SUSE Linux Enterprise Server FAQ

This document covers frequently asked questions around support, migration and licenses when running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) on Compute Engine.

General FAQs

What is SLES on Compute Engine?

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) on Compute Engine are any SLES images that are optimized to run on Google Cloud. You can use these SLES images to migrate and modernize your SLES workloads on Google Cloud by taking advantage of the scalability, security, and performance of Compute Engine. For more information about Compute Engine, see the Compute Engine overview.

What versions of SLES are available on Compute Engine?

For a full list of the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) versions that are available on Google Compute Engine, see operating system details.

Is SLES for SAP Applications with High Availability (HA) available on Compute Engine?

Yes, SLES for SAP Application with HA is available on Compute Engine. For a full list of the SLES versions that are available on Compute Engine, see operating system details.

What's the difference between SLES and SLES for SAP Applications?

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) is a highly scalable, secure and enterprise class performant enterprise operating system for general Linux workloads.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) for SAP Applications is a Linux platform that is uniquely optimized for SAP Netweaver, SAP HANA and SAP S/4 HANA solutions with High Availability, HANA replication, automation and monitoring components included.

How are the public SLES images made available on Compute Engine?

SUSE, in partnership with Google, builds and maintains the SLES images that are available on Compute Engine. For images that are in SUSE's "General and Extended support" phase, SUSE publishes image updates such as CVE-security, packages, and other service pack updates.

Are there any differences between SLES on Google Cloud and other versions that I run in my datacenter?

Fundamentally, no. SUSE maintains the versions of SLES and SLES for SAP Applications that are available on Compute Engine, and the base OS is identical to the version of SLES available for installations on physical hardware. The versions available on Compute Engine include additional tooling and metadata that is needed to run and manage SLES VMs on the Google Cloud Platform.

How does billing work for SLES VMs on Compute Engine?

There are two cost components for SLES VMs running on Compute Engine:

  • Infrastructure costs for running your SLES VMs on Compute Engine. For more information, see VM instances pricing.

  • Licensing costs for SLES or SLES for SAP. The following licensing options are available:

    • Pay-As-You-Go model (PAYG) on Compute Engine. For this option, you pay Google directly.
    • Committed Use Discounts. For this option, you purchase a commitment for your SLES or SLES for SAP licenses in return for discounted prices. Learn more about Committed Use Discounts and how to purchase a commitment for your licenses.
    • Bring your own subscription (BYOS) using. For this option, you use a subscription you have purchased directly from SUSE.

For more information about licensing options on Compute Engine, see Picking the right licensing model for your VMs.

What is the SUSE BYOS (Bring Your Own Subscription) program?

Use the SUSE BYOS program to bring eligible SUSE product subscriptions to Google Cloud. With this option, you pay SUSE directly for license subscriptions and pay Google Cloud only for infrastructure costs incurred. For more information on how to buy, see SUSE.

Are there any additional cost optimizations available for running SUSE on Compute Engine?

In addition to the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) license model that allows you to pay for only what you use, your infrastructure costs can be further reduced by taking advantage of committed use discounts.

Machine type recommendations also reduce your costs by helping you optimize resource usage.

You can also use the pricing calculator to estimate your costs of running VMs on Compute Engine.

Do your prices include tax?

No, the prices listed are exclusive of applicable taxes and duties, including applicable VAT, and applicable sales tax.

Can I create SLES VMs in my free Google Cloud trial account?

Yes, you can create SLES VMs in your free trial account. You will incur charges for any Cloud Marketplace products and premium operating system licenses you use, even if your Compute Engine use is covered by Always Free. For more information, see Google Cloud Marketplace products and Premium OS licenses.

How can my SLES VMs connect to the SUSE SMT servers without a proxy or an external IP address?

SLES VMs on Compute Engine does not support non-transparent and Man in the Middle (MitM) proxies.

You can configure a NAT gateway in your private network to route traffic between the internet and the internal SLES VMs if you configure the Minimum ports per VM instance to at least 160. For more information, see SUSE Support.

If you use SUSE BYOS and if you have eligible product subscriptions, you can set up your own SMT server in your private network to update or install software.

Support FAQs

How is support offered for Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) SLES licenses on Compute Engine?

When you are running PAYG SUSE images on Compute Engine, support for issues with the images is included in Google Cloud Support packages when the image is GA. If the image is EOL, Google Cloud support doesn't support the image, unless you have Long-Term Service Pack Support (LTSS).

If you have issues with GA or LTSS images, contact Google Cloud Support. You do not need to contact SUSE separately. Google works with SUSE to resolve issues needing escalation. If you have issues with images that are related to LTSS, you must contact SUSE directly.

How is support offered for Bring Your Own Subscription (BYOS) licenses on Compute Engine?

If you bring your own SUSE subscription to Google Cloud, you will receive support directly from SUSE. To access support, file issues directly to SUSE by logging into your SUSE Customer Center. For access and more details, see the SUSE Technical Support Documentation.

How can I be notified when security updates are available for SLES?

To be notified when security updates are made available by SUSE, subscribe to SUSE Security Announcements.

All SLES VMs running on Compute Engine receive updates shortly after these updates are made available from SUSE Public Cloud update infrastructure. You can then install these updates by using standard SLES packaging tools like Zypper or YaST. These patches and updates are made available for the SUSE images on a regular schedule as outlined in the Operating system lifecycle and support policy.

Are there any restrictions on the machine types supported for SUSE on Compute Engine?

