MySQL, Pogo Linux Team Up On Database Appliance

database Linux

Starting next month, the two companies plan to offer Intel-based systems running MySQL's open-source database and the Linux operating system preconfigured and ready to roll.

The move marks MySQL's first foray into the database appliance business, although the Seattle-based company has allied with VA Linux in the past.

Pogo Linux, Redmond, Wash., already serves up an array of Intel-based servers and workstations typically running Red Hat 9 Linux. Its Velocity-DX workstation, running dual Xeon processors, starts at $1,799.

The new Pogo boxes were previewed last week at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in Portland, Ore., and MySQL CEO Marten Mickos is expected to be on hand at LinuxWorld, scheduled for next month in San Francisco, for the official debut where pricing is expected to be announced.

Some Linux VARs said there may be interest in database appliances.

Nexserver already offers PostgreSQL or MySQL databases on its Intel-based Linux boxes. Those boxes, which target small and midsize businesses, come with the operating system, VPN, firewall and e-mail software, said executives at Nexserver, East Aurora, N.Y.

And two years ago, Red Hat started bundling its own version of PostgreSQL along with its Linux distribution.

But databases are not as widespread a generic requirement as e-mail servers, for example, Linux VARs said.

Linux appliances are already a fairly healthy market, some VARs said. "You take Linux, put it on an Intel-type box and roll a set of applications together with some heavy-duty integration and services,it's a pretty good solution," said Tony Stirk, president of Iron Horse, a Springfield, Va.-based integrator.

"Most of my customers who are using MySQL are [obviously] already running it on something, [but] this might be helpful for someone new," Stirk said.

However, Anthony Awtrey, vice president of I.D.E.A.L. Technology, a solution provider based in Orlando, Fla., was not yet convinced of the value of database appliances.

"I've never much agreed with this 'snap-server' philosophy," Awtrey said. "It's pretty easy [now] to set up file sharing or Web acceleration. This is no longer rocket science, so I'm not sure what an appliance brings you.

"As for databases, unless they've done something special to enhance performance or provide seamless replication beyond what's already available in the open-source world, it's hard to say what demand will be," he said.

The very nature of databases "implies a certain amount of customization to use the silly thing," Awtrey said, adding that he remains skeptical that a preconfigured solution will suit customer needs.

MySQL is available both for free under the General Public License or for a fee of $400 per server for commercial licenses.

Open-source databases are gaining traction even in enterprise accounts where they are viewed as less expensive than their commercial counterparts, some solution providers said.