBM shop, had 250 Linux servers and around 1,200 desktops.

      We bought servers without an operating system. Some (not all) models arrived in parts - disks, memory processors and rack-mounting kit were all shipped in separate boxes and you fitted them yourself. My understanding was "every bit of hardware here works under Linux".

      Experience demonstrated that this was indeed the case, only you sometimes had to download kernel patches (which were generally open source, they just hadn't made it to the mainstream kernel).

      I don't know whether or not the pre-built servers had these patches pre-installed - I'd imagine so.
    • >I see the 'support' part, but do they:
      >1. compile kernel (./config options) for that particular box?
      No.
      >2. config all applications for that particular box?
      No.
      >3. more than '1' and '2'?

      They test it, they make sure everything(hardware) works/is supported.

  • SuSE on the Desktop, please ! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by InodoroPereyra ( 514794 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:27AM (#10661953)
    I would bet that with the gaining momentum of Linux as a corporate/govenrment desktop environment, teaming up with SuSE could be a good idea for Dell. Not that RedHat is horrible unusable or anything, but SuSE is more polished and integrated for the end user, and they are in a position of offering top of the line KDE, GNOME or a combination of both.
    • Their GNOME offerings are anything but top of the line. They only recently started offering GNOME 2.6.
    • That's ODD.

      I bought SUSE 9.1 to try it out, and didn't like it. I have two linux distro's installed on my computer. One for work (LibraNet, a Debian knock-off), and one for experimentation (currently Fedora2 as implemented by KRUD [Kevin's RedHat Uber Distribution]). So I'm flexible. (I've also occasionally had Mandrake installed. Gentoo briefly. Linux From Scratch. Etc. But there's lots that have never caught my eye.)

      I used to be a Red Hat faithful, before they dropped the professional edition.

  • The power of the US (Score:5, Insightful)

    by peterprior ( 319967 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:27AM (#10661954)
    I'm not really suprised. Now that Novell has bought SUSE, they are dealing with a nice big US corporation which must be very familiar to them.

    Before Novell bought them, SUSE was seen as this oddball German company who probably seemed a world apart from a US Corp like Dell.

  • I'm curious (Score:3, Interesting)

    by numbski ( 515011 ) * <numbskiNO@SPAMhksilver.net> on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:32AM (#10661982) Homepage Journal
    One of the benefits of SuSE is that (at least last time I used it, I'm a FreeBSD/MacOS X user currently) it comes with every tested package imaginable...something like 10 cd's or 3 DVDs...?

    Are they just shipping with a base install, and giving you the DVDs? Putting all of the packages on there, just not installing them for convenience on a huge drive?

    What's the best OEM config for something like SuSE? Presume people are going to use an online repository?

  • Bad news for Red Hat... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Thaidog ( 235587 ) <slashdot753@nym.hush. c o m> on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:33AM (#10661989)
    Now that novell has bought SuSE, major fundage means major comp now for Red Hat. Personally I think SuSE is more user friendly than Red Hat is now... with YAST playing a major role in that. Easy to configure, even for an end user to get a basic server up and running or whatever else. I see this hittin the lowend workstation level big time as well since most of the hardware cerifications Red Hat has SuSE has too (too a point).

    • No such thing as bad news. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by numbski ( 515011 ) * <numbskiNO@SPAMhksilver.net> on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:42AM (#10662037) Homepage Journal
      I really think everyone is looking at this wrong.

      There is no such thing as bad news when it comes to Linux distros being picked up, not even from a corporate point of view.

      I get this a lot with wireless broadband. If a 'competitor' springs up across town and starts covering areas that I also service, if we cooperate, we'll both get more customers. If we in-fight, people will get the idea that wireless broadband is unreliable. When people work together, provide excellent service, everyone benefits. There's plenty of market terrain out there to be had, and no everyone needs to become a huge mega-comglomerate.

      No one linux shop needs to become the next M$ or Apple. Sure, they could, but they don't need to in order to prosper. There's still plenty of Linux territory to be had. I'd say this is as good a news to Red Hat as any, so long as both RH and SuSE are commited to excellence.
    • I agree SUSE is user friendly and YAST is awesome , however , the basic installation is so complex than Redhat.Redhat has easy isos to download , burn and install.However , I do not see easy installation procedure .

      How would one expect to use SUSE if installation is so hard.Besides Redhat is already well known.
      May be its just me..

  • Dell Laptops? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Manip ( 656104 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:38AM (#10662017)
    I love Dell, and I am pleased with this new deal (advancement of Linux is always good news). The question I really want answered is when will I be able to guy a laptop from Dell (or anyone else) with Linux pre-installed?

    I just don't like the idea of paying £30 more for a copy of XP home or 2k which I will be removing and replacement with my fav distro .. Seems silly to me that so few DO offer a Linux alternative.
    • HP sells a SuSE pre-installed laptop. It was announced a few months ago (possibly even showed up here on Slashdot).
    • The question I really want answered is when will I be able to guy a laptop from Dell (or anyone else) with Linux pre-installed?

      When there are more than a few dozen people who want one.
    • when will I be able to guy a laptop from Dell (or anyone else) with Linux pre-installed?

      Months ago... From HP...

      Before that, from smaller companies.
    • > The question I really want answered is when will I be able to guy a laptop from Dell (or anyone else) with Linux pre-installed?

      When you get enough money.

