SCO OpenServer, previously SCO UNIX and SCO ODT, is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) and now maintained by the SCO Group.

History

The SCO UNIX was largely derived from Xenix. The product SCO UNIX 3.x was released in 1989 basically as a new version of Xenix, and versions of SCO UNIX were also known as SCO ODT.

At the same time, AT&T completed its merge of Xenix, BSD, SunOS and System V features into System V Release 4 . SCO UNIX was still based on System V Release 3, but had most features of Release 4.

The SCO UNIX version 3.2.0 released in 1990 featured TCP/IP and X Window System. In 1992 the system was rebranded as SCO OpenServer. The 1994 version 3.2v4.0 was extended to support long file names and symbolic links.

SCO purchased the UnixWare system from Novell in 1995, and was able to re-use code from that version in OpenServer. The OpenServer 3.2v5.0 released in 1996 included support for ELF executables and dynamically linked shared objects.

By the end of the 1990s, there were around 15,000 value-added resellers (VARs) around the world who provided solutions for customers of SCO's Unix systems.

SCO announced on August 2, 2000 that it would sell its Server Software and Services Divisions, as well as UnixWare and OpenServer technologies, to Caldera Systems, Inc. The purchase was completed in May 2001. The remaining part of the SCO company, the Tarantella Division, changed its name to Tarantella, Inc., while Caldera became Caldera International, and subsequently in 2002 the SCO Group.

The SCO Group continued maintenance of OpenServer but did not release any major new versions. The current version numbers are 5.0.x, derived from 3.2v5.0.x.

See also

• The Santa Cruz Operation and UNIX

External link

• SCO OpenServer 5.0.7 home page