Taylor agreed with Novell customers that "layoffs are always a concern ... especially to my customers worried about whether they'll lose a good sales rep."

"That layoff talk disturbs me, but maybe it's just a corporate cleansing, and if they get their financials back in order, they could hire people," said Joe Poole, manager of technical support at Boscov's Department Stores in Reading, Pa. Boscov's has been using SUSE Linux in its data center and on desktops for several years, even before Novell bought SUSE Linux in 2004. Since that acquisition, support for Boscov's Linux has been "more complicated" because Poole has to buy upgrades through a business partner of Novell instead of directly from Novell. "But that's my only gripe with Novell," he said.

"Generally, I hope Novell stays strong and healthy for a long time," Poole said, noting that Boscov's hopes to start talks with Novell about investing in identity management software next year.

Novell's continued focus on Linux came as a relief to some customers, including Steve Hartman, director of the state of Nebraska's directory services in Lincoln, where 22 clustered servers are running Novell SUSE Linux for identity management purposes. "We're very pleased with the stability and performance [of Novell Linux]," Hartman said, adding that it would help "if they got a little more Linux market share."

Red Hat Linux had the lion's share of Linux sales, with nearly two-thirds of the market in 2004, according to Credit Suisse Bank Boston. That compared with nearly 20 percent for Novell SUSE Linux.