SLES offerings are supported for all machine types in all regions. For more information about machine types, see Machine types. In addition to the different machine configurations, SLES offerings can also be run on multi tenant nodes or Sole-tenant nodes.

What are the SAP certified machine types on Compute Engine?

SAP and Google Cloud certify both major and minor releases of SLES on the machine types that are available on Compute Engine.

For SAP HANA, SAP publishes the Compute Engine machine types and SLES versions that are certified for Google Cloud in the SAP HANA Hardware Directory.

Google Cloud also publishes the SAP HANA certifications in Certifications for SAP HANA on Google Cloud.

For SAP NetWeaver, the certified machine types and operating systems are listed in SAP Note 2456432. To access this information, you need an SAP user account.

Google Cloud also publishes the SAP NetWeaver list in Certifications for SAP applications on Google Cloud.

Does SUSE provide Long Term/Extended Service Pack Overlay Support for SLES versions?

Yes, but support varies for SLES and SLES for SAP.

  • SLES: SUSE provides Long-Term Service Pack Support (LTSS) through the Google Cloud Marketplace for SLES versions that have reached their end of general support date. For more details, review the SUSE Product Support Lifecycle.

  • SLES for SAP: SUSE provides Extended Service Pack Overlap Support (ESPOS) for SLES for SAP versions that have reached their end of general support date. ESPOS is included in the base pay-as-you-go (PAYG) license for all SLES for SAP versions except for the last SP version before the next major version release.

    Extended Service Pack Overlap Support (ESPOS) provides an additional 3 years support for a specific SP version. During this period, you receive support and all relevant maintenance updates under the terms of Long-Term Service Pack Support (LTSS) - without needing to get the additional LTSS add-on. For more details, review the SUSE Product Support Lifecycle.

    ESPOS isn't offered for the last SP version before the next major version release. For example, the last SP version of SLES 12 for SAP is SP5, thus ESPOS isn't available for this version. If you require extended support for these images, you must purchase Long-Term Service Pack Support (LTSS) through the Google Cloud Marketplace.

How to purchase and enable LTSS?

To purchase LTSS for your SLES and SLES for SAP instances, go to the Long-Term Service Pack Support Google Cloud Marketplace listing and fill out the form.

A SUSE representative will contact you to complete the purchase. After the purchase is finalized, enable LTSS by following the instructions in SUSE's documentation.

To learn more about the enablement process, see Long Term Service Pack Support for PAYG Instances Simplified.

License FAQs

How does pay-as-you-go (PAYG) licenses work for SLES on Compute Engine?

With PAYG, you pay for only what you use. With this model you can take advantage of Google Cloud's partnership with SUSE for PAYG licenses that scales with your elastic workloads. With this option you pay for exactly what you need when your workloads spike, rather than paying a predetermined amount through fixed agreements. SUSE licenses associated with these images are charged in one-second increments, with a one minute minimum. To see additional pricing details, see the premium images pricing documentation.

Image options for PAYG:

  • Use Google Cloud's premium SLES and SLES for SAP with HA images that have PAYG licenses already attached.
  • Bring your own image into Google Cloud by using either Image import or Migrate for Compute Engine and attach a PAYG license to it.

All PAYG billing is handled through Google; there is no need for a separate agreement with SUSE.

If I create a VM using a PAYG SLES image and prepare a custom image from that VM, will new VMs created from that custom image be PAYG?

Yes, the VMs deployed using a custom image created from a PAYG SLES VM are also PAYG SLES VMs.

If I create multiple VMs from a snapshot of a PAYG SLES image, will the new VMs also have PAYG licensing for SUSE?

Yes, the new VMs created from the snapshot of an original PAYG SUSE Linux Enterprise Server VM's boot disk are also SUSE PAYG VMs.

How does the Bring Your Own Subscription (BYOS) license model work for SLES on Compute Engine?

You will need an active SUSE subscription to specify your own license on SLES images on Compute Engine.

To check whether your subscriptions are eligible for the SUSE BYOS to Google Cloud, contact google [at] suse.com. You will pay Google only for compute infrastructure costs and will have a separate license agreement with SUSE.

Can I switch from PAYG to BYOS or BYOS to PAYG?

Currently, switching between these two licensing options is not supported on Compute Engine.

Can I use Google provided SLES images and specify a BYOS license?

Yes, you can use BYOS with Google Cloud provided SLES images. To do this, contact your Google Cloud account representative.

Migration FAQs

Can I use my own SLES images on Compute Engine?

Yes, you can add VM instances, custom images, or disks that are available in an existing environment (such as on-premise or on other cloud providers) to Compute Engine. Multiple solutions are available to import your SLES images to Google Cloud. For more information, see Choose a migration path.

You can also take advantage of your existing agreement with SUSE and specify your own license while importing your images into Compute Engine. For this option, you need an eligible SUSE subscription to specify your own license on Compute Engine.

How do I get started with a SLES VM on Compute Engine?

To create a new SUSE SLES VM instance on Compute Engine, see the quickstart guide guide. When creating the VM, on the public images tab, choose a SLES version.

To migrate an instance running SLES on-premise or on other clouds to Google Cloud, see Choose a migration path.

You can add VM instances, custom images, or disks that are available in an existing environment, such as on-premise or on other cloud providers, to Compute Engine.

To migrate a VM running SLES on-premise or on other clouds to Google Cloud, see Choose a migration path.

Is it possible to migrate SLES on-demand VM instance to SLES for SAP on-demand images?

No. The public guide available for SUSE is valid for BYOS subscriptions and are not applicable for Compute Engine PAYG images.

What's next