Oracle rips Red Hat and 'sort of' launches a new Linux
- TAGS:enterprise, Larry Ellison, Linux, Oracle, Red Hat, RHEL, servers, Unbreakable Linux
- IT TOPICS:Applications, Data Center, Enterprise Apps, Hardware, Linux & Unix, Management, Open Source, Operating Systems, Servers, Servers & NOSes
Oracle made a weird announcement at its Oracle OpenWorld love-fest and trade-show. The company announced that it was releasing its own Linux: the Oracle's Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for Oracle Linux.
Funny, and I thought Larry Ellison already had his own Linux, Unbreakable Linux, which Oracle introduced not quite four-years ago. Of course, Oracle Unbreakable Linux wasn't really Oracle's Linux. It was Red Hat's Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) with an Oracle Linux logo pasted on the front.
But, this time, Oracle swears its new Oracle Linux is different. The company claims that it's been optimized for Oracle software and hardware and that Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is faster than RHEL To be precise, Oracle claims its more than 75 percent faster, as shown by Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) performance tests; 200 percent faster at InfiniBand messaging; and is 137 percent faster at solid state disk access than a "Red Hat Compatible Kernel."
Speaking as the guy who designed and ran the very first Linux server benchmarks back in 1999, I'm not impressed by Oracle's claims. An expert can make any operating system look like the greatest thing since sliced bread and its rival look like a two-day old dead dog.
I'm sure on Sun/Oracle hardware, tuned Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel can beat un-tuned RHEL. So what? It will take more than Oracle's employees claiming Oracle's new Linux is great before I buy it.
Oracle's Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for Oracle Linux--what a name!--is based on the stable 2.6.32 mainline Linux kernel. For some reason, a few idiots seem to think this represents a Linux fork. Nope. It doesn't. When you get past all the hype, Oracle's new Linux just a Linux distribution that's been optimized for Sun/Oracle hardware. Specifically, Oracle sees this as their Linux for the company's Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud and high-end, Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) servers.
Read more...http://blogs.computerworld.com/16997/oracle_rips_red_hat_and_sort_of_launches_a_new_linux
Don
