In a detailed memo that came to our attention by way of developer Steven Stallion’s blog, Oracle has revealed that it’s closing the Sun-founded OpenSolaris open source enterprise operating system project in favor of focusing on the upcoming release of the commercial Solaris 11. Oracle says the move will protect its own revenue streams and intellectual property, but some open source advocates see it as what Stallion described as a “perversion of the open source spirit.” Meanwhile, there are signs that Oracle will continue to promote MySQL to channel partners. Here are some insights.
First, some background: The six-year-old OpenSolaris project was based on Sun’s well-known Solaris OS, itself a version of UNIX System V Release 4. While most of OpenSolaris’ code was released openly to the community, some system code was available only as pre-compiled binaries.
Fast forward to the present. As everyone knows, Oracle acquired Sun, and the new boss is looking to bolster the traditional closed-source Solaris in the enterprise server space. To that end, Stallion’s leaked memo indicates that the company will no longer be distributing nightly builds of the Solaris source code and new innovations will be first integrated into the upcoming Solaris 11.
“We want the adoption of our technology and intellectual property to accelerate [Oracle’s] overall goals, yet not permit competitors to derive business advantage (or FUD) from our innovations before we do,” says the memo.
Oracle indicates that there will be a Solaris 11 Express binary distribution with a free developer RTU license and an optional support plan, but it’s cold comfort to developers counting on staying up to date with the code to work on their own extensions.
On the one hand, it makes perfect sense business-wise: Oracle is still releasing in-development code to its Oracle Technology Network (OTN) partners for their own perusal and development, but those on the outside will be left wondering what Solaris has up its sleeve as it pushes into expansion mode. But on the other hand, does it reflect a betrayal of open source principles?
MySQL: September Moves Coming?
Meanwhile, there are signs that Oracle remains committed to MySQL, the open source database acquired as part of the Sun buyout. During Oracle OpenWorld (San Francisco, Sept. 19-24), the software giant is expected to host MySQL Sunday — a half-day conference for the open source database.
Also, sources say Oracle Channel Chief Judson Althoff is taking a close look at how Oracle partners can potentially sell and promote MySQL vs. Microsoft’s SQL Server. Near term, Althoff’s top priority remains getting Oracle partners to promote Sun servers and Sun storage. But sources say Althoff is mulling a MySQL specialization within the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized partner program.
The VAR Guy’s team will dig for more details at Oracle Openworld.
Additional reporting by Joe Panettieri. Sign up for The VAR Guy’s Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center; and via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter and VARtweet.
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Not that I believe Oracle cares, but whenever Oracle is discussed wrt Sun and/or opensource a pretty grim picture is painted. It’s not just amongst “opensource advocates”, it’s a general perception. When Oracle is perceived to “do the right thing”, the “how” and “why” are questioned. Not uncommon, but the intensity is.
It’s not about single products either – every aspect of Oracle is drawn into the debate. Dissatisfaction with Oracle licencing policy is well known, the difference being that the customers finds common ground with the opensource community. The number of MySQL users that are considering Postgresql or NoSQL solutions are more than significant.
Having this sort of negative impression connected to a brand tends to become measureable on the bottom line.
Jack: The VAR Guy sees the situation pretty clearly…
1. OpenSolaris: Larry Ellison is all about $1 billion+ markets. OpenSolaris was a niche option at best. Sure, some partners and open source advocates will be upset by the death of OpenSolaris. But was it really a viable long-term offering from Oracle? Really?
2. MySQL: Sure, some users may be nervous and considering a move to the alternatives you mentioned. Overall MySQL has been a low priority for the Oracle Channel team, The VAR Guy believes, because MySQL isn’t the money maker that Sun hardware and storage can potentially generate. Still, it’s safe to say Channel Chief Judson Althoff is mulling some MySQL moves. They’re coming… Perhaps September 2010… Oracle OpenWorld? Maybe…
-TVG
1: Nah – It’s pretty much anticipated – by everyone not directly involved. To bring added value to a *nix distribution it is not sufficient to have brilliant technology and superb brains. A vibrant community is required, but sustainable communities created “top downwards” are hard to come across.
It’s the community that makes any *nix distribution sustainable, and I don’t think that OpenSolaris ever had that. Sun never did put enough into it – why would potential users view it as longterm when Sun failed to convince anyone?
2: I’d say Sun messed up a lot of things. Oracle will clean it up in accordance with their priorities. Doubt MySQL goes down the drain, but Oracle really needs to work on how their PR
Jack: Sounds like you’re on the same page as The VAR Guy. Our resident blogger will try to get you more MySQL info during Oracle OpenWorld…
-TVG