Ingres CTO Dave Dargo blogged about Icebreaker, which launched recently during the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo. Dargo explained why Icebreaker makes sense for a database installation:

In working with rPath, Ingres developed Icebreaker to permit JDBC, ODBC, .NET or Ingres Net access directly to the database. Middleware apps can point to it. And without a full-blown OS underneath it, the system does not need as much support in terms of applying software patches.

Icebreaker has been licensed under the GPL 2, and runs on any x86-compatible, 32-bit capable, server hardware appropriate for Linux. It also includes virtualization capabilities that allow it to be used on any platform that supports the Icebreaker virtual machine, like VMWare.

“It took five months to go from a “back of an envelope” concept to a proof-of-concept,” Dargo wrote. “This is what open-source is about.”

Through the use of rPath’s rBuilder platform, the two companies were able to combine the rPath Linux distribution with Ingres to create Icebreaker. The companies refer to Icebreaker as a “software appliance,” just like its hardware cousin but without the physical hardware purchase.

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Love-arrangers eHarmony have a more than passing engagement with open source software. But it’s an open marriage, as eHarmony is not looking for open source solutions to its needs, but the best solutions.

A report on NewsForge cited eHarmony VP of engineering and operations on the topic of software choices.

Netcraft shows the domain resides behind a F5 Big-IP load balancer now, instead of reporting Linux as the server’s operating system. F5 would be an example of a “best solution” for hardware, due to its reputation for solid load balancing performance.

Linux of course represents one of several open source options eHarmony has made for its servers. Applications developed for eHarmony run on names that are very familiar to web developers, like Tomcat for handling Java Servlets and JavaServer Pages; JBoss for serving applications; and Apache as its web server of choice.

“It’s most of the stuff everyone is using,” Douglas said in the article. “Open source is not new to our company. We use it extensively, because the best product is often open source. We’re not zealots about open source, we just go out and look for what’s best.”

On the database side, eHarmony chose Oracle over robust open source options like PostgreSQL and Ingres, both of which offer serious relational database choices.

For developers who would like to get open source in the front door of their companies, where proprietary solutions may dominate the work landscape, Douglas offers some advice in the report.

“Just pick the right product. Usually the concern about open source that I’ve witnessed is, ‘how am I gonna get support?’ But even if you’re not paying for support there’s a ton of information out there. I would just find the best product for whatever I’m trying to do, and if that’s open source, there’s generally a company that will help you.”

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The partnership between middleware company BEA and database maker Ingres presents service-oriented architecture (SOA) developers on Eclipse another option for building their applications.

Both firms have made trial versions of their software available for download. Ingres also provides a Community Edition of their database with licensing under the GNU General Public License version 2.

BEA Workshop Studio comes with a 15-day trial, and can be downloaded using the Express option if Eclipse is already in place on the workstation. A JDBC connector in the latest versions of Workshop Studio allows for easy connectivity to Ingres through the DbXplorer tool.

Once added and tested, the objects available in the Ingres database come into view. Then, the various features of Workshop Studio as well as Eclipse can be used against those objects.

Current users of Ingres r3 who want to try out Workshop Studio will need to download the latest Ingres JDBC Driver that comes with Ingres 2006. Support for trial users of the software packages can get help on BEA’s forums.

The BEA arrangement represents the first ISV partnership for the now-independent Ingres. As part of developing a blended open source strategy, Ingres provides services and donations of its source code, while commercial vendors like BEA add value with their product lines and certification of a combined solution.

Eclipse’s popularity only contributes to the potential effectiveness of such pairings. With Workshop Studio available as a plug-in to Eclipse, and JDBC connectivity to Ingres as part of the package, the deal makes the offer more appealing to developers who are considering SOA-development options in the workplace.

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The Inquirer’s Fernando Cassia pointed out after this article about database choices was published that we missed another choice for developers.

Ingres produces an open source database, and offers licensing under GPL or commercial terms. That lets the company satisfy developers in and outside of corporate arcologies when choosing a back-end database to support applications.

Those who have worked with Ingres for a while will recall its origins with Computer Associates. Since then, CA and Garnett & Helfrich Capital formed Ingres the company as a partnership. Ingres boasts users in North America, Europe, and Asia (Cassia, an Argentinian, will likely suggest South America too), and bills itself as the “Business Open Source” company.

