As has been fairly widely trailed, enterprise software giant Oracle Corp is stepping up its activities in the Linux open source (OS) sector by providing the same enterprise class support for Linux as it provides for its database, middleware and applications products. But it’s not all bonhomie in OS land. Oracle’s Unbreakable Linux initiative is offering its own customers a version of Linux market leader Red Hat’s software with Red Hat’s trademarks removed, and with additional bug fixes. In effect, Oracle is competing with Red Hat using Red Hat products. And Oracle has lined up some really heavyweight support for its project.

According to Oracle Red Hat at present only provides bug fixes for the latest version of its software, and this often requires customers to upgrade to a new version of Linux software to get a bug fixed. Oracle's Unbreakable Linux programme will provide bug fixes to future, current, and back releases of Linux. It’ll also aim to undercut Red Hat on support - by around 50% said Oracle ceo Larry Ellinson, making the Unbreakable Linux announcement at this week’s Oracle OpenWorld event in San Francisco.

“We believe that better support and lower support prices will speed the adoption of Linux, and we are working closely with our partners to make that happen,” stated Ellison. “Intel is a development partner. Dell and HP are resellers and support partners. Many others are signed up to help us move Linux up to mission critical status in the data centre.” IBM, Accenture, AMD, BP, EMC, BMC, and NetApp are apparently others who have got with the Unbreakable Linux programme.

“Oracle's Unbreakable Linux programme is available to all Linux users for as low as US$99 per system per year,” added Oracle president Charles Phillips. “You do not have to be a user of Oracle software to qualify. This is all about broadening the success of Linux. To get Oracle support for Red Hat Linux all you have to do is point your Red Hat server to the Oracle network. The switch takes less than a minute.”

Red Hat has posted a response to Oracle’s announcement (at http://www.redhat.com/promo/unfakeable/). While Red Hat is at pains to stress that its business relationship with Oracle remains cordial, it disputes a number of Oracle claims about compatibility, and denies the assertion that in order to get support and maintenance for Red Hat, users need to upgrade to the most recent version.

Red Hat, whose share price fell 16% on the news, is promising more (rebuttals?) to follow. Demonstrably OS is a two-edged weapon.
John Williamson