Unisys Extends Support and Services for MySQL on Linux

Published: May 15, 2006

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Last year, after server maker Unisys had finally caught the Linux bug, the company, which is one of the largest service companies in the world, promised that it would eventually roll out a complete set of open source software stacks for its ES7000 server platforms. And today, the company is giving its customers a preview of these stacks as it rolls out an expanded relationship with open source database provider MySQL.

Under the agreement announced today, Unisys has arranged to be a single point of contact for customers who want MySQL's products, which include the core MySQL 5 database plus extensions to do clustering and interface with applications. ES7000 customers can buy MySQL directly from Unisys now, and roll the acquisition into their ES7000 deals and have a single support contract that includes the server and the database. Like other server makers, Unisys is MySQL backstopping its technical support, in the event that it gets in over its head on a nitty-gritty detail of the database.

According to Rob Wilkinson, director of open source computing in Unisys' Systems and Technology Division, Unisys is a bit different from the IBMs and HPs of the world in that it doesn't just sell products like MySQL, but also uses it in the solutions that are one of the key drivers of business at Unisys. Wilkinson says that the MySQL database is already a part of the airline reservation, telecommunications, and voice messaging systems that Unisys sells. Moreover, Unisys is pitching that it can offer more than just sales, installation, and integration services, but can also offer the full lifecycle management of MySQL licenses using its IT Modeler tools. With these tools, Unisys can first sniff around your network and locate all of your existing MySQL licenses and then become the means of deploying and managing both old and new MySQL licenses. And, because Unisys understands that it cannot control all the other iron in a shop, it knows it probably has to offer MySQL support and services on other iron. "Under certain circumstances, we will entertain the idea of supporting MySQL on non-Unisys platforms," says Wilkinson. Unisys is going to tune the MySQL database for its ES7000s, provide benchmark information, and build up its team of MySQL consultants.

Pricing for MySQL as acquired from Unisys will be consistent with the pricing that MySQL charges, and presumably Unisys is really just acting as a reseller for licenses with a big discount. Unisys did not provide pricing for all of the ancillary support and services it provides, such as test, implementation, and lifecycle management. (None of the server vendors do--which is why it ought to be illegal to not publish list prices for all products.)

Looking ahead, Wilkinson says that Unisys will deliver a unified database stack that is comprised of database software (presumably MySQL) and an operating system (presumably Linux) when it rolls out more complete open source software stacks at the end of May. Unisys already peddles the formerly independent JBoss Java middleware suite, which is now owned by Red Hat, and has tight ties to Novell and its SUSE Linux Enterprise Server operating system.