Database Competitors IBM, MySQL Join Hands

Database rivals MySQL and IBM on April 25 announced plans to bring support for the MySQL open-source database to the IBM System i business computing platform.

The two companies will work together to offer MySQL Server for i5/OS - the operating system for System i - and expect to deliver DB2 for i5/OS as a certified MySQL storage engine on the System i platform. The move means System i customers can run online and transactional MySQL applications while storing all data in a single DB2 database.

"I think this is a game-changing move on IBM's part," Zack Urlocker, MySQL executive vice president of products, said in an interview with eWEEK. "As - an - open-source - company - … we like the idea of offering choice and giving customers the ability to mix and match," Urlocker said, in Cupertino, Calif.

Using the planned DB2 storage engine for MySQL, System i customers will be able to run MySQL applications while they manage their DB2 for i5/OS databases, officials from both companies said.

The DB2 storage engine will plug into the MySQL Server and be managed the same as any other storage engine within the database server, enabling sharing of data between MySQL and DB2 applications.

In addition, MySQL Enterprise subscriptions will be made available to IBM clients through IBM's reseller network and System i sales team. IBM has become a member of the MySQL Certified Storage Engine Program.

The companies made the announcement at the MySQL Conference & Expo in Santa Clara, Calif. The financial terms of the deal were not made public.

Copyright 2007 by Ziff Davis Media, Distributed by United Press International