An advantage of using Ingres 2006, the latest version of the database, comes from the FAQ, and describes the advanced query optimization it possesses:

Support for data access and development platforms runs the gamut of acronyms and names in applications: ODBC, JDBC, .NET, Eclipse, PHP, Perl, Python and Ruby.

Company CTO and senior VP Dave Dargo blogs about Ingres, and in his latest post campaigns for Ingres’ inclusion on any short list of database software to be evaluated:

Ingres offers a number of enterprise-class features. Its switch to offering a GPL option instead of the older CA Trusted Open Source license permits interested developers to safely try it out, and follow up successful tests with recommendations to upgrade to more business-suitable license terms.

Ingres and Dargo probably hope that happens, anyway. Given its features, there doesn’t seem to be a reason not to evaluate Ingres on its merits.

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Out of the over 100 companies considered for the Software 2006 conference, taking place April 4th and 5th in Santa Clara, CA, the Sand Hill Group selected twenty, five in each of four categories: Enterprise Software, New Media, Open Source, and Security.

Compiere made the cut, as did the Blinkx video search engine and thin computing manufacturer Wyse; Google and Yahoo have been reportedly chatting with Wyse about producing hardware for the two search engine powers-that-be.

In the Open Source category, Compiere will make a presentation at the conference, as will the other selected companies. The other open source presenters will be Collabnet, Digium, Ingres, and Zimbra.

Many small and medium businesses have taken advantage of the benefits of open source software. The multi-platform Compiere ERP & CRM package may be obtained freely from the company’s website.

Like many other companies that have built themselves around an open source package, like Red Hat and MySQL, Compiere offers various services like installation and support as for-pay extras.

Compiere’s functionality includes accounting, customer & partner management, supply chain management, and inventory & fixed asset management.

The company also developed the software to support “multi’s”, which permits the designation of sharing and privacy for information across levels of an organization, for example. They also permit handling multiple currency transactions, accounting standards, and tax systems.

Interested users can learn more at one of Compiere’s online events, including overviews of the ERP product.

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The offer – which is unique in the history of the open source community – is designed to leverage the global developer talent pool, while providing substantial financial compensation to those who successfully meet the challenge.

Under the terms of the offer, open source developers are invited to create solutions that enable users of Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase Adaptive Enterprise Server, IBM DB2 Universal Database, Informix and/or MySQL to migrate to the Ingres r3 database platform. Qualifying solutions will be eligible for cash awards of up to $400,000, with a total purse of $1 million.

“CA’s Ingres Million Dollar Challenge underscores our commitment to creating an optimal working relationship between ourselves and the open source community,” said Mark Barrenechea, executive vice president of product development at CA. “This relationship benefits CA and our customers by allowing us to leverage the cumulative talent of the community, while generating significant opportunities for open source developers around the world.”

Open source technology has become increasingly appealing to organizations seeking to lower total cost of ownership while taking advantage of the accelerated innovation provided by the open source community. These advantages are particularly attractive in the database space, where proprietary solutions can add significant cost to business solutions and greatly limit the ability of IT to respond to changing requirements.

Because it combines open source licensing, advanced features and enterprise-class scalability, Ingres is a particularly compelling alternative to proprietary database platforms. By creating appropriate migration tools, the open source community can help more organizations take advantage of the benefits Ingres has to offer – while at the same time promoting the transition from proprietary to open source technology.

CA announced the offer at LinuxWorld in San Francisco. The offer begins August 5, 2004, and submissions will be accepted until February 1, 2005. Six winners will be announced at caworld, CA’s annual user conference, April 17 – 21, 2005 in Orlando, Florida.

“Ingres r3 offers a highly scalable, feature-rich open source database platform that can much more readily be adapted to specific business requirements than proprietary alternatives,” said Barrenechea. “By crafting appropriate migration tools, the open source community will be enabling organizations all over the world to take advantage of its unique and compelling attributes.”

The challenge is open only to individuals who on the date of their submission of an entry are Open Source Community Members, of legal age, and are legal residents of, and are physically located within the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, Canada (except Quebec Province), Mexico, United Kingdom, India, China, Australia and New Zealand. Full details of The Challenge eligibility and the official rules are available at http://ca.com/ingres/challenge.

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