SALT LAKE CITY -- As Novell kicks off its annual user conference, customers are enthusiastic about their transitions from the legacy NetWare operating system to Linux. There’s discord, however, among Novell users regarding the company’s controversial technology pact with Microsoft.

Attendees at BrainShare next week are expecting to hear more about the Microsoft-Novell technology interchange unveiled in November, and about how other users have started integrating NetWare, Linux and Microsoft in their network environments, says Tony Iams, senior analyst with Ideas International.

"A lot of talk [at BrainShare] is going to be the relationship with Microsoft and the technology details of the relationship, as well as proof points -- they are going to be talking about customers who have benefited from the relationship and taken advantage of it," Iams says.

Already the Novell-Microsoft agreement, through which Novell’s SUSE Linux is to become the preferred Linux distribution for Windows networks, has borne fruit.

Microsoft has sold more than 40,000 vouchers for SUSE support to customers, including AIG Technologies, Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse and Wal-Mart Stores. The arrangement has netted Novell a $240 million payment from Microsoft, and Microsoft has agreed to commit $94 million for sales and marketing and $108 million to protect customers from patent suits.

The Linux community, however, is so enraged by the agreement that it has scheduled a press conference on Monday to discuss the deal’s implications on the General Public License and generally “rain on Novell’s parade,” says open source advocate Bruce Perens, who organized the event.

Perens has his supporters in the fight against Novell. “I switched 100% to Kubuntu [a Linux desktop] after Novell signed a contract with the devil,” says one network manager who asked not to be identified.

“The deal is not popular with the rank-and-file, though it seems to be quite popular with purchasing offices,” adds Greg Riedesel, senior operating system manager for a university in Bellingham, Wash. He expects BrainShare keynote speakers to address the Microsoft-Novell deal, but not linger on the subject.

“Because the keynote audience is largely technicians, I expect that when this deal is mentioned that there will be booing. Attendees have proven at past BrainShares that they are fully willing to boo people on stage,” Riedesel says.