Linux forklifts in the data warehouse
http://news.excite.com/news/zd/010606/09/linux-forklifts-in
by Evan Leibovitch, Linux
The data center is discovering the benefits of Linux and open
source.
Quietly, in what sometimes seems like stealth mode, Linux
systems have been moving from the front end of e-commerce to the
back end. The commerce-grade Linux database has come of age.
At LinuxWorld Expo Tokyo last week, the biggest presence was
not that of an American or European Linux vendor; heck, SuSE,
Mandrake and Red Hat didn't even show up. Rather, the largest
booth was shared by the Japanese branch of database vendor
Oracle and distribution vendor Miracle Linux. If you notice a
similarity in the names and logos of Miracle and Oracle Japan,
that's no accident. Oracle Japan, which is fairly independent
from the mother corporation, owns more than half of Miracle and
is making a heavy investment in boosting Linux as a platform.
For instance, Oracle Japan is sponsoring the Oracle Linux Summit
being held June 20 in Tokyo and July 3 in Osaka (in Japanese
only).
As for Miracle, the company produces a fully open source
distribution intended to be LSB-compliant that it plans on
bundling with commercial software from Oracle and other
companies. One particularly interesting package the company
recently announced combines the Miracle distribution, the Oracle
8i Workgroup Server, and Borland's Kylix development system.
Oracle isn't the only database for Linux; but Oracle's support,
like IBM's, is an indication of the enterprise-level acceptance
of the Linux platform. And Oracle is just one of the major
database players that support Linux one way or another; Sybase,
Progress Software, Informix, Empress, Raining Data (formerly
Pick Systems), and of course IBM all support their flagship
commercial databases under Linux.
Two notable companies have gone even further, open-sourcing
their database engines (while generally keeping advanced
development tools proprietary and for sale). SAP, a company
known almost exclusively for products aimed at the enterprise,
opened its database engine, SAP DB, earlier this year. The
company joins Borland, which opened InterBase last year
Of course, let's not forget the databases that have always
made source code available. Both MySQL and PostgreSQL are now
mature, full-featured databases with significant commercial
support infrastructures. PostgreSQL lists a Web page full of
commercial support organizations, of which the best-known (or at
least best-funded) is GreatBridge. For those in Japan who don't
need all the horsepower of Oracle, Miracle Linux offers a
Linux/PostgreSQL bundle. Another Japanese company, Software
Research Associates, also supports the PostgreSQL, though I
don't know if I like its turtle logo.
MySQL also offers well-backed commercial support, coordinated
by MySQL AB, the Swedish company that invented the software and
owns the trademark. While MySQL's partner page isn't as full as
the one for PostgreSQL, this project has one substantial ally:
NuSphere, a subsidiary of commercial database vendor Progress,
exists mainly to provide high-end enhancements and support for
MySQL.
There are other options in addition to those mentioned above.
The most complete lists I've found of databases for Linux, both
commercial and open source, are from SAL Database Systems and
linas.org. At either site, you'll find products with a lot of
flexibility and many licensing and development options. What
you'll also find, which is as important as the code itself, is a
diverse and capable crop of enterprise-level support options,
ranging from do-it-yourself to warm-and-fuzzy handholding.
Come to think of it, the only database vendor not here is
Microsoft--but it's not missed very badly. Today's Linux
databases offer plenty of compatibility, so much so that no one
has to rely on Microsoft. Most of the databases I've mentioned
can serve as fully functional drop-in replacements for SQL
Server, handling Excel, Access, or any other front-end database
requests. I hope that some North American Linux distributions
follow Miracle's example and ship with PostgreSQL or MySQL
pre-configured to work as a SQL Server replacement.
And, just in case anyone hands you some FUD about Linux not
being suitable as a high-performance database platform, let's
not forget about the recent test, conducted by the Transaction
Processing Performance Council, in which a database system
running Linux beat out one running under Windows. While I don't
want to read too much into one isolated win, at least it proves
that Linux-based databases are on the playing field now, and
they're up to the enterprise challenge. And you don't need to go
to Japan to figure that out.
To me, it's not a matter of whether or not Linux will be as
successful a database platform as it is an Internet platform.
The only question is how long it will take the computing world
to find this out.
Are you looking to Linux as a high-availability database
platform? Tell Evan in the TalkBack below or in the ZDNetLinux
Forum. Or write to Evan directly at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
