Novell Inc. on Monday introduced a new version of its ZENworks systems management suite that is designed to offer full lifecycle management for Linux and Windows systems.

ZENworks 7, announced here in Salt Lake City at Novell"s annual BrainShare conference, lets companies centrally manage Windows and Linux workstations from their choice of server platforms.

As Linux moves deeper into the enterprise on both desktops and servers, IT managers need centralized management and policies that can be executed throughout the environment, according to Carlos Montero-Luque, vice president of technology, identity-driven products at Novell.

One of the initial challenges with bringing Linux into the mix is getting a complete toolset for management, said Steve Townsend, vice president of engineering for Novell resource management.

ZENworks 7 uses Policy-Driven Automation to automatically maintain and enforce business and IT policies and manage resources based on user and device identities. The suite provides integrated tools that automate IT management processes across the lifecycle of desktops, laptops, servers, and handheld devices.

Also included in the ZENworks 7 Suite is the recently announced ZENworks 7 Linux Management, which delivers imaging, configuration lockdown, remote management, inventory, and software management capabilities for easily deploying and managing Linux. Furthermore, ZENworks 7 includes support for Novell Open Enterprise Server and enhancements to Desktop, Server, and Handheld Management products, according to Novell officials.

ZENworks 7 also marks the rollout of a new architecture, based on identity-driven computing, eDirectory, and Web services.

In the next version of ZENworks, Novell plans to publicly release an SDK containing tools and technology to help customers and partners extend the new Web-services-based ZENworks architecture.

"This lets a third-party vendor access the underlying services," Townsend said.

ZENworks 7 Suite will be released in the second quarter.