Hello,

I've been working with my ODW (running Debian Linux) in one major capacity while looking at its capabilities:

1. I've been using it as a syslog-ng server for my DNX_SYSLOG project, which is a way to transfer Oracle audit logs and application messages over syslog-ng (UDP support in Oracle is not good) using TCP-based syslog messages. So far, both my Advanced Queueing and standard tcp-based log methods work with the syslog-ng package in the apt-repository.

2. This leads me to my next area of questions, which is Java support. Having the IBM JDK is nice, however I work with a lot of vendors at my customer sites who only test against the Sun JDK/JRE combination. These are not small vendors (I cannot name them due to customer request). In addition, many of the developers I work with base their code on the Sun JDK. While Java is portable, it means that we have to go through a whole qualification process if another JVM is used in production. We went through this when we migrated an application from WebSphere 3.0 to Tomcat.

3. This leads me to something else. Oracle 10g Release 1 and 10g Release 2 expose a JMS interface to Oracle Advanced Queueing. I already have a version of DNX_SYSLOG which uses Oracle's AQ feature. This means I can publish audit and logging messages directly to queues instead of through syslog-ng.

4. Therefore, for me to use the ODW more seriously on my projects, I'd need Sun JDK support to do so. Eclipse works wonderfully on Debian with it, however, to get full support for JMS and other features I'd like to see the Sun JVM with it. By integrating Sun Java and J2EE support into LinuxPPC, you can run some pretty serious middleware on the box, i.e. use it as a very good message router or database interface.

5. JVM support brings JDBC support as well, specifically Oracle's very good Type IV JDBC support :).

6. I see the future of the ODW for what I do as a very good application server which can also handle databases (when they qualify the 3Ware SATA RAID cards against the ODW, I will have one and test it). Debian has been very good for the testing I've been doing for DNX_SYSLOG. However, despite Mono, alternative Java projects, and the IBM JVM running on it, I think the platform needs the Sun JVM for the above reasons. JDBC to the major DB platforms doesn't hurt much either.

The ODW does have some very strong points, such as low power and low cost of deployment with Debian. It's served me very well with my project's work. However, Sun's Java is one of the gold standards, and I'd really like to see it come to LinuxPPC.

Thanks

Hi mbpark, this is a great post and we have been thinking about how to answer it all week. You should know the Sun Embedded Java guys and gals liked it too...;-)

First, it is completely clear that a Sun solution is better than an IBM (without Sun) solution. It seems IBM lags Sun by about a year, plus it is important to have all the latest and greatest stuff available, like, identity management, permissions, etc. So, we agree about the "gold standard" and are working to make this happen.

Second, we have to take this one step at a time. We are not Apple, who is known to be seeding 1.5 to their developers already. Of course, they do their own work and have lots of resources focused on it. We need to walk before we run. We are going to start with a J2SE 1.4.2 "headless" configuration and a binary license agreement for re-distribution. The port is demo-able, but not complete and certainly not certified yet. BTW, the Sun Embedded Java Team will be at this event next week:

http://www.esconline.com/boston/

Go see the ODW in action with the Java demo if you are there...;-)

The first OS target is Debian, but the rest should follow progressively. This will get you what you need for running JBoss, Tomcat, and the various application servers (i.e., Apache). Plus, we are shooting for Server VM too, but that will probably take a couple more months after the initial release. There is no reason today why the first release should not happen before the end of the year.

Then we will go for the whole package with graphical support. Of course, the idea is to tune the JVM to the Pegasos HAL/OF so we can carry this support wherever the HAL goes.

We are looking into all the Oracle stuff you mentioned. We think it is great you are working on all these things. For your first post on PPCZone, we sure do appreciate your participation already! :-)

R&B :-)