Novell says its Linux business has grown by 243 percent over the last three quarters, and it largely credits its deal with Microsoft. Novell has reached $100 million in revenue from Linux over the nine-month period, thanks to the close working relationship it has had with Microsoft since the two companies signed their collaborative deal in November. As part of the deal, Microsoft offers support for Novell"s Suse Linux, and the two companies are working on making their respective software interoperable. "For Novell"s first three quarters of our fiscal year, our Linux business was up 243 percent," said Justin Steinman, director of marketing at Novell.