      >Seems silly to me that so few DO offer a Linux alternative.

      Seems silly to me that you complain about the 30 quids (like Dell will go out of their way to bundle SuSE for free!) and make a big story out of nothing. Just install it yourself or buy an HP notebook or whatever.

  • SuSE vs Red Hat (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DrugCheese ( 266151 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:40AM (#10662025)
    I was always under the impression that SuSE was the most popular distro. I think they were the first to commercially distribute linux. While Red Hat as the most popular in the U.S. SuSe was the most popular world wide?

    I've long thought SuSE to be far FAR superior to all other distros I've tried and have said over and over again that it can be used by a newbie to linux or a mission critical server application out of the same box.
    In a couple years (or less the way SuSE is in the news more and more recently) people will agree that Red Hat is no longer the name when it comes to a great pre-packaged linux.

    • AHHHHHHHH I can't take it anymore it is SUSE... SUSE SUSE SUSE SUSE SUSE SUSE, it hasn't been SuSE since September of 2003. And no I'm not crazy.. I've seen people get corrected from suse, etc to SuSE thousands of times and now its time to go the other way around :P

  • Dell was offering RedHat 3 years ago (Score:3, Interesting)

    by vasqzr ( 619165 ) <vasqzr@@@netscape...net> on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:40AM (#10662029)

    What's this have to do with anything? It really doesn't mean anything.

    Linux is EXPENSIVE from Dell. Most people are going to do what we did, buy Dell $329 servers, and install a downloaded version of (insert your favorite distribution)
    • Except for one minor detail that PHB's might go for:

      If you buy the linux distro from Dell, Dell will support it.

      s/Red Hat/SuSE/g;
    • Linux is EXPENSIVE from Dell. Most people are going to do what we did, buy Dell $329 servers, and install a downloaded version of (insert your favorite distribution) Not everyone wants to download and install Linux themselves plus get it set up the way they need it to. I don't know how worth the money buying a SuSE linux box from Dell would be, but it could be worth it. I think the point is to make it easier for current Windows users to move over to a Linux box. I have seen a demo of the new SuSE and it l

  • Considering the limited.. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Tracer_Bullet82 ( 766262 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:43AM (#10662045)
    product options and the somewhat contradictory message in Dell's policy, this may not seem to be a significant step.

    Dell however has the image of providing good support(at least in my neck of the woods)

    Seeing that Dell can ofer and support for Linux;I'm presuming they will, this can show to the general public that (Dell considers) Linux is/as a viable option.

  • Ah, I think I get it. (Score:5, Funny)

    by RealProgrammer ( 723725 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @07:55AM (#10662104) Homepage Journal
    For $175 per single-CPU server annual maintenance subscription and $269 for a dual CPU subscription, Dell and Novell offer Linux customers additional choice on Dell's award-winning PowerEdge 1850, 2800 and 2850 servers.

    I'm not sure understand the reasoning there. It'll cost Dell 54% more to support a dual-CPU box, is that it?

    Oh, I see. Dual support desks, dual techs, dual phone bills (to India and Utah).

  • if only Dell would start offering systems with AMD CPUs installed I would consider them. Not that I'm an AMD zealot (well maybe) but I hate being locked into a "solution". Choice is key.
    • > I hate being locked into a "solution". Choice is key.

      What locked? What solution?

      I happen to think that you're trolling and full of BS.
      You can get an AMD system anywhere (the "choice"), with SuSE, without SuSE, with Red Hat, without Red Hat and with Windows 32-bit.
      Where exactly is the lock you complain about?

  • SuSE might be the "enterprise" Linux? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by TheLoneGundam ( 615596 ) on Friday October 29, 2004 @08:23AM (#10662314) Journal
    Since SuSE is the default distribution that IBM uses for their Linux on z/Series (or S/390) and this announcment is for Dell Servers, this might be another small step to getting in some corporate doors - start with some Dell Servers, then consolidate onto a mainframe box for lower (supposedly) TCO. We've been talking about Linux on our big iron, and if it was the same Linux as on the servers I know certain PHBs would have a warmer, fuzzier feeling.

    • SuSE might be the "enterprise" Linux?

      This is a good way for Novell to "get it's foot in the door" with Suse and then sell more server applications. I would expect the Dell SuSe installation to be preconfigured and marketed as "NDS ready" or "Groupwise Ready". The more Novell's existing application stack becomes integrated with Suse, the more Novell will be able to sell. Compared to Redhat, Novell's application stack is much larger, more mature, and the Novell name still has a lot of trust. This will op

  • Can you order a machine from Dell without OS at all ? (or with a really free os like Debian). Because i don't care if it's XP or Suse, if I already have an OS and i don't need a new one, this is still an OS tax.

    • Re:Nice but.... (Score:3, Informative)

      by YrWrstNtmr ( 564987 )
      If you'd spend but a minute or two cruising around the dell site, you might come across this: [dell.com]

      "Dell(TM) Dimension(TM) n series desktops offer affordable, everyday small business computing power. Extra economical because they come without a Microsoft® operating system; a copy of FreeDOS(TM) open-source operating system is included in the box, ready to install."

  • Wasnt sure if anyone had noticed the blatent line at the top of the article but just before the headline of dell teaming up with novell/suse there is a line that states "dell recommends running microsoft windows xp" seems strange to announce a linux partnership and still have that of all things at the top of the page dont you all think?

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