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Welcome
Oracle's Commitment to Linux
By Wim Coekaerts
Developing, supporting, enhancing, and promoting Linux
For nearly a decade, Oracle has been deeply involved with Linux, engineering its products to run on the operating system, helping to guide the evolution of Linux-related standards, offering technical support for Linux, and working with the Linux community to enhance the kernel with enterprise functionality.
Oracle's commitment to Linux began in 1998 with the release of Oracle8, the world's first commercial relational database on Linux. Since then, Oracle Database has become the No. 1 database on Linux with more than 80 percent market share. Oracle Database on Linux meets the EAL4 Common Criteria standard, the highest security level for commercial software, and all Oracle products can run on Linux; in fact, only Oracle provides support for the complete software stack on Linux with applications, middleware, database, and the Linux operating system itself.
These are exciting times for Oracle and Linux, and this special edition of Oracle Magazine captures some of that excitement in the form of news, feature articles, customer success stories, and technical how-tos.
Introducing Oracle Validated Configurations
Oracle Validated Configurations provide pretested, validated, and supported architectures, so you can deploy Oracle solutions on Linux in less time and at a lower cost. These configurations have undergone comprehensive testing and include documented best practices to help you accelerate and simplify deployment. Be sure to read David Kelly's article on this topic (page 7) and download the Oracle Validated Configurations docs from Oracle Technology Network (OTN) today.
Contributing to the Linux Community
Oracle is strongly committed to contributing code and making open source technologies like Linux even more robust. And the recent inclusion of the Oracle Cluster File System Release 2 (OCFS Release 2) into the mainline Linux kernel is yet another milestone in this long-term commitment. As the first cluster file system to be distributed with the Linux kernel, OCFS Release 2 provides users with an open source alternative to proprietary cluster file systems. Learn all about OCFS Release 2 on page 6.
Other notable news includes
- Customers can take advantage of Oracle Database 10g Release 2 for both x86 64-bit Linux and IBM's POWER-based Linux systems.
- Oracle Fusion Middleware on Linux increasingly satisfies the
needs of organizations across a wide range of industries to drive
down costs while delivering critical middleware functionality.
- Oracle Database 10g Express Edition, the free, starter edition of Oracle's world-renowned database, won the LinuxWorld Product Excellence Award for "Best Database Solution."
Customers Win with Oracle on Linux
Cool technology and hot awards are one thing, but customers succeeding with Oracle on Linux is what really matters. Success stories you'll find in this issue and on oracle.com include
Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Company, a 108-year-old Washington State-based insurance group, is using the powerful combination of Oracle Database 10g on Linux to achieve a tenfold increase in performance while significantly reducing infrastructure costs.
NextAction, the fastest-growing and leading provider of cooperative data solutions for retailers, has migrated to Oracle Database 10g on Linux to power its 7-terabyte (and growing) cooperative behavioral marketing data warehouse.
3n (National Notification Network), a leading provider of mass notification systems, depends on Oracle Database 10g infrastructure software on Linux to help ensure that enterprises, government agencies and municipalities, and schools can communicate reliably with their constituents.
Ready for the Future
These are indeed exciting times for Oracle and Linux. Following its nearly decade-long commitment to Linux, Oracle is ready for the next decade. I invite you to peruse each page of this special edition of Oracle Magazine, and while you're at it, be sure to visit oracle.com and OTN for even more.
Wim Coekaerts, Oracle Senior Director of Linux Engineering
wim.coekaerts@oracle.com
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