Oracle will cosy up to makers of volume servers and Linux at the formal unveiling of its 10g database and application server products next week.

This move could push many customers towards running Linux on low-cost hardware and away from the Unix enterprise servers of IBM, HP and Oracle's traditional partner Sun.

At the OracleWorld conference beginning on 7 September, Dell and other makers of volume products are expected to detail support for 10g in a move that underlines Oracle's shifting focus to commodity hardware and open software.

Ever since its 9i database appeared in 2002 with support for Real Application Clusters (RACs), Oracle has touted the concept of a scale-out model - where software runs across clustered servers - rather than the scale-up model where software takes advantage of powerful hardware capabilities within a multiprocessor server. That message will be accentuated in 10g, which supports grid computing, where resources across servers can be aggregated.

The push will lead many customers towards makers of Intel- and AMD-based servers. Oracle is even moving its internal IT, including product development, to Linux on Intel-based systems. "Linux is a key focus for Oracle and its customers," commented Tim Payne, Oracle's senior director of technology marketing.

The long-term effect may be to weaken proprietary Unix and associated hardware. A huge number of Oracle deployments run on Sun hardware, although Sun has also begun complementing its Sparc/Solaris systems with a lower-cost model that incorporates Linux and commodity hardware.

Bruce Anderson of Dell said there are over 22,000 Oracle deployments on Dell hardware. "Oracle is pushing a scale-out strategy as the future of the datacentre. Oracle has seen the value this can bring."

But Oracle will have to work hard to sell the concept, said Mark Bateman of services firm Teamsolve. "The market probably hasn't a clue what grids are," he said. "But the hunger is there. From a cost perspective the market is squeezed, so running Oracle across many low-cost servers is a way to cut costs."

However, grid deployments will have broader implications for IT architectures.

"It's not just the database itself that's important with grids," said Angus Falconer of IBM's DB2 database division. "It's also the systems management layer, so the line between the database and [IBM systems management software arm] Tivoli blurs."

Oracle is also encouraging users staying on current versions of its software to use grid computing capabilities with a "9i grid cookbook" available at its site.

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