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Open-source database maker MySQL AB launched the first MySQL database appliance, the DataWare 2600 Server, on Tuesday at LinuxWorld in San Francisco.
The appliance is a preconfigured, integrated hardware/software gadget that packages the MySQL database with hardware from Pogo Linux Inc.
The jointly developed product is designed to be a turnkey solution that delivers the cost savings of the open-source database. Designed by Pogo Linux engineers and optimized by MySQLs database developers, the appliance is anchored by two Intel Inc. Xeon processors and a RAID Level 10 SCSI-disk array platform. It comes preloaded with MySQL Pro 4.0 and 4.1 on the latest Linux kernel.
MySQL, of Uppsala, Sweden, has tweaked the MySQL code to provide features such as transactional InnoDB support, along with certification to ensure ACID compliance.
The DataWare 2600 sells with two years of hardware support by Pogo Linux and a one-year MySQL support package. Customers may purchase higher-level support contracts at additional cost.
If the appliance works as planned, though, little support will be needed, according to David Axmark, MySQL AB co-founder. “The DataWare 2600 will arrive preconfigured so that after network deployment, it can start serving customer Web sites and databases in under an hour,” he said in a statement.
The DataWare 2600 appliance is available immediately from Pogo Linux, of Redmond, Wash., and is priced at $8,999 for a standard configuration.
In other news, MySQL also announced that it is renaming the SAP DB open-source database, for which it took over development this spring. The database, redubbed MaxDB, will be offered as a MySQL product sometime during the fourth quarter of this year. It is targeted at large SAP R/3 environments and other applications that require enterprise-level databases.
The two companies will jointly develop and support MaxDB, with MySQL in the product management lead. Both companies will offer the database to their customers. They are also collaborating on developing a future MySQL enterprise database that leverages the unique strengths of MySQL and MaxDB.
MaxDB will eventually ship with features that facilitate migration between it and the MySQL database. Users will also be able to build applications using the two databases. For example, a MySQL proxy using the MySQL protocol will be added to MaxDB, making it possible for MySQL users to connect to a MaxDB server using MySQL tools with a MaxDB database. MySQL replication can also be used with MaxDB, with MaxDB able to act both as slave and master.
The current SAP DB version is 7.4; all subsequent SAP DB versions will carry the name MaxDB by MySQL. The first MaxDB release, Version 7.5.00, will be a rebranding of SAP DB 7.4; the next version, MaxDB 7.5.01, will add features to ensure interoperability with the MySQL database. MaxDB Version 7.5 will have full backward compatibility with SAP DB 7.4. SAP DB versions 7.3 and 7.4 will be available from the MySQL site until March 31, 2004.
As with all MySQL AB products, MaxDB by MySQL will be offered under MySQLs dual-licensing model: i.e., at no cost under the free software/open source GNU General Public License (GPL). The company will also offer, for the first time, a commercial license for MaxDB. The commercial license is aimed at companies that do not want to make their products open source-compliant, such as those that plan to resell the database.
SAP AG initially will provide product support for MaxDB, with support evolving into a tiered approach between MySQL and SAP. MySQL and SAP will jointly support SAP DB commercial licenses sold by MySQL.