Dell will be partnering with Novell in April to provide server customers with a single console to manage hardware and software on Linux servers.

Dell will be shipping Novell ZENworks 7 Linux Management - Dell Edition on request.

The joint effort is designed to simplify the administration of Linux environments by consolidating and automating the management of diverse IT resources, eliminating effort, controlling costs, reducing training requirements and optimising performance.

"We ship around a million servers a year," said Judy Chavis, Dell's director of business development for enterprise products.

"Of those about 20 per cent end up running Linux. That 20 per cent need systems to allow easy and quick management of hardware and software."

The new system will give IT managers a big advantage in sorting out poorly performing systems as it analyses hardware and software optimisation from a single point of information, Chavis added.

Fred Broussard, a research manager at analyst firm IDC, said: "The use of sophisticated management tools, such as Novell ZENworks 7 Linux Management - Dell Edition, can dramatically reduce the time it takes IT staff to deploy, configure, maintain and upgrade operating systems and application portfolios.

"With staff costs ranking as the single largest element in total cost of ownership models, investments in automating systems management can have a dramatic impact in lowering costs.

"By managing their Linux environments more effectively, customers can avoid manual processes and simplify complex, time-consuming tasks."