OSDN Chooses IBMs DB2

The Open Source Development Network picked a commercial database over an open-source one to run its Web site.

SAN FRANCISCO--IBM today is touting the increased merging of open-source software such as the Linux operating system with commercial software with a deal to provide its DB2 Universal Database for a leading open-source development Web site.

At the LinuxWorld conference here, IBM is announcing that SourceForge.net, an open-source development Web site run by VA Software Corp. subsidiary Open Source Development Network Inc. (OSDN), is replacing its open-source database with DB2 to run the site. The site also will run IBM WebSphere application server and tools for Linux.

The migration to DB2 has begun and is expected to be completed by mid-January. The WebSphere move will occur in late October.

Along with running DB2 for the site, VA Software also is adding support for DB2 in its SourceForge Enterprise Edition collaborative development software. The DB2 version of the software is expected by the end of the year, VA Software officials said. The companies will jointly market and sell the software as part of the commercial agreement.

IBM officials said DB2s ability to provide more scalability than open-source databases helped give it an edge. VA Software had evaluated DB2 along with Oracle Corps namesake database and open-source offerings from MySQL AB and PostgreSQL, said Adam Jollans, Linux strategy manager for IBMs software group.

"This is validating the combining of open source software with commercial software," Jollans said.

SourceForge.net moved to DB2 to help it manage strong growth in its site. The site registers about 600 new users and 70 new projects each day and tracks about 3.2 million page views a day, officials said. It currently has 460,000 registered users and 45,000 open source software development projects being hosted on the site.

"SourceForge.net serves a very loyal community of IT professionals and developers, and we are confident that DB2 will provide the best technology to keep the site running efficiently and smoothly," said Richard French, senior vice president and general manager for OSDN, in a statement.

IBM isnt alone among the largest data management vendors trying to woo the open source crowd gathered at LinuxWorld. Oracle on Wednesday is planning to announce an open-source cluster file system for its Oracle 9i database running its Real Application Clusters clustering feature on Linux.

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