Photon OS vs SUSE Multi-Linux Manager
| Photon OS | SUSE Multi-Linux Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | No | No |
| Paid from | — | — |
| Open source | No | No |
| Platforms | Linux | api, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Device types | Bare-metal systems, virtual machines, Raspberry Pi, cloud instances | Servers; virtual machines; cloud instances; edge systems |
| CPU architectures | x86_64, ARM64/aarch64 | AMD64/Intel 64 (x86-64), Arm (AArch64), IBM POWER (ppc64le), IBM Z (s390x) |
| Support lifecycle | Security updates as needed; non-security package updates described in legacy FAQ as quarterly; no fixed duration verified | SUSE Linux 16: 10-year lifecycle; 24 months general support per minor release, with additional 3-year LTS available |
| Built-in management | tdnf package manager; Photon Management Daemon; RPM OSTree; Network Configuration Manager | Cockpit; Ansible; SUSE Multi-Linux Manager; Zypper |
| App compatibility | Docker and other container formats; Kubernetes; RPM packages via tdnf; RPM OSTree | Linux packages and repositories; container images; cloud marketplace images |
| Deployment models | Bare metal; VMware hypervisors; ISO installation; OVA appliance; AWS AMI; Google GCE image; Azure VHD; Raspberry Pi image | On-premises physical servers; virtual machines; public, private, hybrid and multi-cloud; edge |
Both are listed in Best Operating Systems. On Inferse, SUSE Multi-Linux Manager scores higher on our published basis.