Software
Sun and Oracle unveiled a new database machine Tuesday built from Sun hardware and Oracle software.
The companies claim the Exadata machine works twice as fast as the previous generation of the device. The earlier version of the machine was built by Oracle and Hewlett-Packard Co. and when it was introduced last year marked the first time in Oracles history that the company sold computer hardware.
The machines are a combination of servers, which carry out heavy computing chores, and database software, which companies use to store and retrieve information theyve stored, such as payroll data. Oracle is the worlds No. 1 database software company.
Oracle confirmed that it is no longer making database machines with HP. HP declined to comment.
Oracles proposed takeover of Sun, which is being held up by European Union regulators, has touched off a fight for Suns computer-server customers. Sun rivals HP and IBM Corp. have sought to lure business from Sun by raising concerns among customers about the future of Suns hardware products under Oracle.
The tactics have been working. Suns worldwide market share in servers stood at 10 percent in the latest quarter, down more than a percentage point from last year, according to data from research firm IDC.
Oracle has fought back with advertisements promising to invest more deeply in Suns products than Sun, which has struggled with financial problems for nearly a decade, could do. Oracle has also said it will “dramatically improve” the performance of Suns hardware by designing it to run better with Oracles software.
The U.S. Justice Department has already approved the Oracle-Sun deal. European Union regulators are concerned about Oracles plans for Suns MySQL software, an open-source database that competes with Oracles proprietary database. If EU regulators find problems with the deal, one way it could be handled would be to force Oracle to sell or spin off the MySQL business.
Oracle is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter earnings Wednesday after the market closes.
The new database machine was unveiled by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Suns Executive Vice President, John Fowler.