"True that Oracle has strong links to Sun - afterall I believe that's their reference platform - but that doesn't mean they can't release a Oracle version for Linux! You can get Oracle for pretty much any OS these days, including AIX, HP-UX and other strong Solaris competitors - you can even get it for NT (although who on earth would want to use that toybox is beyond my comprehension)."
Yes, I'm aware of how many platforms Oracle supports, but AIX,
HPUX and Digital UNIX aren't really as threatening to Solaris
on the small server market as Linux, SCO and WinNT. Linux is
more threatening due to x86 (although now it runs on everything else)
because x86 hardware is so cheap. If you want proprietary,
super-powerful computers you usually don't mind paying the premium
for Sparc, PA/RISC or Alpha and their associated OS because you want
that support contract as well, but with x86 it is really hard, nowadays to justify Solaris over Linux, especially when Linux is so much more efficient than Solaris, SCO or NT and doesn't have all the licensing issues.
So, that was my logic in saying that it must be pressure from Sun,
but it may as well be just that Oracle hasn't justified the
Linux market yet, I have no factual data. Linux has two magazines
devoted to it, the worldwide user base is in the millions to
tens of millions according to surveys I've seen, so YOU tell ME
what is holding Oracle back? :) |
