The Sybase appliance will pair Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE), Sybase’s flagship database, with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5. It will build virtualization into the appliance, meaning that the appliance could leverage integrated server, storage, and network virtualization technologies. That means that you could spread database deployments across multiple appliances and make them look like one, deploy multiple database instances on a single appliance, and vary the relationship between database and networked storage.
Appliances, which have come into favor for performing highly specialized, compute intensive processes, have been typically associated with tasks such as firewalls or XML parsing. But with Ingres, and now Sybase’s move, the idea is applying the technology higher up the stack, to make data management more transparent and flexible. The draw is that by embedding database and OS in a box, you shouldn’t need separate patches, and there will be less installation, configuration, and maintenance cost.
Of course, it’s not the first time that a database appliance has been tried. The most recent time was with Oracle’s Raw Iron, which was tied to a Solaris implementation that proved difficult to maintain.
But this is the first time that a database provider has chosen Red Hat as the underlying OS supplier for an appliance. Consequently, as part of the announcement, both companies have upped their relationships to include joint support through Red Hat’s Cooperative Resolution Center. That means appliance customers can call either Sybase or Red Hat to get support. And it also means joint labs, end-to-end testing, and cross training of support personnel.
Two editions are planned, including Sybase ASE and Sybase IQ analytics server on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, respectively. Both are expected to be available in the second half of the year.
