Open-Source Plan Buoys Ingres Users

Computerworld - LAS VEGAS -- Users of Computer Associates International Inc.'s Ingres database were energized by last week's announcement that CA plans to release the software under an open-source license and integrate it with technology from JBoss Inc. and other open-source developers.
Ingres has become an also-ran in the database market in the 10 years since CA bought it. But a group of about 20 longtime Ingres users who met during the CA World 2004 conference here said the move to open-source should give the database a higher profile and may help them fight off internal pressure to migrate their systems to Oracle, DB2 or SQL Server.
"I'm tired of being treated like an ugly stepsister and a second-class citizen because I use Ingres," said Tyler McGraw, a database administrator at paper maker Bowater Inc. in Greeneville, S.C. McGraw has used Ingres for 15 years. "Ingres is a good product, and I dig CA's open-source effort. Now I don't have to apologize for my database."
Erica Harzewski, a database administrator at medical device maker Guidant Corp. in Temecula, Calif., said CA's new strategy will make it easier to defend Ingres to her bosses, who want to move to Oracle databases. "Oracle is much more expensive and complex than Ingres," said Harzewski, who has used the software for 13 years. "CA wouldn't put Ingres out for open-source if it was a piece of crap."
The user meeting itself illustrated the plight of Ingres, at least in the U.S. database market. The meeting was held by the North American Ingres User Association, which is seeking new members as it tries to reorganize after two years of inactivity, said NAIUA President Carmen Huff, lead database administrator at Alliance Data Systems Inc. in Dallas.

Tyler McGraw, a database administrator at paper maker Bowater Inc. Image Credit: Matt Hamblen

"Going open-source is a great idea," Huff said. She noted that although Ingres has fallen off the market-share charts in the U.S., it's still among the most popular databases in Australia and parts of Europe.
CA said Ingres will be released within 90 days under a newly created Trusted Open Source License, which it described as a derivative of the GNU General Public License (GPL). The Ingres announcement was the centerpiece of a wider plan that also includes the addition of open-source document management software to CA's BrightStor line and joint development work with Atlanta-based JBoss and Fredericksburg, Va.-based Zope Inc.
Sam Greenblatt, senior vice president and chief architect in CA's Linux technology group, said the open-source release will expose Ingres to about 100,000 developers associated with JBoss, Zope and the Plone Foundation, a new not-for-profit group focused on the Plone document management software that's being added to BrightStor.
CA's open-source license includes an indemnification feature that goes beyond the GPL and is designed to protect the integrity of Ingres, Greenblatt said. Users will be able to download the database for free but will pay fees for support, maintenance and indemnification, which will provide them with a certificate that lists who developed different pieces of the code. CA will track development and update the certificates as needed.
Dan Kingston, a database administrator at American Digital Systems Inc. in Salt Lake City, said he and his colleagues had started worrying about CA's commitment to Ingres until last week's announcement. "It's an excellent move," Kingston said, "but CA has to be careful how they move it to open-source."
He added that he doesn't want to see software quality compromised by security vulnerabilities and other bugs -- a concern that was echoed by several other users.

Erica Harzewski, a database administrator at medical device maker Guidant Corp. Image Credit: Matt Hamblen