Going head-on with Microsoft Corp’s SQL Server 7.0, Oracle Corp has concocted a cut-down microkernel to support its database that it wants Sun, HP, Compaq, Dell and others vendors to ship on dedicated servers. Packaged by Oracle marketing as another stab at reducing the total cost of ownership of computing – this time at the server level – following the implosion of its client-based NCA network computing architecture vision, chairman Larry Ellison, revealed what he’s calling the Raw Iron plan during the first day of Comdex. He said servers dedicated only to running an Oracle database atop the microkernel would be significantly cheaper than the price of an equivalent Microsoft system. Speaking to ComputerWire yesterday, Oracle VP server marketing Mark Jarvis said the database supplier is currently in talks with key server vendors to persuade them to bundle the microkernel alongside Oracle 8i database on customized versions of their servers starting in the first quarter of next year. The idea is to remove the complexity, remove the costs and improve the reliability and security of systems deployed by businesses today, said Jarvis, Windows NT has eleven million lines of code and the next version has 32 million. You just don’t need that level of complexity to run Oracle. Jarvis declined to be specific about the new operating system kernel other than to say it was partly developed by Oracle using technology drawn from other systems including Sun Microsystems Inc’s Solaris, Linux, BSD and other commercial operating systems. Raw Iron is said to reflect the fact that the kernel is so small the database practically sits on top of the system’s processor. Database-on- silicon would be the next step. Jarvis added that the kernel implementation would vary according to what the database is being used for. The idea is for Oracle’s partners to offer three types of server, small, medium and large that have been pre- configured for specific tasks such as email, human resources, manufacturing and so on. The first small system will be a four processor server with Oracle 8i bundled for around $10,000, about five times less than the cost of NT systems, Jarvis said. To further reduce costs, Oracle will also offer to remotely manage the server, under its recently-announced Expert OnLine outsourcing initiative (CI No 3,520). The servers are targeted at small to medium businesses; specifically at those users who would ordinarily buy an NT-based server to run an Oracle database. Strategically, the new initiative is aimed, at least in part, against Microsoft, which yesterday launched version 7.0 of its rival database product SQL Server. Oracle admits it can’t offer its database software as cheaply as Microsoft’s, so instead it’s going for the total cost of ownership argument. Not only does the database run on a stripped-down operating system, users only need a browser to access the data, reducing costs further still.
