Microsoft takes on Oracle

MICROSOFT WILL REPORTEDLY begin adapting SQL servers to support hundreds of terabytes of data.

The server extensions are based on technology acquired from Datallegro, a developer of large-volume data warehouse appliances. According to the Vole, Datallegro's products will allow it to surpass Oracle's capabilities and compete with other high-end enterprise data warehousing solutions.

The Redmond giant plans to initially offer community technology previews and expects to begin distribution of a commercial version by the first half of 2010. Microsoft will also retain the majority of Datallegro's staff at its headquarters in Aliso Viejo, California.

The Datallegro v3 warehouse appliance is currently priced at under $500,000 for 12 terabytes and includes hardware, rack, networking and a 15TB capacity backup server. The unit, which is capable scanning data at up to 10.5TB/minute, utilises EMC storage, Dell servers, Cisco Infiniband switches, Intel multi-core CPUs and the Ingres Open Source database.

Author: Aharon Etengoff @ www.theinquirer.net