MySQL, SAP Plot Upgrade Of Open-Source Database

Computerworld - SAP AG and development partner MySQL AB are readying an upgrade to SAP's open-source database that will add support for 64-bit computing, along with new monitoring and management features.

SAP inked a deal with open-source database vendor MySQL in May 2003 to take over much of the development, support and marketing of the SAP DB software, which MySQL renamed MaxDB.

Zack Urlocker, vice president of marketing at Uppsala, Sweden-based MySQL, last week said the two companies are working on a MaxDB 7.6 upgrade that's due by year's end.

The new version will run on additional operating systems, including 64-bit Linux and HP-UX, and support the Java-based Eclipse development framework, he said. It will also include support for MySQL Proxy, a stand-alone program that lets MySQL's namesake software share information with other databases.

User Appeal

The performance boost that should come with 64-bit support is of interest to Charlie Brann, SAP administrator at Swisslog TransLogic Corp., as are the automated monitoring and management features.

Denver-based Swisslog uses SAP DB 7.3 to support its R/3 ERP system and other applications. Brann said the maker of materials-handling systems is considering an upgrade to SAP's mySAP ERP software and a migration to MaxDB 7.6.

MaxDB is currently used in about 6,000 installations, Urlocker said. MySQL and SAP announced a commercial version last November as an alternative to the free release that SAP includes with its business applications. Pricing starts at $49 per named user on single-CPU systems.

Charles Garry, an analyst at Meta Group Inc., said he doesn't see MaxDB at user sites very often, but he frequently discusses the technology with his clients.

IT managers at many large companies are reluctant to deploy the database because they think it's more appropriate for midsize users looking to cut costs, Garry said.

MaxDB Originally developed by SAP as a free alternative to commercial databases for users of its applications. Released in an open-source version by SAP in 2000, then renamed and offered under a commercial license by MySQL last fall.