November 1998
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Oracle outlines plans for Linux database Database giant throwing its weight behind Linux, waiting for SMP By Steven Brody, SunWorld

November 11, 1998 -- Oracle will be keeping a close eye on Linux, developing its database for the operating system to take full advantage of improvements in such key areas as multiprocessing support, company executives said at this week's Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Franicsco.

Oracle's database, Oracle8, was recently ported to Linux, in a move that pundits have said helped to legitimize the open source operating system, and increase its threat to Windows NT. Oracle estimates that there are 10 million Linux users worldwide, and believes its database, also designed to be open, is a good match for Linux.

"Oracle, like Linux, runs on all major platforms: Oracle on all the major software platforms, and Linux on all the major hardware platforms," said Venkat Malla, senior development manager for Oracle. "There is a well-established community of Linux users out there, and they are waiting for applications that are broadly used to propel it into the information space."

Malla stressed first and foremost that Oracle is committed to offering support for its Linux port, and said it will consider offering a second line of support for Linux in cooperation with other Linux vendors.

"People are concerned that with Linux, they will get what they pay for," said Malla. "But there are commercial vendors that base their entire existence on support and services [for Linux]... in some cases, bugs have been fixed in a matter of hours on Linux. Oracle8 on Linux will be fully supported also by us, which means that users will have free upgrades, etc., from a developer's license, just like other customers."

Current and future Oracle offering for Linux include:

• Oracle8 Server 8.0.5, with the new Oracle8i soon to be available
• Oracle Application Server 3.0.2 with Apache support
• Oracle Developer 1.6.1, expected in Q1 1999
• Oracle Applications 11.0.1, expected in Q1 1999

Malla said it was easy to port Oracle8 to Linux, as Linux is fully POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface for Unix) compliant. This same feature, said Malla, will ensure that other applications can also be easily ported to Linux.

The recommended minimum configuration for running Oracle8 on Linux is:

• Hardware
  • Pentium-class CPU
  • 32 MB memory
  • 300 MB disk space (base, plus additional space for data)
• Software
  • Linux kernel 2.0.33 or above
  • GNU C library 2.0.6 or above

Larry Augustin, president of Mountain View CA's VA Research, a seller of Linux-based workstations and servers, said that this basic configuration is not the minimum requirement (the application will run, for example, with as little as 16 MB RAM), but that it is highly recommended.

Malla said getting started with Oracle on Linux is easy, and that there will be a Java-based installer available soon. Importing other databases into Oracle can be accomplished using the import/export tool, by first creating a dump file from the previous database, and then importing to Oracle. This is not the optimal method, said Malla, but other solutions have not yet been given the official seal of approval from Oracle and won't be supported.

A bare-bones product
Indeed, Oracle8 for Linux is a bit bare-bones right now, but Oracle promises enhancements are on the way. The Linux version, for example, is not yet equipped with ODBC (open database connectivity) libraries.

Malla stressed that Oracle will be carefully following Linux's progress towards more viable SMP, which is a key requirement for taking advantage of Oracle's software.

"Multiprocessing is very important for Oracle," said Malla. "There is some SMP support in [Linux version] 2.0, and even more is expected in 2.2 and 2.3. Oracle8 uses multiprocessing environments to function optimally, and we hope there will be an emphasis on that in future versions of Linux."

Augustin said he expects to see eight-way systems by early next year, and SMP support that will continue to scale up from there.

Oracle8 for Linux is presently available only for Pentium-based hardware, and there are no current plans to port the database to any other CPUs.

Oracle executives say they have no plans to port desktop versions of their products to Linux.

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