Oracle, which has customized its own Linux kernel for use in its middleware, said it will add the new software to its Oracle Linux Premier Support.
Oracle on July 21 announced
that it has acquired Ksplice, whose software enables Linux administrators to
perform system updates, bug fixes and security patches without having to take a
system offline.
Ksplice is a privately held
company based in Cambridge, Mass. Oracle did not disclose terms of the deal.
Oracle, which has customized
its own Linux kernel for use in its middleware, said it would add the new
software to its Oracle Linux Premier Support package. It expects Ksplice's IP
to bolster sales of software and services against longtime enterprise Linux
competitors Red Hat and Novell SUSE Linux.
"The Oracle Linux
Premier Support subscription applies [only] to Unbreakable Enterprise
Kernel," Oracle said in a statement. "Oracle does not plan to support
Red Hat Enterprise Linux or SUSE Enterprise Linux."
Oracle said it believes it
now will be the only enterprise Linux provider that can offer zero downtime
updates.
"System administrators
are forced to choose between known best practices and added operational costs
when administering Linux updates," said Ksplice CEO Jeff Arnold.
"Ksplice's technology
will be able to take Oracle's kernel updates and transform them into zero downtime
updates that provide always-accessible systems with no reboot necessary. This
results in improved system availability and security as well as reduced operational
costs for the customer."
Ksplice, founded in 2008,
has about 700 customers in a number of vertical segments.
Chris Preimesberger was named Editor-in-Chief of Features & Analysis at eWEEK in November 2011. Previously he served eWEEK as Senior Writer, covering a range of IT sectors that include data center systems, cloud computing, storage, virtualization, green IT, e-discovery and IT governance. His blog, Storage Station, is considered a go-to information source. Chris won a national Folio Award for magazine writing in November 2011 for a cover story on Salesforce.com and CEO-founder Marc Benioff, and he has served as a judge for the SIIA Codie Awards since 2005. In previous IT journalism, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. His diverse resume also includes: sportswriter for the Los Angeles Daily News, covering NCAA and NBA basketball, television critic for the Palo Alto Times Tribune, and Sports Information Director at Stanford University. He has served as a correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Stanford and NCAA tournament basketball, since 1983. He has covered a number of major events, including the 1984 Democratic National Convention, a Presidential press conference at the White House in 1993, the Emmy Awards (three times), two Rose Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl, several NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, a Formula One Grand Prix auto race, a heavyweight boxing championship bout (Ali vs. Spinks, 1978), and the 1985 Super Bowl. A 1975 graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Chris has won more than a dozen regional and national awards for his work. He and his wife, Rebecca, have four children and reside in Redwood City, Calif.Follow on Twitter: editingwhiz
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Chris Preimesberger was named Editor-in-Chief of Features & Analysis at eWEEK in November 2011. Previously he served eWEEK as Senior Writer, covering a range of IT sectors that include data center systems, cloud computing, storage, virtualization, green IT, e-discovery and IT governance. His blog, Storage Station, is considered a go-to information source. Chris won a national Folio Award for magazine writing in November 2011 for a cover story on Salesforce.com and CEO-founder Marc Benioff, and he has served as a judge for the SIIA Codie Awards since 2005. In previous IT journalism, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. His diverse resume also includes: sportswriter for the Los Angeles Daily News, covering NCAA and NBA basketball, television critic for the Palo Alto Times Tribune, and Sports Information Director at Stanford University. He has served as a correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Stanford and NCAA tournament basketball, since 1983. He has covered a number of major events, including the 1984 Democratic National Convention, a Presidential press conference at the White House in 1993, the Emmy Awards (three times), two Rose Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl, several NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, a Formula One Grand Prix auto race, a heavyweight boxing championship bout (Ali vs. Spinks, 1978), and the 1985 Super Bowl. A 1975 graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Chris has won more than a dozen regional and national awards for his work. He and his wife, Rebecca, have four children and reside in Redwood City, Calif.Follow on Twitter: editingwhiz
