SUSE Multi-Linux Manager (SUSE Manager) alternative for Windows and Linux
Gardience is a SUSE Multi-Linux Manager alternative that manages Windows and Linux from one console on the same open-source Salt. Uyuni, SUSE's upstream, closed its Windows support request as not planned in May 2025. SUSE lists about $134,000 a year for 1,000 Linux machines; Gardience Team covers 1,000 Windows and Linux machines for $15,000.
- $134,000a year, SUSE list for 1,000 Linux VMs
- $15,000a year, Gardience Team, Windows and Linux
- May 2025Uyuni closes Windows support as not planned
- 20Windows and Linux platforms verified on real machines
SUSE Multi-Linux Manager, called SUSE Manager until recently, is a Linux management server built on Salt, with Uyuni as its open-source upstream. Gardience is a console on the same open-source Salt that manages Windows and Linux together, with patching, STIG checklists, and CMMC Level 2 evidence built in.
How does Gardience compare to SUSE Multi-Linux Manager?
#| SUSE Multi-Linux Manager | Gardience | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription per managed Linux instance | Flat yearly price per fleet |
| Price at 1,000 machines | About $134,000 a year for 1,000 Linux VMs (SUSE store, Oct 2026) | $15,000 a year (Team), Windows and Linux |
| Windows | No (Uyuni issue #1937 closed as not planned, May 2025) | Yes: every Windows Server from 2016 to 2025, plus Windows 10 and 11 |
| Linux | Many distributions | Yes: RHEL, Oracle, Rocky, SUSE, Ubuntu, Debian, and Amazon Linux, each verified on real machines |
| How it reaches machines | Salt agent | Salt agent; connects out, no inbound ports |
| Offline (air-gapped) install | Yes | Yes: fully offline from one signed bundle |
| Patching | Channels and action chains | Built in: pilot and broad rings, change windows, second-person approval |
| Vulnerabilities | CVE audit | CVE matching with CISA KEV due dates and EPSS |
| DISA STIG checklists for eMASS | OpenSCAP on Linux | Yes: Windows Server 2016 to 2025, Windows 10 and 11, RHEL family, SLES, and Ubuntu, with DISA STIG scans and a STIG Viewer checklist per machine |
| CMMC Level 2 | Not part of SUSE Multi-Linux Manager | Covers all 110 requirements: live SPRS score, SSP, POA&M, signed evidence pack |
| Approvals and audit | Roles and action history | Two-person approval, change windows, tamper-evident audit log |
| Ansible playbooks | Ansible integration | Runs your existing playbooks over Salt, Windows included |
Why do teams look beyond SUSE Multi-Linux Manager?
#- Windows needs a second tool. With no Windows support, a mixed fleet runs two consoles, two patch schedules, and two sets of evidence for every audit.
- The second tool is a second bill. The SUSE price covers none of the Windows servers.
- CMMC evidence lives elsewhere. An assessor wants one record of patching, STIG results, and the SPRS score across every machine that holds controlled data, Windows included.
When is SUSE Multi-Linux Manager the right call?
#If your fleet is all Linux, heavily SUSE, and you value SUSE's own channel and lifecycle management, SUSE Multi-Linux Manager is a strong choice and fits naturally with SUSE subscriptions. Gardience is the choice when Windows is part of the fleet, or when you need STIG and CMMC evidence for both operating systems in one place.
What do you keep when you move?
#- Your Salt knowledge. Same engine, same states.
- Your Linux repositories. Gardience applies updates from the repositories your machines already use, or from its built-in update cache for Debian, Ubuntu, Rocky, AlmaLinux, and EPEL.
- SUSE Multi-Linux Manager, if you want it. Teams that rely on its content lifecycle for Linux often keep it and use Gardience for Windows and the fleet-wide view.
How does the move work?
#| Step | What you do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Install Gardience on a Linux server | About 5 minutes |
| 2 | Enroll your Windows servers and a test group of Linux machines with the one-line installer or your Ansible inventory | Under an hour |
| 3 | Run a patch cycle on the pilot ring, approve, then the rest | One patch cycle |
| 4 | Move the remaining Linux groups, or keep SUSE for Linux content lifecycle | Your schedule |
Questions
#Does SUSE Multi-Linux Manager support Windows?
#No. Its upstream, Uyuni, closed the Windows client request (issue #1937) as not planned on May 20, 2025.
Can Gardience manage SUSE Linux Enterprise?
#Yes. SUSE Linux Enterprise is on Gardience's verified platform list, alongside RHEL, Oracle Linux, Rocky, Ubuntu, Debian, and Amazon Linux.
Do I have to replace SUSE Multi-Linux Manager to use Gardience?
#No. Many teams keep it for Linux content lifecycle and use Gardience for Windows, compliance evidence, and one view of the whole fleet.
Sources: SUSE store (Lifecycle Management+ at $268 a year per unit of up to 2 VMs) and Multi-Linux Manager product page; Uyuni issue #1937 (Windows client support, closed as not planned). Seen November 3, 2026.
Read more
- Uyuni and SUSE Multi-Linux Manager on Windows: what works
- WSUS for Linux: one update cache for Debian, Ubuntu, Rocky and Alma
- Air-gapped patch management for Windows and Linux
Planning a move from SUSE Multi-Linux Manager?
Book a migration call and bring your hardest state file or playbook. We walk through what carries over, what changes, and a plan that runs both side by side. Gardience Team is $15,000 a year at 1,000 machines.
Book a migration callThe SUSE Multi-Linux Manager migration planSee pricing